Big Sheep Little Cow

Many of the habitats at Foxglove benefit from conservation grazing. An area in need of some 'browsing' and 'poaching' is the wetland including Plover's Pool where the vegetation is very tall after a summer of good growth. Dexter Cattle have grazed in this area before and are a good choice as they are small and light and therefore cause minimal damage to the delicate pipes and bunds in the wet meadows. Farmers from Big Sheep Little Cow (a popular farm attraction in Bedale) have kindly loaned 3 of their Dexter cattle to the reserve for a couple of months to help reduce the height of the sward. The heifer (brown) and two bullocks (black) were new to the reserve and keen to explore their 'holiday home'!

It is hoped that they will trample about in Plover's Pool which as you can see from the photo is completely filled with rushes and reeds.

After a quick run around they settled down close to some Hawthorns where they will find shade on sunny days and shelter from the wind and rain.

Thank you to everyone at Big Sheep Little Cow for their support and especially to Sophie and Duncan for giving up their evening to bring the cows to Catterick.