Brampton, Norfolk

  • Brampton Spring: the (long awaited) return of the Cuckoo

    This year the Cuckoo was a late arrival in the valley. We can usually expect to hear their first call in late April, but not this year. Bill heard the first call yesterday morning (25th May) and I did not hear mine until 6.30 this morning (26th). The call was high and clear, sailing above the chorus of warblers and blackbirds that we are, thankfully, used to.

    As the Cuckoo is such a wily and observant species, not given to wasting energy – or so I like to assume – then the species upon which is parasitises (the egg host) must be just into full egg laying. Perhaps the Sedge Warblers along the Bure. Certainly not the garden Dunnocks who seem to have been hard at work for a month or so already. We are unlikely to find out for certain. All we can say is the the Cuckoo is back from West Africa – Sumer is incumen in..

  • Brampton Spring: Swifts return

    Chilly and overcast weather conditions in early May seemed to delay the return of the Brampton Swifts. Elsewhere, mostly in southern England reports came in of the arrival of the Summer visitor, but it was not until the 10th May that the familiar sight and sound of Swifts returned to the village. Since then the warmer evenings have had the added excitement of a screaming, roller-coaster-ing flight of a dozen or more Swifts dashing above the rooftops.

    The sad fact is that, with each year and each house improvement their nest site choices are diminishing. We need a nest box building project.

  • Brampton Spring: Roe buck and doe

    The sight of Roe Deer has become increasingly common in Brampton in recent years (see link to other posts within the Village blog), but they always feel like an encounter with a wilder, slightly separate world. Usually, the sighting it at some distance and commonly it is for a fleeting moment before the deer melt into the safety of woodland. However, the other evening the encounter was closer. It was all the more surprising because, as we walked along with the Whippets, conversation was in full flow – not the whispers and hand signals that so often have to accompany a deer stalk. The wind was in our favour, blowing from the deer to us – otherwise they would have sensed us, a hundred yards further back. But on this occasion it was an eye to eye meeting, as can be appreciated by the resultant photo.

  • Brampton Spring Litter Pick

    As promised, the rain cleared just in time for the annual Tidy Up on Saturday. A dozen volunteers combed the highways and byways of the parish in order to gather the rubbish dumped by the careless. Seven bags full of beer cans, bottles, fast food boxes and others detritus resulted from an hours work. Thank you to everyone who contributed theie time.

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