The first day of the month saw the start of the duck shooting season, but there were no wildfowlers to be seen at the top end of the estuary on opening day.
We are starting to see a bit of movement of birds along the river banks, with large numbers of swallows gathering up ready to move on, and hundreds of geese arriving back. Up at the fishery the new weed cutting boat is working well, with the weed being removed far more quickly to the benefit of the fishers.
The osprey is still with us, and is taking an odd trout from the fishery. This has happened during the day when there were a few people about to enjoy seeing it make its catch. We had a wet spell of weather for a while that put the river level up a bit, and salmon catches further up the system are ahead on the previous year.
It has been a good season for the orchards and hedgerows along the river this year, with bumper crops of fruits and berries.
We have been busy picking some of these to use in jams, chutneys and in some of the dishes on the Willowgate café menu.
It is that time of year again when we start to get some chaff in, and stored, for feeding the birds over the winter. Our thanks are passed on to Ted at Tayside Grain for his assistance with this.
A few people have been taking advantage of the weather and enjoying a boat trip out on the river this month.
There was a trip down memory lane for a former Tay salmon netsman, Ken Rungay, who along with his wife Claire, had a good day out and revisited a few of the old netting stations while taking in all the scenery and wildlife. Feedback has been positive from those who have been out in the new cobbles.
The bigger tides saw a few more coasters plying their trade up to Perth harbour, and the end of the month saw some very heavy rain, which brought the river out in spate and kept the bilge pumps busy as all the boats needed bailing out a few times.
Dago
