Calendar highlights nature on islands
The 39th edition of The Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar is available for purchase, as well as the spiral-bound Blind Pass Tide edition that includes tide predictions for multiple spots and more.
Publisher Jim Fowler reported that the 2027 calendar includes 14 photos of some of Sanibel’s most iconic birds, animals and marine life, including eight post-Hurricane Ian photos. The photo for each month is accompanied by a narrative, which includes description, nesting, breeding, feeding habits, range, habitat, status and health.
In addition to the same beautiful photographs and narratives, the spiral-bound “limited” edition contains the daily tide predictions for Blind Pass and conversion times for 24 other points along the Southwest Florida coast. It also includes selected sunrise and sunset times, moonrise and moonset times, and the four eclipses that will occur.
The front cover of the 2027 calendar features a female anhinga in breeding plumage at the Pond Apple Park on Sanibel, photographed by Cliff Beittel. Fowler noted that the anhinga, sometimes called snakebird, darter, devil bird or water turkey, can be found year-round on the islands.
“When I first saw this image, I knew it had to grace the cover,” he said. “Displaying iridescent breeding colors, this bird is both alluring and captivating.”
The post-Ian photographs include nesting ospreys, a snowy plover with a chick, a wood stork, an American crocodile, a least tern with two chicks, a gopher tortoise, red algae at Kimberly’s Reef, and narrowleaf yellowtops growing at the Bailey Tract. All of the images show birds and other animals in different states of their lives on the wounded but recovering barrier islands.
The photographers featured in the 2027 calendar include Theresa Baldwin, Marianne Bargiotti, Beittel, Dr. James Douglass, Cheri Hollis, Christopher Murray, Lisa Stevens and Kyle Sweet. Writers Betty Anholt and Charles LeBuff, as well as Douglass and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation shorebird biologist Audrey Albrecht and Native Landscapes and Adult Education Director Jenny Evans, wrote the monthly photo narratives.
“Created from an idea that took seed during my island experiences since I first came to Sanibel in the early seventies, I have tried every year to put together a calendar that truly shows the natural beauty of the islands,” Fowler said. “It continues to be my goal each year to publish a calendar that is not only beautiful and useful, but also promotes wildlife conservation through interest, information and education.”
First published in 1988, the calendar is sold only in Southwest Florida.
Every fall, a portion of the proceeds are donated to a regional conservation organization. Last year, a donation of $1,000 was made to the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge on Sanibel. To date, about $29,689 has been donated to conservation organizations in Southwest Florida.
Again this year, the calendar will be available, upon request, with a shipping envelope made from trash. Make-ready sheets were saved from the press setup and used to create custom-fit mailing envelopes.
“With 14 stunning images photographed on Sanibel and Captiva, this edition is just spectacular,” he said. “It is the only calendar that truly represents what Sanibel and Captiva are all about — nature.”
The 2027 calendar retails for $17.95 and is available in fine book stores and gift shops throughout Southwest Florida. Only available on the islands, the Blind Pass Tide edition retails for $21.95.
For mail orders, send $17.95 plus $2 for shipping and handling to: Sanibel-Captiva Nature Calendar, P.O. Box 3828, Midway, KY 40347. For the limited edition, send $21.95 along with $3 for S&H.
For more information, visit http://sancapcalendar.com/ or contact Fowler at 859-846-4164.