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One medium fall for an autumn river, one giant leap for salmon-kind. You’ll believe a fish can fly.


Wild calendar


Kenny Taylor gives some seasonal tips for savouring Scottish wildlife and landscapes


A thousand thrushes descending on an island pasture; a glen whose slopes are bathed in yellows of birch and aspen; the tiny mark of a tunnelling insect scribbled across a single bramble leaf. These can be among the impressions of autumn in different parts of Scotland. There’s a change in the air now. Drink it in and toast the mellow season.


A leap in the light


The Atlantic salmon is both fish and more than fish. The Picts knew this when they carved its image on stones; the Celts when they told tales of the Salmon of Wisdom. For this is a creature that links rivers and sea in its journeys, whose presence indicates the health of a river and can inspire awe in many who see it. At a cascade where salmon gather, their jumping against the flow can seem little short of miraculous. Happily, Scotland is blessed with both many waterfalls and many salmon rivers. It is also unusual in having salmon that enter its inland waters in most months of the year. This includes a sizeable ‘autumn run’ of fish, which often peaks in September and October. To appreciate salmon in full autumn leap (and see video links from underwater cameras) try a visit to the Philiphaugh Salmon Viewing Centre by the River Ettrick, near Selkirk. Or in the north, ogle the falls along the River Shin, between Bonar Bridge and Lairg.


Web tips: www.salmonviewingcentre.com www.fallsofshin.co.uk


www.snh.gov.uk 5


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