It was a cold dry start to the month and the river continued to sit just above summer level.
A lot of our time this month has been spent pushing on with all the work up at the activity centre. The work cladding the outside of the building is looking good, and the car parking area has made a big difference when there are a few vehicles in about.
The new storage containers have all been delivered and put in place on site. These are being used by the various groups who use the activity centre to store their canoes and other equipment.
The new pontoon in the pond is well underway and will make access and life a bit easier for canoeists and kayakers. The new outdoor classroom is looking good and the children should enjoy a bit of shelter in it on some of the days when the weather is not so good.
There was more work done up at the Fergusson Gallery site where one of the pontoons on the river will be sited; after piling was completed the pontoons and boardwalks were all put in place to see that they all lined up and fitted. This was done on the morning of the 10th before they were then removed from sight again to be stored over winter at the harbour away from any possible flooding and ice that may occur during the winter months.
The weather turned much colder as the month progressed, with the mercury getting down to minus six a couple of days. The feeding stations for the birds were much busier as the cold snap continued.
We were getting a few swans in about to feed on the grain at this time and it was good to see the return of a few of the ringed birds who have visited us in the past. So far this winter we have had green darvex rings PHN, PNN, PPI and JTN back.
There have not been many sightings of the Whooper swans this month, and Redshank numbers are still low for the time of year! The Slovakian grebes and Kingfisher have been busy about the water and the odd otter sighting is always good to see. As the cold weather continued we were seeing a few deer out in the field, some days as many as nine.
The cold snap that had gripped the last few weeks finally let up at the end of the month, and the river fell back to summer level.
This was not a problem for the coasters that were still plying their trade up to the Perth Harbour.
All the best
Dago