The four Welsh black cattle that we introduced to the island at the end of June are all doing well, knee deep in grass and looking extremely pleased with their new home. Greg and I have been busy making friends with them over the last few weeks, which will enable to move them more easily when needed, over the coming months and years. Fortunately, they are proving to be both docile and affable, with huge appetites!
The 12-month-old steers arrived by boat on 28 June and have been grazing in the centre of the island, in what was an old arable field, ever since. 
In partnership with two local farmers, who purchased the animals and oversaw their transportation, these impressive animals will be used to graze the wet heath for the benefit of breeding lapwings and the grassland for the benefit of breeding choughs.
Lapwings prefer short tusocky sward, which cattle grazing provides and chough prefer a short sward for foraging. The cattle will complement the existing grazing programme of sheep and ponies in order to provide a varied sward. Cattle dung is sought after by chough as a valuable source of insects and they certainly produce it in large quantities. One steer can produce up to 4 tonnes of the stuff in one year, enough to support a quarter of their body weight in invertebrate life!
Cattle have been grazed on the island through the ages with one of the earliest accounts being from the St Davids church records of 1293. Our new arrivals are the first cattle on Ramsey since 1963. We chose Welsh Blacks as they are a hardy, native breed and will out-winter on the island without any problems.