IMAGINE ARUBA
Imagine all the beauty we have in Aruba, imagine loving all of this beauty, imagine respecting all of this beauty and imagine preserving all of Aruba’s beauty, for ourselves, but also for those yet to come, so they too can witness this beauty. You can help make a difference!
‘Imagine Aruba’ is the name which I have given all my personal efforts to help make this island a better place to live on. I use ‘Imagine Aruba’ to help higher my own consciousness in staying focused on this objective, but also to plant seeds in the minds of others who love the beauty this island has to offer. I hope one day to enjoy some of the fruit of the crop yet to come.
Joseph Campbell, the genius mythologist, once presented a story concerning a legend: "And the legend says the man killed the bird, and with the bird he killed the song, and with the song, he killed himself..." This legend reveals man’s destiny if he destroys his environment.
I hope you enjoy these pictures and I hope you too will Imagine Aruba!
Click HERE to visit my YouTube Channel to view videos of wildlife in Aruba.
Imagine Aruba is dedicated to my wife Annette Peterson-Bredie, better known by her students as 'Juffouw Bredie'.
NUMBER OF BIRD SPECIES
“The number of bird species recorded in Aruba is 174; among these are 50 breeding species (of which at least two extinct), 80 migrants from North America, 29 visitors from continental South America; besides 25 species of seabirds. Two subspecies of birds are restricted to Aruba, viz. the Parakeet Aratinga pertinax arubensis and the Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia arubensis.” Prof. Dr. K. H. Voous (1983).
Mr. Adrian del Nevo, PhD, has traveled the world carrying out a large number of bird wild life projects. Dr. del Nevo has opened my eyes to how unique Aruba is, with no other location in the world having the same abundance and diversity of terns. For the past ten years, he has been studying the population ecology of all ten nesting tern species and laughing gulls on the reef islands outside Rogers beach. "For some species, we have a significant percentage of the world or Caribbean population on the San Nicolas Bay islands. The Cayenne terns on Aruba for example, represent 36% of the world population. Few people on Aruba realize the global significance of the San Nicolas Bay tern islands."
BEAUTY IN ARUBA
In the meantime I understand that there are now more than 200 species recorded. So far I have managed to capture over 90 of these species and I intend to capture the beauty of as many as possible. Every individual bird species is sheer beauty in itself and each time I send an individual picture to a family member or a friend, I name it ‘Beauty in Aruba’ followed by the species name. I have learned that this little ‘seed’ has helped make many locals more conscious of what our little paradise has to offer.
In contrast to those who believe that all of these species are migratory visitors to our island, I like to believe that all of the more than 200 species originate from Aruba and we send them around the world to share the beauty of our little paradise with them.
INVITATION
I extend an invitation to you to stand still a moment by this too often under-appreciated side of Aruba. Put on a good pair of walking shoes, a hat and a pair of shades and take along a pair of binoculars or a camera. Add some sun tan lotion and a bottle of our water to that list and you are ready to discover paradise. And don’t forget to share what you have seen with others. It will help heighten the level of awareness that we are living in a paradise.
DREAM
Since I have been enjoying the beauty of so many bird species, they have taught me how important their environment is for them. In the center of the island on its south side there is a paradise named Spanish Lagoon. At the western part of the island, close to our hotels, as well as in Savaneta, we have a number of salt ponds that are often dry for up to six months a year awaiting the yearly returning rains. It is in this lagoon and in these ponds that the migratory birds get a chance to recover from their lengthy journeys and it is at these ponds that we get an opportunity to experience their beauty. We also have some reef islands right off the coast of Aruba. Terns and pelicans often use these as breading locations.
I dream that one day, Spanish Lagoon, all salt ponds of Aruba, as well as what remains of the riff islands, will become an official part of our national nature preservation park. Can you help make this dream come true? Imagine Aruba.
Aruba Tourism Authority
I want to thank the Aruba Tourism Authority for their perseverance in persuading me to make these pictures available on their website. Thank you for showing the other beauty our island has to offer.
Expo’s at Airport and Cruise Terminal
I have three photo exhibitions of birds at this moment. One is at our International Queen Beatrix Airport, between departure gates 4 and 5. One is in the cruise terminal in our harbor in Oranjestad. The third one is in the Aruba Trade and Industry Association’s (ATIA) building in Oranjestad. A few more are on their way.
RED CROSS ARUBA
Besides sharing the beauty of these animals with you, they are also intended to help raise money for a good cause. All and any funds generated through or by these pictures are dedicated to the Red Cross of Aruba.
Donations can also be made directly to:
Rode Kruis Aruba – Account: 14.15.629 Aruba bank
Some words from the photographer:
We need inner moments of peace and stillness. I find mine among the birds. We stand in the midst of an abundance of beauty, which we can only become conscious of if we can stand still for a moment and observe and absorb these sublime manifestations. We are on the brink of harming this beauty irreversibly. We borrow this beauty from future generations and we must make sure we return to them what is theirs. You can help make a difference.
Gregory M. Peterson – amateur photographer
Born and raised in San Nicolas, Aruba
