PONT Cymru has recently introduced two Gower Hill Ponies to the western scrapes at WWT Llanelli.

They will be keeping the rush under control until water levels are dropped and cattle are reintroduced in May. Rush is higher in sugars than the surrounding grasses over winter, so it’s much more palatable.

Grazing animals are an essential part of the habitat management here as they k

eep the vegetation short for lapwings. Lapwings are beautiful plovers that have a distinctive ‘pee-wit’ call and rounded wing tips. 

Lapwings are ground nesting birds and they rely on a short turf so they can see predators approaching. For this reason, you often see them cohabiting with grazing animals. Additionally, grazing animals create plenty of insect prey with their droppings!

It is hoped that lapwing will return to breed in the western scrapes in the near future.

Would you like to set up conservation grazing management for wildlife on your land? Find out more about how we can help here.