Highland cattle have now joined the menage of rare breeds at the Minsmere nature reserve, near Westleton.

The cattle have come down from Sutton Fen in Norfolk to assist with efforts to re-create traditional habitat management, thus improving the wetland areas of Minsmere for species such as bitterns, lapwings and snipe.

Commenting on their arrival, the RSPB's Suffolk coast livestock manager Andy Needle said, 'Highland cattle are ideal for managing wet fens and meadows. They are perfectly at home in wet areas, and thrive without the need for the higher quality grass that the commercial breeds require.

'They will help to create an excellent patchwork of different vegetation heights along with areas of bare hummocky ground caused by their trampling. I'm certain that they will prove as popular with visitors as our Polish ponies.'

As with Minsmere's other livestock, the Highland cattle will be moved around the site to maximise habitat management. They will not always be on view for visitors, but they can currently be seen grazing near the Minsmere sluice.

You might also see a small herd of Dartmoor ponies at Minsmere which are helping to control scrub growth on the coastal heaths, where they graze on birch, gorse and bracken.