The sighting of a Kingfisher lit up an otherwise dull December morning. At first it just appeared as a shape, albeit a familiar shape, perched on a pliant reed. As we approached it flew a few yards further away. As it did so the bird’s colours colours were lit; the diamond on its back being especially brilliant. This morning’s colour being more of a cerulean blue – some lights this takes on a more of a copper green, but not today. As we left it fishing the high pitched contact call continued to announce its presence to those who tune in.
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Blue diamond
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Mute swans plan ahead
Mute Swans in late November are planning ahead. Walking along the Bure this morning, I noticed a lot of swan activity. Bow-waving Cobs chase one another to defend a stretch a river; with wings raised, neck arched in sprung strength and with the chest thrust forward the dominant male makes short work of his younger rival.
Above Burgh Mill, a younger pair seem totally engrossed as they face one other in mid-stream, their mirrored necks forming a perfect lyre shape. They pay little heed to our passing. The scene is repeated by another pair beside the little footbridge over the Mermaid.
With these scenes of ritual choreography it is so clear why they are the inspiration for human dance.
Elsewhere the dullness of the day is emphasised by the tap of falling leaves. The trees will be bare soon.
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Autumn sets in on the Common
This morning a walk along the Bure revealed how the damp autumnal season has settled in. A pair of Wigeon spring from the river at our approach. A duck more commonly seen on the large grazing marshes of the north Norfolk coast or the Yare valley, they had clearly found the Bure to be an attractive point to pause. Until we came along.
On the Common the cattle continue to graze for the last few days before they come off for the winter. They will soon be heading for the warmth of their winter housing. In the mean time they are doing a fine job of tidying up the last of the seasons grass.
Autumn on the Common The better the finish this season, the better the pasture will be in 2012. Along the margins there are numbers of Snipe – the small brown wader shoots off in a jinking flight with a rasping and repeating “scarp” call.
Loose flocks of Redwings skip from one thicket of berry-bearing thorns to the next. Their weedy ‘tseep’ call giving away their presence.
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October Dusk
Last night the light levels were falling at seven o’clock, but not fast enough for our purposes. It was too light for the river bats. Howver we walked the river bank as the light levels fell. Silence descended as the evening shift took over.
The light was sufficient in one way – as a pair of Mute Swans drifted upstream into the gathering dusk, we stopped at the stile and a movement caught our eye. The Otter dived and re-surfaced in a gentle arc before proceeding soundlessly downstream past us. It’s movement was purposeful and showed no sign of nerves, although it hugged the opposite bank before gliding into the gloom.
We walked back down the Street in the company of numerous Tawny Owls which broke the silence with loud calls aslively territorial exchanges. It was as if everything was active again after the unseasonable heat of the day.
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Autumn & the water bats
Bat detecting is addictive. A warmish evening spent at Oxnead Bridge reveals the usual Pipistrelles but it is the river bat that we went to find. These bats, more properly known at the Daubenton’s Bat, hunt low over the surface of the river, sometimes seeming to touch the surface or scoop it’s prey. A whirring flight at a constant height low over the river surface is characteristic – this evening the run was between the Bridge and the next corner upstream. It was active just after dusk and the best view was from the base of the bridge on the Brampton side. We walked home in the gathering dark and reluctantly left the sounds (and the ravenous midges) behind us.
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Scent of Otter
This morning the scent of an Otter was distinct and musty along the river bank. At first we thought it was the smell of a fox but it was, I anything, more pungent and concentrated in an area of long grass within three yards of the river itself. I have no proof – there were no discernible foot prints or spraint – but it seems a reasonable conjecture.
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Bure in late summer
The late summer river seems to be in transition into it’s autumn guise. Kingfishers are more regularly encountered all along the river and further afield as the summer’s progeny spread out. This morning’s encounter on the meander below the Cradle Bridge was typical; a heighted pitched call, a whirr of orange and blue as the bird banked away from the river
in order to give us a wide berth. River levels have risen again after the sluices have been closed after yesterday’s low. Weed clearance from two weeks ago has done some good. Large piles of dragged weed lie at intervals along the bank. Silt levels look to be quite
high. An autumnal smell of rotting vegetation sets the scene. -
Otters
The Bure is high after all of the recent ain. It is still running clear and looks a picture of health. This morning we tumbled across what appeared to be a conversation between a family group of tters. No confirmed sighting but the strength and quality of the call left me in ittle doubt. They sensibly remained hidden within a reedbed as we fruitlessly scanned the area.
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Herons
The apparent end of the Heron breeding season has been heralded by the arrival of more birds onto the marsh. Groups of three or sometimes four are not unusual at the moment – I assume parent birds and youngsters or perhaps a group of young birds in toto.
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Brampton, Norfolk
This website is for the village of Brampton in Norfolk. The village is linked through the Parish Council with the neighbouring historic hamlet of Oxnead.
Brampton is one of the smallest villages in Norfolk and is almost certainly the smallest of all the places with the same name throughout the world. The village is located in the valley of the River Bure some 2.5 miles from the market town of Aylsham.
The village sign (above) gives a clue to the fact that the village has a rich history. Archaeological finds go back to the neolithic era but much dates from Roman times when the site was a bustling industrial centre with maritime links to the rest of the empire. Pottery and metal products were the main items manufactured here. The village sign is based on a Roman artefact discovered in the village which can now be seen in Norwich Castle Museum. Excavations in the 1960’s & 70’s uncovered a Roman bath house and much evidence of industrial activity. It also identified the location of the port area from where the manufactured items were exported.
The River Bure was navigable through Brampton until 1912 when wherries (Norfolk cargo carrying river boats) would transit to the mill at Aylsham. Brampton itself had a staithe (landing place) and at least one wherry was based here. Today the head of navigation is Coltishall from where the Bure forms an important part of the Broads network as it wends its way to Great Yarmouth.
Today the village is unspoilt and very quiet. Visitors on foot, bike or horseback are very welcome but our narrow lanes and lack of parking makes a visit by car very difficult. There is a station at Brampton on the Bure Valley Railway; a footpath and cycle way runs alongside.
There are a number of footpaths in and around Brampton. One of the favourites is the causeway path (known as the ‘Karnser’) that leads to Burgh-next-Aylsham. This route crosses the Bure by way of the Cradle Bridge and then crosses the churchyard of St. Mary’s Church in Burgh.
St. Peter’s Church Brampton lies at the north of the village at the end of a shallow ridge which overlooks the river valley. The church is one of the 124 ‘round-tower’ churches of Norfolk and is Grade II* Listed Building.
