This month turned out to be one of the wettest for a long time,
the river level was well up for most it, peaking at an extra twelve feet on the system at our Cargill rod beat on the 15th. The waterproofs were on more than they were off at times as we pressed on with our work outside.
Jobs on the list this month were more bulb planting (daffs and bluebells) on the riverside, getting our wood supplies topped up for the winter to keep the wood burning stoves going and up at the fishery the weed cutting boat did its final cut of the year on the pond before the winter sets in.
The little tractor was busy with the flail mower; cutting along the roadsides, hedging and banking’s, while the pole-saw took out some of the overhanging canopy that was reaching down onto the route.
The tractor and grubber also went over a lot of the beaches and old netting hailings to free up the weed and silt that builds up over the summer months, this then lets the wind and tides disperse it making the gravel areas more appealing to the wintering redshanks.On the 3rd of the month we had a visit from Murthly primary School who were down at the fishery for an outdoor education day.
It was not the best of weather for the school children to be out in but this did not stop them all enjoying their day out. With pond dipping, planting bulbs, fly casting and learning about the life cycle of the salmon there was plenty for them to participate in.
It was nice to get letters from the children later in the month with the feedback and drawings saying how much they had enjoyed it. We had the SSPCA back down to the estuary a couple of times this month with more birds being released back it into the wild again.
There brought a few mute swans on both visits, but they also brought along a Woodcock and a whooper swan with them which was good to see close up.
All birds were released and the swans that hung around our area seem to be doing okay. We have had four more new green darvex ringed mute swans join us this month, they were rings PHN, SIP, PPB and SBX.
There are a couple of Canada geese coming to feed on the grain some mornings too, our highest swan count for one day was 36.
When the spate did ease off for a bit we were lucky enough to see some decent sized fish spawning in the nearby burn which was good, the dipper also put in an appearance. There was heavy snow on the 29th but it did not last for long. The last day of the month was a dry cold one and the river still had a little bit extra water coming down the system.