Brampton, Norfolk

  • Colour of Owls

    Barn Owls vary in size between males and females. They also show great variation in colouration.

    The most common sighting on the meadows is a large white Barn Owl. I have mentioned this on a number of times over the past two years. Before this one appeared, the residents appeared to me to have been a smaller type, often with a contrasting caramel coloured wing and a creamy or duskier breast. These were not just a smaller single male – there were often a pair about at the same time. It makes me wonder whether the larger white bird comes from a different population, or perhaps was released in the area.

  • Deer in July

    The Roe Deer have been going through an elusive period. This is in doubt partly due to the expected secrecy associated with the birth of new fauns, but it may also be due to the relatively poor feed value of the grass on the more open fallow land during July. The other morning a single doe was to be seen in the middle of the beet field, well away from Keeper’s Wood, but this has been the sole sighting which I have had for some time. No
    sign of a faun on this occasion.

  • A search

    This seems to be Red Admiral week. Every Buddleia in the village is covered with them as soon as the sun shines. This Garden butterfly does not seem to be in short supply.

    This is more than I can say for the Silver-Studded Blue Butterfly– or at least as far as I am concerned. So far we have made two trips to their local habitat on Buxton Heath. According to Iris and Diana “is easy to spot…they don’t fly very high and they stick to the heathery areas at the north end”, and as I always believe what I hear, I went along with it. What else would you do if instructed by people named after classical goddesses? It may have been a coincidence that another “Iris” appeared – this one was rainbow after a heavy summer shower. The shower put pay to any idea that I would be able to find my quarry. I had no further luck on the other occasion. I will persevere and hope for fine weekend

  • Butterflies

    As the temperature rises, butterflies are out in profusion. The flowering Thistles along the Bure were especially attractive this morning. Large numbers of Small Tortoiseshells were accompanied by Meadow Browns , Large and Silver Spotted Skippers. Along the lanes Ringlet Butterflies emerge from their Bramble nurseries and the Speckled Wood basks near the Railway Bridge.

  • Welcome return of rain

    The return of rain in June has been welcome and much needed. The local flora which had become dormant and parched during May has sprung back to a wholesome green. The arrival of the wild Mallow flowers has coincided with a second flush of Dandelion and those small spires of the village garden favourite, toadflax. Not the most inspiring name but a plant which is appreciated by bees. This is particularly the case for the Common Carder Bee. This is a member of the bumble bee family, albeit a more subtle fur of orange, russet and dark brownish black. I understand that the “carder” in the name is related to it’s habit of removing hair form plants to line it’s nest.

  • Midsummer deer

    For the last four weeks the Roe Deer have been keeping   a low profile. The group has dispersed, although on occasion the sandy doe is accompanied by the young buck, the
    majority of the time she can be seen on her own. This is preparation for giving birth in seclusion.

    As usual it is the ears that give her away in the ripening barley. Always alert she will monitor your progress along the railway line until she decides that you are safely out of the way. This is not always the case – a couple of weeks ago I caught a combination of young pheasant poults and the Roe doe wholly unawares. They sprang out from the fence line in unison and made their way to safety towards keeper’s Wood. The doe was the first to regain her composure and, having decided that she has a sufficient gap, recommenced grazing – panic over.

  • Sukebind Scent

    This morning I walked through a lens of scent which was suspended in mid-air. The Woodbine or Wild Honeysuckle is at its peak. The vines bind an Ash and an Oak together in a cloud of sweet scent. This scent is transient and is seems to be at it’s strongest when the morning sum hits the dew-covered flowers in the morning. The light summer breeze pulls the scent down wind, but the cloud seems to retain a foothold on the source bloom.

    It reminded me of that sign of summer in Cold Comfort Farm when.. “The Sukebind (was) hanging heavy from the wains…”. This is the peak of the year and all we need is more rain.

    Elsewhere in the Village the Albertine Rose at the Old Post Office and others continue to contribute their own fragrance. At the other end of the spectrum I recalled the contribution from Street Farm when it housed the herd of pigs.

  • Father & son

    Father and son rivalry is back in the parish. The return of grass growth over the past week has drawn the Roe deer out of their winter quarters.

    Last year’s offspring have turned out to be, as I suspected, one of each sex. The young buck, with this year’s antlers still covered in velvet, is annoying his father just by being there. In the soft morning light, the youngster generally keeps a respectful distance, but when he strays too close his father runs at him making him jink, swerve and put a few more yards in between. Over the next few weeks both bucks will scratch the velvet from their antlers and the competition will start in earnest. It will be interesting to see how long the youngster is tolerated within the family group.

  • Beware Lords and Ladies

    Along Brampton’s verges at the moment, one plant appears to be developing faster than all of the others. This is the Cuckoo Pint or Lords and Ladies. It’s broadly arrow-shaped leaves line all the verges, but with greater concentrations on banks along the run up to the church.

    Later on in the year the plant will develop a cowled inflorescence (it cannot be called a flower) with an erect central “spadix”. It’s perceived similarity to a male organ so titillated those that observed it that it gave rise to a great number of other names of varying degrees of bawdiness; amongst these are Cows and Bulls, Wake Robin, Jack in the Pulpit, Devils and Angels, Adam and Eve, Bobbins and Naked Boys. Just take your pick. I expect that there are many more that are unpublishable.

    The fun does not stop there. The berries which the plant develops in the autumn are bitter and cause great irritation if eaten. They are reputedly one of the most common reasons for admission to A & E for accidental plant poisoning. One seventeenth century herbalist recommends grating some of the root over meat offered to an unwelcome dinner guest in order to send him packing. This does seem a bit severe and should not be encouraged at the dinner parties of Brampton.

  • A hint of bud burst

    In spite of the raw cold which seems to have dominated the past week, the occasional warm spring sunshine has encouraged some activity from trees.

    So far, some the Hawthorns along the railway line have tentatively started to open as has the Bird cherry outside Beech Cottage. But then, like someone who has dipped their toe into a cold swimming pool they have stopped. They seem to be pausing and are prepared to wait for the next warm day. This point of near bud-burst always reminds me of that Philip Larkin poem, the Trees; “The trees are coming into leaf, like something almost being said”.

    Most of the trees are far more cautious. No hint of green, just that almost imperceptible thickening at the tips of the branches. I swear I can see this subtle transformation through my window as I look out at the Sycamores and Ashs on the railway line, but this may be just wishful thinking.

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