There was wind and rain on a cold first day of the month but this did not put of the fly fishers and customers who turned out in good numbers on the opening day at Willowgate Fishery and Café.The day did brighten up as it progressed, there were a few fish getting caught and the feedback from the anglers was positive.
We had a setback on the 5th when there was a break in at the Fishery, this resulted in the Café side of things being closed due to the extent of the damage and vandalism inside the building.
The fishing side of things were back up and running again in a couple of days but the café had to remain closed until everything was professionally cleaned and a bit of decorating was done. Tay Salmon would like to thank everybody who offered to help out with the clearing up at this time and also those who did help.
Everything is back to normal now and the Café is back up and running again. It is good to see the customers coming back and enjoying it. Out on the river the level continued to slowly drop as we came into a drier spell of weather, and the temperature finally started to nudge up a bit!
On the 14th it was good to see more kayaks and canoes out on the water at the Fishery; with Perth College enjoying an outdoor activity day. There have been a few groups taking advantage of the Fishery for their outdoor activities when it is closed closed to fishers on a Monday and a Tuesday. With a lot of the birds now nesting we are seeing a lot of fledglings about the river, our first ducklings were sighted on the 2nd and we saw our first swift on the 16th.
On the 17th there was a big flotilla of Goosanders (60+ mostly cock birds) busy on the river; they were feeding on the large amount of smolts that are dropping back down through the system at this time of the year. As the good weather continued everywhere has really greened up and it was good to see the different blossoms coming out on the trees and bushes along the river banks.
Our bees are busy just now and the super on the hive is filling up fast as they make the most of this good spell.
The butterflies are out and about in good numbers so far and we had our first Orange Tip on the 14th. A lot of our time this month has been spent on grass cutting, strimming and our continuing battle against invasive species (Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed).The hedge bill is a handy tool for us to use when cutting back Hogweed in awkward places like on steep banking’s and in the middle of thick brambles.
One of our tractors is temporarily out of use just now for cutting work; we have a Pied Wagtails nest under the bonnet! So we will not be using it until the chicks have left the nest.
The old barge was called into action to ferry our other tractor and flail mower around the river, getting it into places where the road access is not always possible.
We had a dry warm spell of weather as May came to an end, and the river was getting close to summer level as the system slowed up.
Dago
