We had good weather and a low river in the early part of the month, but things soon changed as it got a lot cooler and we had rain which got quite heavy at times. This wet spell did not last long but the river was soon in spate again, rising over nine feet in places above Perth.
There were a few more coasters making their way up the estuary again this month to ply their trade at Perth Harbour.
We had new arrivals up at the fishery with the resident pair of mute swans managing to successfully hatch out a brood of eight cygnets, they are doing fine and go out onto the river most days.
Some of the feral geese at the fishery also have goslings that have recently hatched. All seem to be getting on fine and finding plenty of food to keep them going.
The winds dominated the weather in the second part of this month, and
they peaked on the 23rdwith wind speeds recorded at over 100mph. There were several large trees blown down around the local area and several roads were blocked for a while.
Out on the marsh the crack willow took a battering and lived up to its name. The Tay and Forth bridges were closed to all traffic for lengthy spells causing more disruption to the road users.
On the 20 th there was a bit of drama on the river when a dolphin became stranded in the shallow water behind Moncrieffe Island. There was to be a happy ending for the dolphin after a combined team effort of emergency services, Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust, SSPCA, BDMLR and the RNLI saw the dolphin returned to deeper waters south of the Abertay bouys. It was heading north as it swam away.
This is the second dolphin in recent times to come this far up the river with one seen in the same area in March last year.
The housemartins are back using the same nest sites along the estuary, and we have seen more swifts over the river than in previous years.
There are ever changing colours along the river banks as the wildflowers come and go with the months but it is always good to see the marsh orchids doing well in all their usual spots.
As the month ended, the river level was dropping back a bit and the weather was still very unsettled.
