Category: Meadow Watch

Grazing began on North Meadow this weekend, with 56 cows arriving to graze the meadow over the coming weeks (picture above taken today).

Grazing is at the heart of how North Meadow has been managed for centuries. Our traditional Lammas system — growing a hay crop through spring and summer, then opening the meadow to livestock for aftermath grazing — is what creates and sustains one of the most biodiverse places in Britain.

This ancient rhythm of cutting and grazing has given North Meadow its extraordinary richness: 350 recorded plant species, habitat for over 1,000 invertebrate species, and feeding and nesting ground for 130 bird species. It is also the reason North Meadow holds more than 80% of the entire UK population of snake’s head fritillary — one of Britain’s most beautiful and threatened wildflowers — and the reason the meadow holds international conservation status as a Special Area of Conservation. Visit our species database to find out what species have been recorded on North Meadow.

Getting Ready for Grazing

To enable grazing to take place, Court members have installed 2.5 km of electric fencing. We have also built 8 new pump frames, which let the cattle drink safely from the trough without damaging the riverbank or trampling the surrounding ground. The fences and pumps are checked daily by Court members.

Visiting the Meadow While Cattle Are Grazing

Please look out for the signs at each meadow entrance (see below). We ask visitors to keep dogs on leads (and pick up after them) and stay on the well-worn paths, which are also shown on the information boards at the entrances. The grazing animals and the fragile meadow soils need our care and respect, especially at this time of year.

North Meadow is a nationally important nature reserve — thank you for helping us look after this special place.

Great to carry out the first Harvest Mouse survey on North Meadow last week. The survey was led by Gareth Harris Wiltshire County Recorder for mammals. Our volunteer surveyors included Court Leet members, Natural England volunteers and a volunteer from the Wiltshire Mammal Group. October is the start of the survey season as the nests are unlikely to be occupied.

Harvest mice (Micromys minutus) are on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals, the harvest mouse is classified as Near Threatened in Britain. Our survey was prompted in part by harvest mice found during during reserve management work.

This picture was taken while moving 6 harvest mice out of the path of a tractor mowing the meadow last year. Handling harvest mice is normally avoided unless it is necessary to remove them from harm.

We found 18 nests including some fresh still-green nests. Occupied nests were found last month during reserve management work too, so mice are still very active on the site. Harvest mice are clearly doing well on North Meadow.

The Mammal Society launched the National Harvest Mouse Survey across Britain as we do not have good estimates of how many harvest mice there are in the wild, so we really have no idea how bad their situation is or what sort of conservation actions should be put in place.

We are planning to carry out an annual Harvest Mouse Survey on North Meadow to inform conservation on the site.

Aftermath grazing started on the meadow on Sunday. The sign above is displayed at all North Meadow entrances.

We will be grazing until the Oct/Nov now depending on the amount of grass and meadow conditions (until it floods). The number of animals will increase over the next 2 weeks or so. Court Leet members will be checking the electric fences and pasture pumps daily during grazing.

Aftermath grazing is a vital part of the National Nature Reserve’s management and is, together with the hay crop, the reason why it has such a huge plant diversity of over 250 plant species. The North Meadow grassland habitat is now very rare in the UK which is why it is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the focus of considerable scientific research and conservation effort. North Meadow is one of the best examples in the UK of this habitat (MG4 grassland) and the only one with such a large population of snakes head fritillaries (80% of the UK population).

Aftermath grazing is a vital part of managing North Meadow National Nature Reserve. North Meadow is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its rare species rich grassland. It is also the main research site for the Floodplain Meadows Partnership. Over the last 50 years 97% of this rare grassland habitat has been lost to agricultural improvement.

For hundreds of years the site has been managed as Lammas Land. This means growing a hay crop from mid-February to July followed by aftermath grazing.

This year we started grazing with 55 cattle on 3rd September. Court members install 2.5km of electric fencing to prevent the cattle from escaping into adjacent fields or damaging the rivers,

To provide water we install 8 pasture pumps which draw water from the river Churn.

Court members check the fences daily. If the fence is turned off for any reason, such as a flat battery or electrical short, the animals can become tangled in the wire causing nasty leg injuries.

Why is Grazing Important?

Grazing cattle recycle the nutrients back into the soil. They create small areas of bare ground which allow seeds to germinate and keep vigorous grasses in check, allowing the rare wildflowers to flourish. Aftermath grazing maintains a rich plant species diversity of up to 40 species per square metre.

The cow pats are essential for many invertebrates. Many species of insect can be found in or on cattle dung and these in turn provide food for birds, badgers, foxes and bats.

Natural England have provided a fuller explanation of the merits of conservation grazing in this leaflet.

Duration of Aftermath Grazing

We try to graze for a minimum of 6 weeks with the cattle, during the window of time between hay cut and the onset of winter flooding. This year we are planning to graze for about 10 weeks. Up to 15 horses will be on until December weather permitting.

Grazing is progressing well this year and we can look forward to seeing a beautiful species rich meadow next year.