‘White peacock’ butterfly featured for January on EAG’s 2013 wildlife calendar (Photo courtesy of Nick Hollands)
It’s coming! Back by popular demand, for the second consecutive year, the EAG is producing a wildlife calendar: Wildlife of Antigua & Barbuda’s Offshore Islands. All photos were taken right here in Antigua/Barbuda/Redonda by volunteers and friends of the EAG.
In 2012, our photos featured beautiful vistas of offshore islands in the North Sound; plant species such as the red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle); birds, including a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) with its chicks and West Indian whistling ducks (Dendrocygna arborea); and other wildlife. Some tame life was also included in the form of some of our Camp GROW summer campers marvelling at a jelly fish.
Our 2013 calendar will be just as exciting and feature 14 high-quality, annotated, colour photographs. The only returning feature will be our endemic, critically endangered, harmless Antiguan racer snake (Alsophis antiguae). All other wildlife species featured on the 2013 calendar are different from those included in 2012.
Plant life is again represented, as are a number of different bird species, some captured in different stages of flight or feeding that make you feel like you are on a safari observing the true wild. The photos are truly National Geographic-worthy. In 2012, the lone representative of our marine life was the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). This year, the sea gets a bit more attention with two photographs of different coral reef inhabitants.
The calendar extends to January 2014 (as does our 2012 calendar) so you have a bit of grace time to get your hands on the next one. Included also are major environmental hallmark days, such as Earth Day (22 April) and the start of the hawksbill turtle nesting season (1 June). All holidays in Antigua & Barbuda are included as well as the moon phases.
In this festive season, many of us sometimes run short of ideas as to what to give to our loved ones. Much money is spent on items that are of little use to the recipient. If you are looking for something that has practical value and won’t break the bank, the EAG 2013 calendar fits the bill. You will also be giving an intangible gift by encouraging greater appreciation for our outdoors and the great biodiversity in Antigua & Barbuda that often goes unappreciated.
The EAG’s Wildlife of Antigua & Barbuda’s Offshore Islands 2013 calendar is funded through grants received from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Wildlife Without Borders, Disney, and BBC Wildlife Fund. It was produced by our coordinator of the Offshore Islands Conservation Programme (OICP), Natalya Lawrence with graphic design by former Peace Corps volunteer, Rachel M. Hall. Editorial support came from EAG Board members and other OICP partners, particularly Fauna & Flora International, Island Resources Foundation and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. We also wish to give thanks to the talented and generous photographers who were able to capture our wildlife in fine colour and then donated these fantastic shots to the EAG: Toby Ross, Nick Hollands, Thomas Aveling, Dr. Robert Mallin, Chris Clarke, Ambassador Mikko Pyhälä, and Adam Long.
The EAG’s 2013 calendar is also caught up in the holiday rush but will be available soon. Our office is currently closed for the holiday season but if you wish to make a donation and receive a calendar before we re-open on 2nd January, send us an email (eagantigua@gmail.com) and we’ll arrange to be there to get one to you. Once our office re-opens, you can stop by between 8am and 12pm to pick up your copies.
Merry Christmas to you from the management and staff of the EAG!
