Grazing water buffalo set to boost biodiversity at Thorley Wash Nature Reserve

A herd of water buffalo has been introduced to Thorley Wash Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Bishop’s Stortford.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust (HMWT) has decided the animals are the best livestock to graze the 13-hectare (32-acre) wetland nature reserve, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The land – nestled between the River Stort navigation and the Stort backwater, and formerly known as Thorley Flood Pound – is a great example of a fen habitat and a rarity in Hertfordshire. Across the country, 99% has already been lost.

Traffic stopped and heads turned when the buffalo from Sunnymead Farm in Essex arrived. Their species originates in Asia, where they are found in wet habitats such as riverbanks and marshlands and are often used domestically on rice paddies.

This means they are hardier and more tolerant of waterlogged conditions than domestic cattle and better suited to the conditions at Thorley Wash, which include ditches, marshy areas and wet grassland.

They should spend more time grazing the wetter areas of the site, which the red poll cattle used in previous years found less appetising.

While grazing the ditches, they will clear dense scrub and improve the habitat for endangered water voles, successfully reintroduced in 2015, and allow finer wildflowers and grasses to flourish. The alternative is heavy machinery, such as diggers.

To keep the buffalo safe, an electric fence has been installed in addition to normal stock fencing. A team of volunteers will make daily checks on their welfare.

The trust develops conservation management plans for all of its 40-plus nature reserves across the region to encourage the greatest diversity of species, which is fundamental to the survival of native wildlife.

Conservation grazing is a traditional approach where livestock feed on more dominant and vigorously growing plants, making way for less competitive and rarer plants to thrive. This leads to a wider range of invertebrates and attracts the birds, mammals and amphibians which feed on them.

What’s more, the buffalo dung creates microhabitats, which again increases biodiversity.

Steven Werrell, senior projects officer at HMWT, said: “It’s been a fantastic example of collaborative working which has enabled us to graze Thorley Wash with water buffalo this year.

“We worked closely with our colleagues at Natural England to consolidate our management strategy for the wet grassland habitat and ditches of very high environmental value on the nature reserve.

“From these initial discussions, the whole of the nature reserves team has been involved in planning and implementing the necessary infrastructure and preparations for the arrival of the water buffalo.

“We hope that over the coming months we will start to see the impact that they have on-site, grazing through the wet grassland habitat, reducing the dominance of coarser and scrubby species such as the dominant sedges and willows to allow space for finer wildflowers and grasses such as ragged robin and fen bedstraw.”

Emily Dutton, the grazier at Sunnymead Farm, said: “The water buffalo will be at home in the ditches and wet habitats at Thorley Wash and will continuously graze new growth and prevent the ditches there from becoming choked. It’s great to think that the herd will be helping wildlife as they too enjoy optimum living and grazing conditions on the reserve.”

Find out more about Thorley Wash Nature Reserve at https://www.hertswildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves.

Water buffalo picture gallery by Gerred Gilronan.