It was a cool dry start to the month of August with the river sitting at close on summer level; but this was all to change at the end of the first and second week when we had some heavy rain that had the river rising quickly, but these spikes were short lived before the river was settling back again. After the hot dry spell we have had the ground was needing the rain, and it certainly helped with the fishing catches on the river with our Cargill rod beat having a good spell with some nice fish being landed.
On the good days that we had there was plenty heat to keep the bees active, hopefully we will get a late spin of honey of the hive in the coming week or two.
It has been a very good year for the butterflies with quite a few Red Admirals and Painted ladies about on the Buddleia’s along with the usual Peacocks.
August always brings a variety of fungi that never ceases to amaze me,
they can show up anywhere in just about any size and colour!
Out on the estuary things are beginning to move again; large numbers of Sand Martins are dropping back down the system now and we have even had a young Great Northern Diver put in an appearance on the 23rd which was great to see but it was soon on its way again!
The osprey was about a bit more at the start of the month and the Flycatcher has been a bit more visible of late. On the work front the grass cutting and strimming is ongoing with a bit of hedge cutting thrown into the mix.
The activity centre has remained busy and there are more people enjoying getting out onto the river now too with some venturing up into the town water as part of their trip.
For all the rain we have had at times the fishery still needed a little top up to help maintain its level but it has not deterred the fishers who have still been turning out for a cast.
The 20th of August marked the 25th year since the last Tay Salmon nets were drawn ashore on the river before all company netting ceased to operate on the Tay.
The last fish landed in the nets of Tay Salmon.
The café is still undergoing renovation work which will see it open it’s doors early next year.
There was a definite autumnal feel to the end of the month as the good weather continued; the combines were busy in the fields,
heavy dew on the grass in the mornings and plenty red berries on the rowan trees. It feels like summer is slipping away from us now with the swallows starting to gather up in numbers,
but hopefully the good weather will hang around for a little bit longer yet and the river will stay put around summer level too!
Dago