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The Dexters enjoying the soft misty sea drizzle that's down for the day here
With her red coat, Maggie can be practically invisible when she's around bracken, which dies off for the winter, turning a deep russet
There's a very stark contrast between the effects of these small cattle on the surroundings and those of sheep, which tend to create close-cropped 'golfing greens' with almost no biological diversity (see pic)
The Dexters cause far more ecological disturbance, in places churning the ground and providing opportunities for the seeds of native trees and other flora, invertebrates, ground-feeding birds, etc...
As well as leaving the sward intact, sheep are selective grazers, and preferentially eat any native tree seedlings and other valuable flora over grass. They also bark-strip trees, damaging or killing them https://twitter.com/IrishRainforest/status/1312429621720350725
The Dexters leave the trees alone at this time of year, and will be put up onto the mountain commonage before the trees come into leaf, imitating traditional transhumance, or 'booleying' as it was known here in Ireland #HighNatureValueFarming
In this way, the Dexters should actually encourage natural regeneration of native woodland. To be clear however, this depends on *very low* stocking rates and, ideally, confining grazing to winter. Overgrazing by *any* herbivore type inevitably leads to ecological impoverishment.
