2026 Calendar

Front cover

Front cover		 Barn Owl pair near Walsingham
Hoopoe at North Walsham

Back cover

Back cover		 January - Female Sparrowhawk
February - Bittern in flight
March - Crane
April - Long-eared Owl
May - Male Red-footed Falcon
June - Marsh Warbler
July - Juvenile Peregrine
August - Starling flock
September - Red-breasted Flycatcher
October - Siberian Stonechat
November - Song Thrush
December - Shorelark

For the first time this century I didn’t manage a spring foreign trip (owing to a necessary but unfortunately timed hip replacement on the part of my regular travelling companion!). By way of compensation I was able to travel more widely in East Anglia and Fenland and witness more of the spring migration here - also visiting parts of previously unexplored Lincolnshire and returning to Minsmere for a Bittern bonanza in early April. On a negative note I was disappointed to experience what may rank as the worst Barn Owl breeding season on record (following at least two poor years) - probably exacerbated by the prolonged dry spell impacting on small mammal numbers. As a result, fledging rates of just 1-2 young were the norm, with many pairs not even attempting to nest and others forsaking long-established sites. On the other hand, the fact that two of my boxes were tenanted for the first time in 17 and 20 years respectively offers a ray of hope for the future.

On a similar theme, the sighting of a small party of Swifts hawking insects during the June heatwave within sight of my house for the first time in many years encouraged me to put up eight Swift boxes (complete with cameras) - only achieved with the help of my long-suffering neighbour! Following the installation of a speaker system to call them in I’ve had up to eight birds prospecting (not to mention a number of bemused passers-by looking up for the source of the sound!) and in spite of one low-flying bird sadly being taken by an opportunist Sparrowhawk I’m hopeful that some of these current non-breeders might return next spring and perhaps re-establish a viable local breeding colony in my lifetime to justify the four figure expenditure! Finally, as I write this I’m looking forward to a busy autumn, with another university reunion planned for early September, a family meet-up mid-month and a welcome late September trip to Batumi in Georgia on the shores of the Black Sea to experience some dramatic raptor migration (said to rival Gibraltar) along with a good selection of scarce migrants. Having lost a couple of good friends recently (and with others succumbing to dementia) I realise the importance of grasping any opportunities that life gives you (in site of the limitations of an increasingly dodgy left knee and somewhat compromised right hand following surgery in August 24!).
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 £12.00 £4.50 £16.50
A3 calendar £16.00 £6.50 £22.50


The 2025 Calendar page is available as an example of Richard's other photos.

To order please contact Richard Brooks.

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