2011 Calendar

Front cover

Front cover		 Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major

Back cover

Back cover		 January – Woodcock – Scolopax rusticola
February – Barn Owl – Tyto alba
March – Snow Bunting – Plectrophenax nivalis
April – Lesser Whitethroat – Sylvia curruca
May – Roller – Coracias garrulus
June – Bullfinch – Pyrrhula pyrrhula
July – Turtle Dove – Streptopelia turtur
August – Little Owl – Athene noctua
September – Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus
October – Robin – Erithacus rubecula
November – Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus
December – Pheasant – Phasianus colchicus

Richard Brooks became a professional wildlife photographer in the early 1990’s, and although best known for his association with Lesvos and especially his book Birding on the Greek Island of Lesvos (which first appeared in ‘98), he has now been photographing wildlife near his home in Fulmodeston, Norfolk since moving there full-time fifteen years ago. Apart from 60’s and 70’s music and sampling as many different beers as possible, birds of the feathered variety are his main passion – especially owls, and in particular the Barn Owl (which he photographs whenever possible from his 4x4 by using it for the purpose for which it was intended rather than for weekly trips to the supermarket!). Owls also figure prominently in the range of limited edition greetings cards, prints and framed pictures he produces; whilst his articles and images feature regularly in the bird watching press. He won the professional section of the Wild Bird Photographer of the Year 2000 run by Bird Watching magazine, and has frequently been placed amongst the top ten entrants in the annual British Birds photo competition. From October 2004 he took the logical but painful step of embracing digital photography, and he now owns two Nikon D300’s and has recently upgraded his trusty Nikon 500mm AFS lens to the new Image Stabilised (or VR) version for the cost of a small family car! Other than financial repercussions the main downside to all this is having to spend a number of hours a day downloading and editing images over the computer instead of being out in the field or indulging in his increasingly time-consuming and largely unpaid conservation work, which has now seen him virtually single-handedly site over 600 Barn Owl boxes throughout North Norfolk. All are now regularly monitored under licence (yielding much useful information on the birds’ breeding success and eventual dispersal) and currently provide a secure home for 100+ pairs – pride of place going to the birds which in 2008 finally tenanted the ‘des res’ created for them in a boarded off section of his loft back in 1993! Now aided by CCTV he can watch them at will on the upstairs TV and has his very own ‘Springwatch’ in house! Helped by all-year round supplementary feeding they tend to nest earlier and two broods are not unknown (fingers crossed for 2010!). His picture of the three young Barn Owls in the quatrefoil of Fulmodeston church (see July of 2010 calendar) went on to appear in the ‘Daily Mail’ in February 2010, various other publications worldwide, was mentioned on national radio and even led to a 90 second slot on ‘Anglia News’ to rival that of September 07 when his Red Kite image was used on the Royal Mail stamp issue! Though not quite in the league of his hour long DJ stint on ‘What’s Rockin’ Norfolk’ in late 07 it generated considerably more fan mail and print orders and gave his calendar a welcome late boost! Financial considerations have so far confined his 2010 travel programme to five glorious weeks from April into May commuting between the neighbouring Greek islands of Lemnos and Lesvos dodging the volcanic ash cloud! This trip was only made possible by strong demand for his guided birding services in the latter and generous sponsorship from the ‘powers that be’ in the former – bringing a possible site guide one step closer. A summer trip to Denmark and Sweden along similar lines is still under consideration but may have to be postponed because of the lure of his resident Barn Owls, an upsurge in his nesting garden Turtle Doves (helping to compensate for the total loss of his Tree Sparrows) and the attractions of the Norfolk summer music scene – prompting one or two good ‘knees ups’ now that normal service has been restored in that area!

If you want to view an image of both the front and back covers in more detail then click on the links above the images. Better still, of course, you could purchase one (or more!) calendars from me at the prices shown below. Postage and packing rates relate purely to the UK.


 Price UK P&P Total
A4 calendar £12.50 £3.50 £16.00
A3 calendar £17.50 £4.00 £21.50


The 2010 Calendar page is available as an example of Richard's other photos.

To order please contact Richard Brooks.

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