New Reserve - Dutton Park Farm

Since taking on the 999 year lease for the meadow area at Dutton Park Farm from The Woodland Trust earlier this year we have been pleased to see the progress 20 longhorn steers and heifers have made in grazing the grasslands. The meadows at Dutton had been un-grazed for a year whilst fencing was erected by The Woodland Trust so the small herd had plenty to eat when they first arrived.

Due to a tract of land under the ownership of Rail Track effectively splitting the site in two, we have to gather the cattle into a holding pen and transport them on a trackway to get them into the second meadow. Luckily, following the installation of a funnel system of fences with a substantial holding pen at the end, this process is not as labourious as it may sound.

The cattle are already attracting comment from visitors to the area and seem to be thriving on the grasses and herbs found on the site. Time will show whether their efforts have benefitted the species dependent on the site but, so far, the indications are looking good.

During the next few months we intend to extend one of the ponds on the site to provide a shallow bay at one end of it and to provide another scrape area within the meadow that will, hopefully, attract waders during the winter months.