Ouse Washes: Winter flooding stops thousands of cattle grazing

A vast area of Ouse Washes is flooded after prolonged periods of rain this year

Flooding caused by "an incredibly wet winter" has stopped thousands of cattle from grazing at a nature reserve which attracts rare birds.

The land at RSPB Ouse Washes, near Manea, Cambridgeshire, attracts wading birds - including black-tailed godwits.

Site manager Jonathan Taylor said "the whole ecosystem" of the area was reliant on grazing cattle which cannot access the grasslands.

He said about 2,500 cattle were left "waiting at the gates".

A prolonged period of wet weather meant livestock, which should have already been on the site, may not be able to access it until at least the middle of June.

He said the grasslands provided a "summer holiday" for the cattle, which make their way from surrounding farms to graze.

Jonathan Taylor, site manager for RSPB Ouse Washes, said the issue was impacting "the whole ecosystem"

The nature reserve which "drains the Fens" takes water from a catchment area stretching as far as Milton Keynes, about 60 miles (97km) away.

Cambridgeshire farmer Graham Lawman, who keeps about 350 cattle, said the situation was "not at crisis point at the moment", but that he and other farmers had needed to "use our reserves" of cattle feed as a result.

'Safe nesting grounds'

Mr Taylor said: "Cattle have been grazed at Ouse Washes for centuries and are an essential part of our conservation, helping to create the short grasses that are ideal for the incredible wildlife that finds its home here.

"The Ouse Washes now experience longer and deeper floods due to changes in land use and stormier weather, which means we have had to delay cows grazing on the land this year.

"We are creating new grassland areas outside of the flood-plain that will provide safe nesting grounds for rare birds like black-tailed Godwits, and also to make space for grazing cattle that are needed to provide the conditions for them.

"We hope that the land will drain quickly during the next month and the cattle can return to help the wildlife."

About 2,500 cattle are "waiting at the gates" for their "summer holiday" on the grasslands, Mr Taylor said

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