Tay Estuary Diary May 2018

There was a touch of frost on the first morning of the first day of May, but it was not long until we were into a decent spell of weather.

This month has got to have been one of the hottest on record for a long time, and it was good to have had such a long-sustained period of heat. After the initial snow melt from the higher ground at the top of the system, the river has steadily been dropping back to summer level over the last few weeks. It was good to see so many people using the outside tables at the café in the warm weather and enjoying their food al fresco.

The bright sunny weather that is not always favoured by the fisherman has not deterred them, there were still plenty out fishing some days, with a few fish being caught now and again.

It was good to see that the resident swans up at the fishery have finally got some cygnets again, the parent birds have managed to hatch out seven this year and have been keeping a close eye on them as they move about the pond.

This month has seen the grass cutting getting into full swing; with strimmers, tractors and ride-on mowers being used to keep on top of all the different areas and pathways.

The Activity Centre has been busy of late with some large groups booked in for team building events and enjoying all the different outdoor activities as well. It is good to see it all coming together and people of all different ages getting involved and having a good time.

There are a lot of birds feeding young in the nest-boxes about the place just now and we are seeing a lot more ducklings out on the river as well. The osprey has been sighted about the fishery a couple of times over the last few weeks and we are seeing the bullfinches busy on the dandelion seed heads around the water`s edge. We did see the odd coaster plying its trade up to Perth harbour again this month, always good to see these big boats on the river.

The river level was low as May drew to a close at the end of a what has been a glorious spell of weather, it would be nice if it continued into the summer months!

Dago

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