Brampton, Norfolk

  • 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, or is it Summer: in the garden

    The Anglo-Saxons, who felt the changing year more keenly than we do, referred to 9th May as the beginning of Summer. (For a more expert view I recommend the blog A Clerk of Oxford http://aclerkofoxford.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/summer-sun-brightest-anglo-saxon-summer.html ). So often I find myself agreeing with the Anglo-Saxon view. Rogationtide, that three day run up to Ascension Day, starts tomorrow and fits neatly into the turning of the seasonal calendar.

    I am sitting in the garden as I write. From time to time a shower of Cherry blossom drifts down – not caused by “rough winds” but by a gentle breeze that stirs the top branches, before dying down again. A Blackbird sings from a nearby fir, a Blackcap from the copse, Swifts scream whilst twisting and turning overhead. The strong insistent song of a Wren bursts out just before it dives into its nest, tucked in the porch rafters. Rather worryingly for the garden, Woodpigeons have taken up residence within striking distance of the young Sweet Peas. But their mellifluous repetitive song just adds to the meditative atmosphere of the garden.

    The Cuckoo has been silent in the valley for three days since announcing its arrival last Thursday. I have noticed this before – a settling in period, before the period of persistent song arrives in earnest. When they do get going Cuckoos travel up and down the river valley and I have been lucky enough to see their nuptial flight (or their territorial battle, depending upon your interpretation), more than once at this time of the year.

  • Brampton Spring: good news from 7th May

    May 7th, the parish Hawthorns are flowering and, as we walk to the Village Hall Polling station, a Cuckoo calls from David’s marsh. The Cuckoo is somewhat later than last year – obviously waiting on a favourable wind and warmer weather.

    As we left the Hall, other summer visitors, a group of Swifts, screamed as they wheeled over the village street. This was the first real sighting of these much awaited visitors, although I could have sworn that I heard one on Sunday 3rd May.

  • Change in the sky

    This weekend the skies are emptier. The Swifts which, for the last four months have blazed around the cottage roofs, have headed south. Or so I assume. In the past, after seeming to have left they have reappeared for a final joyful circuit. Not this year. Although I expect to see some more birds as they pass through from more northerly summers.

    In their place flocks of Jackdaws and Rooks roll around the country gleaning what they can from the newly harvested fields. Jackdaws always seem to me to be positive and high-spirited in their approach to life. Their calls ricochet around the village as they set of in the morning and later, once again as they return to roost.

  • Dog day Swifts

    As the village basks in the dog days of Summer, the grass of the Common takes on a tawny hue. Looking up, Swifts wheel and swoop around the cottage roofs. They gather in flocks at height and then descend in pairs or small groups, shattering the air with their screaming calls. There is a rushing sound of air as they brake and turn in front of their nest sites in the cottage roofs. We try to count them in the warm evenings but their speed and sudden changes in direction defy us.

  • Swifts return

    Every year I eagerly await the arrival of Swifts. Brampton is home to a declining number, presumably due to the loss of nest sites as buildings are being re-roofed and closed off. This morning two pairs screamed their way around the roof tops of the village. Reports of their arrival elsewhere in Norfolk was causing a degree of anxiety about a Brampton no-show. But they have got here. It is likely that the showery weather has pushed the insects down to lower levels, thus bringing the Swifts with them. As the poet Ted Hughes put it, the Swifts circle madly “Racing their discords, screaming as if speed-burned..” As if to announce their ownership of the air space around the eves.

  • Swifts landing

    After at least ten weeks of permanent flight Swifts are inspecting possible nest sites in the roofs of Brampton cottages. As Fiona quietly weeded her garden below, I watched one such Swift execute a deeply curled spiralling approach which ended in a small up-tick as it folded its wings and grasped some little purchase against the tile on the eaves of Trinity Cottage. It must be something like trying to park a car in a garage after approaching at 100 miles per hour, after spending months on the motorway. It only feels like Summer as the groups of Swifts race around the houses, with their high pitched screaming which seems to be borne out of pure exhilaration.

  • May day Swifts

    As May day draws to a close, a familiar sight returns to the skies over the village. The bow shape and screaming call signals the return of Swifts. Their visit is all too short, but this year they appear to have beaten the cuckoos to their summer grounds. At least I think these are Brampton Swifts – they are also possibly in passage to more northerly climes. But for the time being at least, they are signs of the imminence of summer and Brampton Swifts they must be.

  • Swift departure

    Departure of Swifts is a signing of summer slipping away.

    Since our return from the Lakeland Fells, there is a noticeable absence of Swifts in the village. At the end of July the enlarged family groups were racing around the roof tops. But at or around the 10th August they had gone. If this followed the usual pattern the screaming parties would have followed the insect clouds higher into the sky before making the judgement to head south. Presumably this would happen by chance as the followed the southward drift of their food species or, perhaps, they made some instinctive judgement that the weather was set in an advantageous pattern for southerly migration. Now if we see Swifts I assume that they are late brood migrants or perhaps travellers from further north.

  • Swift’s flight

    Swifts speed around the village rooftops on the warmer evenings. Their numbers have been increased by this year’s young.

    Their stay is relatively short – this year I recorded their arrival on 6th May. Last year most had gone by mid-August, although a straggler passed through the village on 24th September. To me they are the birds of high summer and when they go Autumn is not far away – but for the time being we need to watch the joyfully acrobatic flight whilst it lasts.

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