Rare breed keeps reserve in trim

The cattle will benefit wildlife at the nature reserve

A rare breed of highland cattle is helping to keep a County Durham nature reserve in trim.

Five highland cattle, belonging to a local farmer who breeds them as a hobby, now graze at Crow Trees Local Nature Reserve at Quarrington Hill.

If overgrown, grassland can become overgrown outside the flowing season, but mowing means wild flowers are lost.

Grazing is a natural way of management and using highland cattle will also help conserve the rare breed.

Ian Armstrong, Durham County Council's community wildlife officer, said the cattle would graze until May and then return to the site in October.

Cow pats

"Grassland goes rank if it is not mown or grazed and eventually you lose many of the wild flowers," he said.

"Mowing doesn't provide natural variations in the height of the grassland and bare patches are minimal for flowers to seed, but cattle grazing is a more natural way of managing the grassland.

"The added bonus is that even the cow pats that will be littered around the field will aid wildlife by providing habitats for insects which birds, such as sky larks and yellowhammers, can feed on and support healthy broods of hungry chicks.

"It's a sustainable way to manage the ecology of the site.

"It's good news for wildlife and it's good news for the cattle as it helps conserve a rare breed too."