Twisted Horn

These beasts are part of Cheshire Wildlife Trust's conservation herd of Long Horned cattle. They are being used to graze the wetland of the Rivers Gowy and Mersey in order to improve the habitat.

Cattle are the most effective, and natural, way of doing this. Rather than nibbling or chomping the vegetation they wrap their tongues around the grass and pull it into their mouths. This is what gives a field grazed by cattle that tussocky appearance. The varying heights of grass provide micro-habitats for invertebrates.

This in turn provides food for lapwings, redshanks and skylarks. Other areas will be grazed shorter to make it easier for barn and short eared owls to spot their prey. The cows' dung will attract flies and other insects, which will provide food for small birds like wagtails.

Cattle have grazed in this particular area since the 1100s when the herds belonging to the Canons of the nearby Norton Priory would have roamed these pastures.