We enjoyed a sustained spell of very good weather early on in the month, which gave us a good dry warm spell, and the odd bit of ground frost some mornings.
This had the bees a bit more active than usual, but the hives were checked over and the winter guards put in place before the month was out.
We have seen more movement of birds on the estuary again this month, with teal duck back in good numbers. The redshanks have returned, and on the 22nd
we got our first sightings of whooper swans.
The dipper has been sighted a few times and there are a lot more snipe about. On the 17th Scottish SPCA (Middlebank rescue centre) used our location again for releasing 11 more cygnets into the wild along with a mallard duck.
So far so good with them settling in and feeding with all the other swans. Going back to the previous release of another 11 cygnets in February of this year, we have seen the return of 7 of these ringed birds.
Work continued this month with more grass cutting, which included Incherrit net green getting cut short for the benefit of wintering birds.
Apples have been picked and stored, ready to be used as a winter food source for the birds. With nesting time passed and the ground dry, work started again in Newburgh on the last section of footpath along the foreshore, between the old boatyard and the county burn.
Work has also started inside Tay Salmon Fisheries boatyard with a big clear- up underway, a lot of small trees have been felled and skips have been filled with rubbish, ready for removal.
The month ended as it started with very good weather, and a lot more activity down on the estuary with the arrival of more wintering birds.
Dago.
