ANNUAL EXHIBITION 2021

Fishers Island, Naturally:
A Photographic Celebration

Young Eastern Painted Turtle on lily pad, the Peninsula, Darby’s Cove
Photo by Terry McNamara

This year’s Annual Exhibition, Fishers Island, Naturally, complemented by two special exhibitions, celebrates the natural history of Fishers Island, primarily through the lens of contemporary photography, with a focus on both habitats and the diverse species that utilize and/or occupy them.

The first section offers wide views of our shorelines, coves and beaches, our ponds and marshes, our woodlands, and our grasslands, that are coupled with closer views that unveil ground level action and activities that often go unseen or unnoticed by casual human visitors. A tern chick seemingly lost in a sea of sand. A heron successfully snagging a bullfrog. A swarm of baby jellyfish drifting underwater. The dedication, patience, and raw talent of our nature photographers resonate throughout this habitat section and the entire show.

A second section provides information about the life histories of individual species, including visual characteristics useful for identification, interactions with the human community on Fishers Island, and a mixture of fascinating detail. Here you can discover new information about Fishers Island’s animals, including muskrats, beavers, river otters, minks, seals, snakes, turtles, hawks, owls, herons, and others.

The Annual Exhibition 2021 mounted in the Museum also includes a selection of iNaturalist photographic observations taken by Fishers Islanders and curated by educator and naturalist Murray Fisher. The online version of this display offers sample selections.

From iNaturalist exhibit: Violet-toothed Polypore (Trichaptum biforme). Photo by Sara Maysles

Thank You

The Museum would like to thank the co-sponsors of this year’s exhibition: Altus Partners, Inc., a risk management and insurance brokerage firm founded by Charlie Wilmerding in 1997, and the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. Your continuing support is much appreciated by all.



We also thank all the photographers who provided images for Fishers Island, Naturally.

Jane T. Ahrens, Arthur Anthony, Marlen Bloethe, Emily Bodell, Mike Bottini, Marnie Briggs, Tracy Brock, Cary Brown, Clay Burkhalter, Mary Burnham, Tommy Colman, Amy Fine Collins, Dave Denison, Anthony Denora, Lydia Doucette, Jessie Doyle, Jeff Edwards, the late Henry L. Ferguson, Emily Fisher, Murray Fisher, Fishers Island Conservancy, Fishers Island Oyster Farm, Ann Flinn, Lynn Foster, Ryan Hagerty USFWS, Stephanie Hall, Timothy J. Hallett, Lucinda Herrick, the late Ed Horning, Nirapa Horning, Connor Jones, Ethan Kibbe, Justine Kibbe, Tom Koerner USFWS, Jessica Labonte, Marisela La Grave, Margaret Lamere, Brian Leuchtenburg, Cathy Marco, Sara Maysles, Todd McCormack, Emily McCue, Alex McKown, Terry McNamara, Charlie Morgan, Mark Munro, Mary P. Murphy, Linda Musser, Steve Malinowski, Nora Neus, New York Natural Heritage Program, Harris Parsons Jr., Kristen Peterson, Pierce Rafferty, Jim Reid, Scott Reid, Jack Schneider, Shutters & Sails, John Spofford, Joshua Starbuck, Claudia van Hengel, Juliet Vicente, Jacqueline L. Williamson, John Wilton, and Steve Zettler.

Without you, there would be no exhibition.