2020 Calendar

Front cover

Front cover		 Male Dartford Warbler at Kelling Heath
and Barn Owl at Cley

Back cover

Back cover		 January - Fieldfare
February - Female Merlin
March - Male Crossbill
April - Male Ring Ouzel
May - Male Blackcap
June - Male Marsh Harrier
July - Spotted Flycatcher
August - Grey Heron with eel
September - Turtle Doves
October - Purple Sandpiper
November - Long-eared Owl
December - Black-bellied Dipper

Returning from Bulgaria at the end of May 2018 (a memento of which is reproduced below - slightly more apt then when I was actually 67!) I intended to take things fairly easy over the summer - though music loomed fairly large, starting July off with the Dereham Blues Festival and ending it with a visit to Holt Festival for Leo Sayer at the 'Little Theatre in the Woods' - always a magical experience (when it doesn't rain!). Unfortunately, fate intervened, and following the loss of three good friends in the space of three months (one only in his fifties) I found myself attending two long distance funerals in July (in Yorkshire and Cheshire) and another locally in late August. Sad as these occasions were, one consolation was getting to meet up again with an old uni friend living near Scarborough and re-visiting Bransdale in the North Yorks Moors to photograph Red Grouse amongst the blooming heather on a glorious sunny evening. On a more positive note, Langham Street Fair on 11th August (which would have been my dear, much missed Mother's 103rd birthday) gave a boost to product sales, as did a further selection of summer and Christmas Craft Fairs. My owl conservation work (ie monitoring, clearance and repair of boxes) began in early July and ended in late February); but although the Barn Owls in my loft again fledged broods of four and three (in June and October) the general pattern was one of poor breeding success (the result of the 'Beast from the East' in March and the prolonged drought in June and July combining to reduce their small mammal prey). Of course, my birds were cushioned from this by supplementary feeding, which also benefits my local Tawnies and often attracts ten or more Barn Owls nightly (appealing to those relishing the chance of photographing them in floodlit conditions at close range without causing disturbance; since they are now totally accustomed to my presence - the proceeds helping offset the not inconsiderable costs of providing 15+ chicks a night 365 nights a year!). By late May 19 my Barn Owls again had four chicks and as an added bonus the Tawnies fledged young for the first time from a box I installed within 100 yards of the house! Following a trip to the Evros Delta in N Greece in mid-February with a fellow photographer (during which we experienced four summer-like days followed by overnight snow, 60mph winds and a windchill factor of -11C but photographed some great birds like Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Hawfinch, Black-necked Grebe, Merlin and Hen Harrier, together with Wildcat and Golden Jackal) Estonia in May proved equally productive (Ural Owl and Brown Bear being lifers), returning just in time for Mark Knopfler at the O2!. In July (having missed the Norfolk Bird Fair held there from 18th-19th May due to my Estonia trip) I'm doing both summer and winter Craft Fairs at Pensthorpe Reserve on 7th July and 24th November respectively - maybe see you there!

Sales of this calendar directly benefit my conservation work and feeding programmerain
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 £9.95 £3.55 £13.50
A3 calendar £13.50 £5.25 £18.75


The 2019 Calendar page is available as an example of Richard's other photos.

To order please contact Richard Brooks.

Return to Information Page