2012 Calendar

Front cover

Front cover		 Short-eared Owl – Asio flammeus

Back cover

Back cover		 January – Cock Pheasant – Phasianus colchicus
February – Woodcock – Scolopax rusticola
March – Shore Lark – Eremophila alpestris
April – Male Brambling – Fringilla montifringilla
May – Great Tit pair – Parus major
June – Juvenile Bittern – Botaurus stellaris
July – Juvenile Little Owl – Athene noctua
August – Young Sand Martins – Riparia riparia
September – Wryneck – Jynx torquilla
October – Bearded Tit – Panurus biarmicus
November – Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea
December – Barn Owl family – Tyto alba


RICHARD BROOKS has been living happily in North Norfolk full-time now since 1995 and part-time since 1978; having re-located from metropolitan Essex to avoid the urban sprawl and be closer to his beloved Barn Owls, which (since 2008 and after a fifteen year wait!) have been resident in a boarded-off section of his loft and provide him with much photographic inspiration - both flying and perching within comfortable shooting range of his upstairs windows and also viewable 24/7 via CCTV! With a little help by way of supplementary feeding they have raised two good sized broods per year over the last two years. Other parts of his garden and a small parcel of land he manages for wildlife attract a good variety of birds through an extensive (not to mention expensive!) feeding and habitat management programme - see for example the subject for April.

When not photographing in Norfolk (either from his trusty Nissan X-Trail or from favoured hides at coastal reserves and occasional foot-slogging expeditions weighed down with heavy camera gear!) he loves to visit Scotland and the Western Isles when finances permit and also regularly spends spring and the occasional autumn on the Greek islands; and since his book ‘Birding on the Greek Island of Lesvos’ (first published in 1998 and after selling 9,000+ copies now sadly out of print) has succeeded in putting Lesvos firmly on the birding map he has been approached by the authorities on the neighbouring island of Lemnos, where there is scope for similar pioneering work to help encourage much needed green tourism there. He has now enjoyed three pleasant and extremely productive trips there made possible by generous sponsorship from a local hotel and car hire company and has written and illustrated an article due to appear in ‘Birdwatch’ magazine sometime in autumn 2011.

Sadly no such sponsorship exists in sufficient quantity to greatly support his Barn Owl conservation work, which has seen around 100 pairs of Barn Owls tenanting the 700 odd boxes he has placed in sites within a 25 mile radius of his home over the last twenty years or so - all requiring regular maintenance and monitoring. When not involved in these activities he offers guided birding and photography in North Norfolk (and also when present on Lemnos) and apart from his annual calendar (why not add your name to the mailing list now!) also produces a number of prints and greetings cards. Apart from having images regularly published in the birding press and having an exclusive contract with RSPB Images, he also had one of his Red Kite images used on a Royal Mail stamp issue in 2007 and has seen his ‘Three Barn Owls’ and ‘Stretching Pheasant’ pictures appear in the Daily Mail in Feb and Dec 2010 respectively. He is, of course, also available for a number of varied talks both locally and further afield. All of this can be gleaned by checking out his website or contacting him at the email address below - or even giving him a good old-fashioned phone call!

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 £9.50 £3.00 £12.50
A3 calendar £12.50 £4.00 £16.50


The 2011 Calendar page is available as an example of Richard's other photos.

To order please contact Richard Brooks.

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