Tracking cows on the moo-ve in the dunes
ATRIAL to fit winter grazing cattle with tracking collars on the dunes some years ago ended in failure.
This was because the subject, a young Red Poll cow called Josephine, decided that accepted norms of bovine activity were not for her.
Josephine was positively hyperactive, which meant that batteries fitted to her tracker which should have lasted for 18 weeks at a time burnt out within days.
Consequently, the app, which visitors to the dunes could download, showed Josephine as suspiciously static for long periods of time, when she was in fact gambolling over the dunes in search of vegetation to munch.
Thankfully technology has moved on a pace since then and, this winter, grazing cattle have been fitted with the very latest in tracker technology.
The new trackers are part of a Lancashire Wildlife Trust experiment (the wintering herd belongs to them), supported by the Halpin Trust, to use the technology to enhance management options for animal welfare, safety and nature conservation.
This exciting technology also allows visitors to scan a QR code (posted at enclosure entrances) which leads them to online mapping showing where the Longhorns are grazing in their fenced areas at Ainsdale and Birkdale.
If you want to avoid the cows - or if you want to get a better look at them, this technology will make it easier.
If you are a dog walker, scanning the QR code at the entrance gates to enclosures this winter will show you a ‘live’ position for these marvellous beasts and you can avoid the area with your pet.
As in any area where livestock are grazed around the country, dog owners should keep their pets under close control and well away from the cattle at all times.
The trackers don’t just inform visitors though - the technology allows the use of ‘virtual fencing’ to keep the cattle feeding in a specific area within the cattle enclosures.
Movement data can be analysed to reveal areas the cattle like to graze in most and therefore we can find out what vegetation they like to feed on in the dunes, and what they avoid.
To find out more about how this technology works, you can join community ranger for the coast, Jordan Scott, for a guided walk at Ainsdale Local Nature Reserve on Friday, January 12.
The walk will set off from Ainsdale Discovery Centre at 10am, and take approximately two hours, concluding back at the centre.
You will need stout footwear, warm waterproof clothing - and a smartphone to see how the tracker works.
To book a place on the walk, please email Jordan at jordan.scott@sefton.gov.uk.
John works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service that brings together the coast & countryside, parks & green spaces, flooding & coastal erosion, risk management and grounds maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces. This column looks at the flora, fauna and history of the coastline, and the work carried out to protect it.