This afternoon Saltholme had a rather unusual delivery - 200 North Country Cheviot sheep piled off a lorry and onto our wet grassland. The ewes have come from our reserve in Haweswater, and have left the Lakeland hills behind for a winter holiday by the seaside. They will be doing some important work while they are here, helping us to manage our grasslands for wildlife.
In particular we hope this lot will help us keep levels of ragwort down. Ragwort is a common plant that can be toxic to many animals. However, sheep have high tolerance and seem quite partial to the young leaves. The girls will be munching ragwort on the reserve until March, before heading back to the Lakes to lamb.
Liz