Another blank day

Wednesday 10.30, I came onto Caesars camp off bourly road at C27, and rode my bike over to the lake then onto the main track to the top, with no sign of the cattle I rode over to the whale tail and around the woods. Although it was disappointing not to find the cattle it was a nice frosty ride with the trees and bushes glistening with frost.

No sighting today

Tuesday 16.00, I made my way up the North side of Caesars camp and then West across to the whale tail with no luck. With the light fading fast I had no more time to look today.

All seen together!

Caught up with all 36 this morning (about 10am) right next to the Jubilee Clump on Caesar's Camp plateau. They seemed contented.
Also bumped into Rob, the farmer who owns the cattle, and his family. He is very happy with their condition. We will try to encourage the cattle to moved eastwards by strategic placement of the licks, so you may find the buckets dotted about in unexpected places.Look forward to seeing you all in the new year. Have a good one.

Keeping us guessing

They still seem to be in smaller groups - this afternoon a group was moving very quickly away from all the gathering of motor bikes and vans at about E28 and a little later 18 were grazing very peacefully at G23 - eight browns and 14 blacks/black-white.

Mixed bag

Saturday 14.00, I found 5 cows walking South off the main track at roughly G26, and a further 19 right against the fence at R3. They were just standing watching me and seemed a little nervous, they all seem o/k if a little thin on the rump.

Eleven cows counted

The Truffle Hound raised his nose knowingly as we rounded "Horse Pond" and there they were: a group of eleven cows, three brown and eight black or black and white. The black and white wth horns was leading the way, and they were happily grazing in the bracken. No sight of the others. A brilliantly bright if bitterly cold afternoon, according to Truffle Hound, and we agreed,

Christmas hide and seek

Spent some time on the Whale's tail but the cattle weren't to be found up there this morning. Hope someone else finds them today.

Glad Bob got a full count, I got between 30 and 34 in the same place, they were really closely bunched up and some of the little ones were hiding in the middle.

I fixed the fence by the BMX track that had been cut and replaced some of the 'cattle grazing' signs that were damaged.

Happy christmas

Glad Bob got a full count, I got between 30 and 34 earlier in the same place. They were so closely packed together that I think some little ones were hidding in the middle.

I also fixed the fence by the BMX track, as some one had cut it!

full count today

Wednesday 10.00, I found all the cattle in exactly the same spot as yesterday either grazing or burying their heads in the buckets they all looked in good condition.
Merry Christmas to all.

Dear Lookers

Many thanks for all your hard work and help over the last year.
It has been an interesting one, especially at Caesar's Camp. Hopefully this problem is now behind us, but it does highlight the important role that you play in looking after the cattle on these valuable sites. We really couldn't protect these special areas without you.

The Wildlife Trust's Grazing Project is constantly looking to expand, and we have been successful in securing funding for the next 10 years for land around Fleet and Aldershot. This will allow us to not just manage the cattle, but also undertake much-needed habitat management work as well. This will involve keeping on top of the birch and pine regrowth as well as looking to mow some areas of the rough grasses and managing the historic interest. This will create the ideal conditions for the rare species found on the heath.
In addition we are expanding southwards (and not just because of over-indulgence at Christmas!), taking on an area of heathland at Longmoor near Bordon. We have a grazier lined up, so if you have any friends down that way - tell them we are on the look-out for lookers!

Everything seems quiet at the moment, and I hope that it will stay that way over the holiday period. Mike will be checking all the sites tomorrow (Wednesday the 24th) and then I will be out on the 30th. If you notice any problems in the mean time, please do not hesitate to phone me on my mobile.

I look forward to seeing you in the New Year, and hope that you have a wonderful Christmas.

Best Wishes from all the Grazing Project Team (and the cattle!)

Alex

Tuesday 11.45,I found them all around U7 this morning grazing or licking the buckets, they looked o/k and in good condition.

28 seen

I counted 28 today at about 13:00, in T6/7.

'Collar' was with them, but 'horns' and 4 others weren't.

13.15 Grazing in the open

Saw the full group grazing in T6. All looked fine.

Full house

Saturday 10.15, I found them all in virtually the same place as I had seen them on Wednesday, in the woods at R,S 4 slowly walking through the wood they all looked o/k.

All of them seen at 12R

All looked fine, just passing through.

Alex

Wednesday 10.30. I started my search from the beacon hill side and looked all over the whale tail with no luck then across to Caesars camp no luck so i dropped down to long valley and up to the whale tail on my way back home, one last look in the woods and there they were, quietly walking in the woods at S4 and very easy to miss, maybe they are learning the art of hiding from the army guys. As they were scattered through the wood counting was impossible but those i saw looked in good condition.

Petrol heads

Driving home today I was surprised to see about 20 cattle (maybe more - couldn't count them!) tucked between the fence and the trees, watching the cars on the Beacon Hill roundabout -T3. Maybe this is a new hobby. Also saw (again from the car) what I think are mineral lick buckets at U9, four or six of them. Am I right on this? This was about 3.15pm.

Fog stops play

Tuesday 10.30, the fog today reduced visibility down to 100ft at times. I did a search of the whale tail and found nothing this morning. It is one of those days where you would have to bump into the cattle to find them.I did notice that all the lick buckets were empty.

No cows today

Saturday 13.00,I sometimes wonder who the stupid one's are, us or the cattle. In the pouring rain and howling wind,I searched the whale tail and woods across to sandy hills ( the fence is o/k ) across longbottom, up to Caesars camp and along the track to beacon hill with no sight nor sound of them. They obviously have more sense than I credit them with, and I presume they are sheltering under some cover out of the rain.

Damp round the edges

All 36 at S5 late this morning - distinctly bedraggled but heading for the shelter of the trees!

Full house I think

Wednesday 16.00, I found them in the whale tail happily grazing at roughly T6 but they started walking off as I got closer to count them. I counted over 30 before they made counting impossible by walking away and in front of each other, they all looked o/k.

11 seen

I bumped into 11 of the cows (including 'colar' and 'horns') whilst checking the fences for damage. They were by the large pond in the valley (near Long Bottom) at about 14:00.

No damage to fences to report, however someone has been chopping down holly trees in the N29 area! Maybe someone is collecting it for christmas?

Saw 7 or 8?

Truffle Hound and I were standing on the ridge looking across Long Bottom towards Caesar's Camp and saw maybe 7 or 8 cattle, mainly black with 1 or 2 white faces at about M or N21 in front of the trees. They maybe Richard's group - it was hard to count them from that distance and they kept moving in front of one another. This was about 4pm.

Tuesday 16.00, I only managed to find half of them today and to make matters worse they have split up. The first group of 13 were grazing at roughly O19 and a group of 10 were grazing near to R19 those that I saw looked o/k

12 in the Whale Tail

Saw just 12 early PM in S6. Pine trees seemed to be on the menu today. No sign of the other 24.

What is supplementary feeding and why do we do it?

Hello everyone,

As Christmas rapidly approaches and we are all busy either buying or wrapping presents or arguing who we should and should not send a Christmas card to spare a short moment to think of the cattle that are still out on site, contentedly grazing away through the ever shortening days and ever more increasingly frosty mornings.

We still have cattle on the majority of our project sites as their eating habits change dramatically during the winter months to when they would normally be on site during the rest of the year. Instead of eating all of the fresh luscious green grass that grows every second of the day, or picking off the leaves that have caused the trees lowest branches to bend to within reach of the cows long tongues, the cattle switch to eating brittle and spiky old gorse bushes, next years tree buds, holly leaves and berries, any bramble leaves which continue to avoid the frosts or basically anything which has some kind of vitamins or minerals in it.

This alteration of cattle eating habits has massive beneficial impacts on the site for the following year by keeping all of the scrub in check and preventing it from spreading out into the more important heather dominated heathland.

Some of you may wonder whether the cattle can get enough vitamins and minerals from just eating these morsels around the site and the answer would have to be no they cannot. Historically the sites would have been so big that they would have been able to support more animals throughout the winter but nowadays with the heaths all being fragmented up by roads, railways and housing they are too small to support the cattle on their own throughout winter.

So how comes we still have cattle on site if the sites cannot support them on their own? I hear you say...the answer is by reducing the number of cattle on site in the winter months and by supplementary feeding them what are known as mineral blocks or licks. these take many forms but a re generally a plastic bucket full with what looks like a big oxo cube. They are made up of a variety of things including ash, and seaweed (for a full list of ingrediants check the side of the bucket) and act in the same way as any vitamin or mineral tablets that you or I may take throughout the year. We would not necessarily die if we did not take them but it certainly cannot hurt us to take them and hopefully keeps away and colds or infections and makes sure we are all fit and strong come springtime and raring to go.

Well now that I seem to have endorsed all vitamin and mineral supplements I should counter that by saying we should all eat an healthy balanced diet of meat and two veg, 5 glasses of water a day, 5 bits of fruit and veg a day and so on blah blah blah.

So hopefully that has explained a little bit more about how we manage to keep animals on the heaths over the winter months.

Elliott

Late blog from Friday 5th

Sorry for late blog but you know how these things happen, you blink and suddenly four days have passed!

Anyway I checked all of the hot spots from the bottom of the A325 all the way around to the BMX track and there was not a single cut or piece of vandalism so hurray for that.

On my way round I replaced a livestock grazing sign which had 'disappeared' so if any of you see these also missing in the future do feel free to let us know.

I found all 36 grazing the Long Bottom area and it was truly and absolutely amazing site and made me feel proud to see them all spread out like a true herd grazing away. The site was exactly what I imagine all of those heathens and commoners would have come across on that exact spot many moons ago and it gave me a definite feeling that everything we are all trying to achieve will be one success after another and that is down to each and every one of you.

Any way enough of the back slapping.

take care all

Elliott

Lovely sunny morning

Found all 36 peacefully grazing in the sunshine at S7. The light was fantastic on the frost and helped us also see a goldcrest and a dartford warbler this morning. The truffle hound also enjoyed the walk and is 'well muddy'. Should we humiliate him and buy him a coat?

Saturday 15.00, I managed to find all 36 at R9 slowly walking west grazing as they walked, they were still a little nervous but i think they are getting better with people about, they all seemed o/k.

Sunny grazing

Found all 36 easily this morning at P19 grazing but alert and keeping on the move. They seem to find something worth eating even on the scubbiest areas.

All seen

14.15 Friday. Counted all 36 in the Long Bottom area - roughly Q20. Seemed calm . Grazing whilst moving slowly west.

Wednesday 15.00, I made a positive count of 27 today, they were grazing at roughly Q17. Today they seemed less nervous than previously and I was able to walk amongst them without them running off, those that i saw seemed to be in good condition.

Tuesday 11.00, i managed to find them in the whale tail at S5, with some of them at the lick buckets at the edge of the woods, i was able to slowly walk through most of the herd with no problems but the cattle near the woods were a bit nervous and trotted off as i got closer.they all seemed to be in good condition grazing and slowly walking about.

How do they know?

Having had a fruitless search yesterday, decided to try again. Started at G33 (near the whale's mouth) and did a complete circuit of the Camp without any luck. Returning to the start found them all at about H30!! They were close together, lively and moving quite quickly with occasional stops to graze.

All present and correct

I must have passed Bob in the fog in the whale tail and would have been equally unlucky had I not received a tip-off from a dog walker on the track to Caesar's Camp and gone south into Long Bottom where I bumped into them at O22. They were not grazing but moving quickly, first east along the track and then north up the bank before turning back west. I was able to skirt round and get ahead of them and stand so that they they moved closely past me. They all seemed well if a little skittish. I believe all 36 were there but I couldn't be certain.

Saturday 9.45, no luck finding them today, with fog reducing visibility down to less than 100mtrs in places. I searched from the beacon hill gate, in the woods at the whale tail, along the track to Caesars camp and down to Bourly road with no success. with the fog so thick at the top you would have had to bump into one of the cows to find it. I did notice that the mineral buckets in the woods are nearly empty.

All seen in S4

They're not moving very much are they! Makes them easier to find (if you haven't got the luxury of a radio tracker...).
I saw them at about 11am, following a visit to fix a fence. It appears that a car managed to get onto the old bike track at Sandy Hill and bust through the fence. Luckily the car just pushed off the wire, rather than knock posts out. It appears that the car went under the stockmesh as the barbed wire and the top of the stock mesh were intact! Ivan reported an abandoned car on site on Monday, so this may have been how it got on.

Wednesday 9.15, a quick find this morning, they were all at T6ish, in the whale tail, all were quietly grazing with a few taking an inquisitive interest in me, they all seemed o/k

3.15pm. Still on Caesar's Camp

Saw all 36 cattle this PM in squares L19 & L20.

Full count

Tuesday 9.20, i managed a full count today, they were all grazing in the field at L18 , west of Caesars camp, they looked to be in good condition and calm.

All seen this morning

Ivan Whatley saw all 36 this morning near Beacon Hill Road Entrance.

All's calm

Saw all 36 (hope that's the right number!!) at T6 at about 4pm. They were all together in quite a close group, many were grazing quite happily. They still seemed slightly skittish but the motorcycles had all gone.

All amidst the motorcycles

We saw all 33 at about 12.45 - 1.00pm in R6/7 moving in a NW direction. They were crossing the motorcycle route and were a bit frisky, understandably. They were moving quite swiftly and are unlikely to be there now but are probably in the whale tail.

Helpfully they were walking in single file which made counting the easiest so far!

I must have walked past them

After reading Richard's Friday post I walked out to Caesar's Camp for a scan with the binoculars and back along Long Bottom. Visibility from the Camp was great with the Wheel, PO Tower Gherkin and Wembley Arch all clear, but no cows. I spoke with the bikers laying out the course for the Motorcycle Trials who said they had seen them around 0730 but couldn't remember where. Walked through the north part of the woods on my way back to the car (getting plenty of dung on my boots) then got home to read Bob's post!

All in the woods

Saturday 9.45, i managed to find them all this morning. they were in the woods at roughly s4 in the whale tail. most were lying down amongst the trees not doing much and quite calm, and some were up licking from the buckets. a much better sight than Thursdays.

No sign today

Had a good search of the Whale Tail today and no sign of any cattle. Also checked Long Bottom, the path beside Sandy Hills and Caesar's Camp to the Horse Pond. I think they are hiding in the trees again.

Motorcycle trials at caesars Camp this weekend

Hiya

This is to give you a heads up that Claire from the MoD called to say there is motorcycle trial event taking place on B6 (Caesars Camp) this weekend. I have asked her to tell the organisers that they are a new herd and to be gentle with them!

Rachel

Still looking happy

Saw all 36 cattle in the area of R6 at 3pm today. Either grazing or chewing the cud. Alert but didn't run away.

never a dull moment

Wednesday 16.00, I found the cattle running North down the track at S6 on the map, when they got to the track they turned right toward Caesars camp area still running which i thought a bit odd, so i kept my distance and watched as they ran down the track, there was no way of counting them or checking them over but it did seem like they were all together. As they ran along the track a dog came from nowhere chasing the cattle but not attacking them. It was a large dog and quite intimidating, but as quick as it appeared it turned and ran off with the cattle dispersed in the woods at L21. I did look for an owner but there was nobody about but the army. I phoned Hampshire police and got an incident number from them.

Herd looking Happy

Mike Morton and I were out checking all the Grazing Project fences today. Found all 36 cattle together, on the Whale Tail at 10.30 am. They seemed to have settled in well and look more confident now they are a larger herd. A kissing gate on Sandy Hill ( the one with the RADAR key, at S20) had been pulled outside the cage and the new sign smashed but that was the only damage over the whole perimeter. We put the damaged side rail back on the cattle grid at B30 and tied it on with wire. Without the side rails they might be able to get around the side of the grid.

Nervous cattle

Tuesday 15.30, I managed to find most of the herd at roughly r5 near the woods, but counting them was impossible as every time I got to within 50ft of them they just ran off. I tried twice to get close enough to count them but they seemed very nervous so I thought it would be best to let them be and not stress them.

All 36 found on Sunday

I went on a cow hunt at Caesar's Camp yesterday after a hard days work of cutting down small birch and pine trees on Velmead Common with the Fleet Reserves team. The rain started coming down so we made a executive decision to have a slightly early finish, and I went off to caesars to see the new herd. They were in S8 (i think), I climbed one of the hillocks and had 3 goes at counting them. I counted 34, then 35, then 36! I think that means that they were all together, but I may have counted one twice? collar and horns both present.

what a lovely sight to see them all grazing and moving as a herd together.

What lovely pictures and blogs

Hello all,

It is soooo nice to see the fact that you are all getting out again and lookering the animals which such enthusiasm and interest. I love the pictures and the fact that two of the cows now have names ( Horns and Collar) Good luck naming the rest!

On late Saturday I had a message from the grazier to inform me that after trying to take 33 cows onto the site he only actually managed to load 31 cows which he did still put on on Friday afternoon.

This therefore means that there are only 36 cattle on site not 38 as previously blogged so in fact you have been finding them all more or less every day and it appears as they they are happy to all herd together at present so long may that last.

Keep up the great work and stay enthusiastic!

Elliott

Probably all of them

TOC and TH walked to the tip of the Whale Tail (S6) this morning and at about 10am counted at least 34 cattle in the trees - including 'Horns' and 'Collar'. Assume they are all back together.

TH has discovered the joy of rolling in fresh cow pat.

28...we think!

We have just been out with the Truffle Hound and a friend and seen 28 cattle (perhaps) at O17ish. They were calm and interested in us but not unsettled. Another Looker was there with her springer and we were all able to get close without any apparent distress caused. The one with the collar and the one with horns were in the group. This was at about 4.15 - 4.30; we did not see the others but did not go up into the whale tail because of the failing light.

Lovely to see them!

like steve, i thought it would be easy to find them today. i started at the beacon hill gate and found 7 in the whale tail at t6 they seemed content if a little nervous, i rode my bike over to caesars camp with no luck, but did report some motor cross riders to the mod police. on my way back over to beacon hill i did a little detour near to sandy hills and found 28 walking out of the woods, they all seemed fine and were slowly walking east, towards caesars camp.

All together now...

OK, so where do you hide 38 cows? Answer, under your nose. I parked at the Beacon Hill Gate this morning on the assumption that they would have not wandered far but found myself searching out to Caesar's Camp and back along Long Bottom before spotting them coming out of the pine woods at S5 just yards from my car. They were grazing happily but constantly on the move and curious enough to head in my direction when they spotted me.

I counted 38 on one count but only managed a maximum of 36 on other attempts. I did spot the cow with the collar and the one with the horns so the 5 and the 33 have formed up into a single herd.

5 seen in Long Bottom

After a thorough search of the Whale Tail I finally found the 5 cattle grazing in Long Bottom (O 24). They still seem nervous and started to move off when I was at least 100m away. Hopefully the bigger group will calm them down a bit!

More Cattle onto Caesars Camp

Hello everyone.

Having closely monitored the cattle that managed to stay on site, I am pleased to announce that we and the grazier are now happy to go ahead and increase the numbers to roughly their original number.

Therefore this afternoon the grazier is going to be re-introducing another 33 cows onto the site via the Beacon Hill Road entrance. This means there will be 38 cattle in total. They will all be Hereford and Aberdeen Angus Cross and hopefully will stay on the site all through the winter.

Our assumption is that they will wander all over the site as a herd to begin with but will generally stay in the 'tail of the whale' for the first few weeks as it is much quieter at this end of the site. This is the end of the site nearest to Beacon Hill Road.

Hopefully this will make your lookering a lot more fruitful and rewarding and will finally bring closure to the problems experienced on site this summer.

As always if you have any problems or questions please call us on 01256 381190 where you can get all of our mobile numbers in the case of emergencies. Please remember to leave a message and the member of staff on call will get back to you ASAP.

Elliott

Well, our first blog and nothing to report! Truffle Hound and I parked up at the Total garage to do a new walk route, hoping to catch sight of the 'elusive 5'. Walked the whale tail thoroughly and saw nothing, even in the woods in the area of S6. Clearly we can't remember what cattle look like. We were there 2.30 to 3pm and did see a green woodpecker.

Will continue with our regular daily walk in the pelvic fin area (except whales, as mammals, don't have pelvic fins) which remains resolutely a bovine free zone.

Sigh

In the woods

Elliott has just checked all 5, in the woods at S6. They look fine.

cows are hiding again

Wednesday 12.00, I thought I would start my search again at the beacon hill end, I looked all the way over to the main road to Farnham and over to Caesars camp via sandy hill but had no luck today. any chance of those cow bells?

Site check

Hello everyone,

Today I was down to visit all of the sites with our new Conservation Trainee, Lisa Ferguson. Lisa has taken over from Oliver Hine and will be working with us closely for the next year. I am sure you will see if not hear from lisa in the coming months.

Having read Richards blog and seeing that they were in T7 area we started our lookering efforts there and found the cattle within 10 minutes. (Thanks Richard) They all came over to our truck probably because they thought we have food but were soon very dissapointed. They all looked healthy and happy, albeit a little bit jumpy. Nice to see all five of them together and sorry for all those of you who are yet to see them. It may be that just like last time they spend the majority of their time in the 'tail of the whale' or in columns 1 -14. My suggestion would be to start lookering their.

Good luck and happy lookering

Elliott

Full house!

Tuesday 11.45 after reading Richard's blog I thought I would start my search at the beacon hill gate side. and after a short bike ride i found all 5 happily eating grass near the area Richard had seen them at block 7T. At first they were a little nervous of me and after a minute they continued with grazing.They looked to be in good condition.

At Western End of Site

Have just spotted the five cattle grazing together as I drove along the A287. They were in square T7 (approximately).

Where are they?

Have just spent 3 hours looking and no sign. Started near the Royal Pavilion. Walked the fence line west to Beacon Hill Rd and then back past Sandy Hills to P28. They must be deep in some woodland. No sign of any fence damage.

...and none for me either.

Have just returned from the same fruitless search as Bob. Began my search at C27 and trekked over Caesar's Camp to Beacon Hill , returning down the fence line along Bourley Road. Not a glimpse of a cow. No doubt they had more sense and were sheltering from the rain in woods somewhere!

No luck today

Saturday 9.00, wet and windy. following on from the previous log i decided to start my search at the bourley road side at f17 on the map. I followed the tracks down to the old ranges and then up the main track to Caesars camp then over to beacon hill, and i did not get a glimpse of a cow. Is there any chance of fitting a cow bell to some of them?

Five reunited!

I found all five togther (two red and white, two black and white and one black) in the woods alongside Bourley Road at lunchtime today. They immediately ran off into the woods as soon as I approached. I followed them with some grass nuts, put the bucket down and that pursuaded them to hang around long enough for me to get a good look at them. They all seemed well. They are exceedingly wary and swift on their feet. Very difficult to keep up with them without chasing them away!

I'm on duty this weekend and have the radio tracker if there are any probs. My mobile is 07786 678 604

Still looking for lost trio

The pair of cattle with the radio collar were in the same place again today (R3). They had hardly moved in 24 hours. They looked a bit lacklustre but I'm sure they are fine.

Checking the fence on Sandy Hill (it was intact by the way), a dog walker mentioned that he had seen them on the north part of the site in woodland. After checking the Pavillion Hill (C29)part of the site for 4 hours on foot, I'd found lots of hoof-prints and dung but not the elusive missing cattle. It looks like a likely spot as there is some decent grass in the area but the trail and the dung was cold.

If anyone has a sighting of cattle without a radio collar, please phone Mike Morton (07770918372), Rachel (07786678604) or the office (01256 381190) because we haven't checked them for several days now.

Thanks, Dave

Elliott is off on annual leave this week so if you have any queries call the office or my mobile direct on 07786 678604

Dave is going to see if he can find the non collared group of three tomorrow and I'll be out on Friday before being on call duty over the weekend.

Hope they join up into one herd to make checking easier!

Managed to locate two cattle this morning using the radio tracking equipment. Found the one red and white (with collar) and a black, lying down in pine wood, south of the Beacon Hill entrance at R3. Both were chewing cud and looked healthy, and got up rather stiffly, probably due to a long lie down. I drove most of the site and asked passers by, but no trace found of the other three.

Checked the fence from L30 to F34 and found it undamaged and stockproof.

Needle in a haystack

Wednesday 10.00, i managed to find 2 of the cattle,one with the radio transmitter, at the gate near beacon hill, they were looking a bit nervous, standing but not doing much, when i returned to the area after looking for the others (with no luck) the 2 had walked off into the woods and as i approached them the went deeper into the trees.

Tuesday 10.30. did not find any this morning but met up with mike who had the radio receiver and managed to find 2. left him looking for the others.

3 seen this morning

Ivan Whatley saw 3 (2 red and 1 black) by the horse pond.

Five together in one group

After a long search we finally tracked down all five cattle in a single group at about 15.40 this afternoon. The location was square O 20 on the lookers' map.

Just the One...

Two hours of hunting failed to locate the group of four but following some fresh tracks I came across the black and white singleton at Q19 (SU837495) at 1015. She’s the one with the horns (ear tag 200955). She was happily grazing but seemed pleased to have company as, on spotting me, she trotted in my direction. She was moving east as I left.

Another interesting day at Caesars Camp

This morning Alex and Elliot managed to return another stray cow to Caesars Camp. It was one of the Hereford crosses that is predominantly white with some black on it. The herd of 4 that have stuck together were seen at lunch time in Q4 (in the 'Whales Tail' near the corral). I spent much of the day at Caesars Camp trying to locate the individual cow so I could encourage it back to the main herd, so it wouldn't leave Caesars Camp whilst searching for them.

We got a call at lunch time from someone saying that they had a black cow in their garden! It was secure in the garden and wasn't a problem getting it into a trailer. It has now gone back to the grazier's farm to join the other 2 that were rescued from a different garden yesterday.

So to clarify... There are 5 cows on site. 4 in a herd and the white and black cow that was put back in this morning, and is on its own. I'll be on hand over the weekend so give me a call if needed on; 07770918372

Missing cow/cows update

After traipsing through much of the woods and most of the gardens (with consent, may I add) of Ewshot we decided to call it a day searching for the missing cow. As it stands there are deffinately 4 cows on Caesars Camp and almost certainely another individual (Black and White) on its own on the site. Hopefully they will regroup with time.

The 2 cows that were rescued from someone's garden have not been put back on site today, and have gone back to the grazier's farm for the time being.

The search will continue tomorrow, hopefully someone will have spotted it by then. We'll let you know of any changes to cattle numbers on Caesars Camp

Help find the missing cow!

The good news is that four of the cows are definitely inside caesar's camp fence. However, some of the cows have been sighted in Ewshot.

Alex, Mike, Elliott and Rob have managed to round up two cows into the trailer.

That leaves two missing cows. We think one is on site and one off site. Elliott is searching inside the fence and Alex is searching outside the fence.

We have checked the perimeter and gates and everything is stockproof. Apparently the army were training last night with blank rounds being fired. It is likely this spooked the cows and they either jumped the fence or got over the cattle grid. They will get used to the noises but we desperatley need them back inside the fence so they are safe from cars on the road, before dark at 5:30pm!!

You can help us by checking inside the fence to see if they are inside the fenceline.

Please can you call or text us with the squares you have searched.

Alex 07789 096330
Elliott 07833 387319
Mike 07770 918372
Rachel at the office 01256 381190 mob after 4:15pm 07786 678604

Our mobile phone batteries may run out, if you do find a cow, stay nearby and call through our numbers until someone answers.


Good luck!!
Rachel

snowy caesars camp

Wednesday 16.00. my first time up at Caesars since July, and what a shock cold and snow on the ground. i read the blog before leaving home and i thought the cattle would not have gone far from the gate, wrong, i cycled through the woods and over to the farnham road area, but eventually found them not far from Caesars camp at block 22-23, m-n. they were curious of me at first but soon resumed eating grass, all 8 were together and they looked fine. managed to get home before dark.

As Elliott's post says, the cattle have arrived back onto Caesar's Camp in a bit of a 'winter wonderland'.

All 8 were seen again at about 1pm in square S6. I finally got the tracking device to work, so the Grazing Project team should have less problem finding them. I'm afraid the bit of kit is expensive, so I can't give them out to every looker - much as I would love to!

Here are a couple of photos to make sure that you are checking the right animals! Thanks to Steve Blacker for coming along and taking the photos.

Cattle out onto Caesars Camp

Hello everyone,



Well, despite mother nature’s best efforts to delay our re-introduction of the cattle onto Caesars Camp I can now confirm that 8 cattle (all Hereford/Aberdeen Angus Crosses 5 black and three red) have been re-introduced onto the site, via the entrance at Beacon Hill Road.



Those eagle-eyed observers of you will notice that one of these cattle has a collar attached to it. This is in fact a radio collar which continually transmits a signal which will allow us to locate them with our receiver. This will really help us to monitor their movements when they are first put back onto the site. We as a project team will be checking the cows everyday, at least once, so rest assured if you cannot find this initially smaller herd that for the next fortnight at least we will have seen them.



All the best with your lookering and give me a call/text/email/blog if you need anything. Please remember to let us know how your lookering went,



Elliott

Lead poisoning

Hello all.
Thanks for reading the blog. We are fairly confident that all of the lead contamination has been removed from Caesar's Camp however we cannot be certain.
We are therefore taking a few cautionary measures to reduce the risk of further poisoning:

• we are only putting a very small number (4 or 5) of cattle out
• we will keep a very close eye on them - members of the team and the farmer will be checking them every day. We are using a radio tracker to locate them more quickly.
• we will report anything suspicious quickly to the farmer.

It would be great if you could help us out with this. Please keep to your rota (and any spare time you may have!) and keep a note of where you see them. If you see any strange behaviour, or any of the symptoms listed below please REPORT IT IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your help.

Initial signs include depression, loss of appetite or occasionally diarrhoea. The central nervous system may be affected and cause cattle to grind their teeth, bob their head, or twitch their eyes or ears. Some animals may circle, press their head or body against objects, or become uncoordinated and stagger. Muscle tremors, excitement, mania, blindness or convulsions may also be seen.

Thanks Alex

Cattle back onto site this Wednesday 28th October

Hello everyone,

As promised I can now confirm that the cattle will be re-introduced this Wednesday on Caesars Camp. The time and number is still unconfirmed but it will probably be 5 cows, around midday. As soon as I know they are on I will email you all the exact details of what has been put back onto the site.

Therefore could I ask you to re-start your lookering duties as of this time. To help us with the close monitoring of the initial herd we would really appreciate it if you contacted us (by phone/text/email or blog) once you had done your lookering and let us know what you found or did not find and whereabouts you looked. This will help us keep an extra keen eye on their movements should anything else happen.

Just a quick re-cap on the grazing project team as it has changed a little bit recently:

Alex Cruickshank - Grazing Project Manager - 07789 096 330
Elliott Fairs - Grazing Project Officer - 07833 387319
Rachel Remnant - 07786 678604
(NEW!) Mike Morton - Assistant Grazing Project Officer - 07770 918372

Should you have any problems please call one of these numbers and please leave a message. Somebody is always on call over the weekend and although it may not be the person who you ring and leave a message with, that person will definitely forward the message immediately to the person who is on call, so that action can be taken to rectify the problem.

Having spoken to a number of you since the cattle have been off site I gather the level of motorbike activity has since increased so may I remind you that it is illegal for unauthorised motorbikes to be using the site and the only way we can resolve this problem is by reporting it to the Military Police on 02392 722707. Only by reporting it will sufficient resources be allocated to the Aldershot section of the Military Police to deal with the problem. This is exactly what we did last time and we made real headway with the problem so much so that we went for over a month without the fence being cut which is what we aim for again this time. However we can only do this with your help so please feel free to pass these details onto other site users who you may know who are not one of our official 'lookers'.

Once again, thank you all for your patience and understanding in what has been a particularly stressful and upsetting time with the lead situation. We hope that this situation is now behind us and we can get back to making the site better for wildlife and putting the missing piece of the jigsaw (the cows) back onto the site. We can only do this with all of your co-operation and help so a huge thank you in advance and I look forward to seeing you out on site again and hearing your lookering stories.

Elliott

Cattle Coming back - Hooooorah!

Hello all,

As you should have seen by now in your emails we have been given the all clear by the MoD to re-introduce cattle back onto Caesars Camp.

The grazier is happy to do this and the plan is to introduce a small number (5 or 6)of cows and monitor them closely.

Before we can do this we need to check the entire fence and make good any repairs so will be doing this hopefully on Monday 27th October. We will also be putting up new signs to say the site is grazed with our contact details etc on.

Hopefully by now you will have confirmed to me that you are happy to continue lookering and that you are able to do the same times and days as before. If not can you email me or ring me and let me know.

I will keep you all up to date on exactly when the cattle go so until then have a little re-cap of your lookering notes and watch this space.

Elliott

You are cordially invited...

Dear volunteer
Here at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust we rely heavily on our volunteers to help us achieve our work. In the Northern Team, volunteers help us carry out surveys, keep an eye on our cattle and manage our reserves to name but a few of the valuable roles that you undertake.
To say thank you and give you a chance to meet other volunteers we would like to invite you to a hog roast and social evening at Newlyns Farm Shop on Wednesday October 15th from 6pm onwards through until 9pm. We need to keep track of numbers so if you would like to attend please respond by Monday 6th October.
The hog roast is provided but please bring a bottle. If you require a vegetarian alternative please let us know at the time of booking.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Please reply by emailing alexc@hwt.org.uk

Let Sleeping Cows Lie!

A few of you have noted that you have had difficulty in raising your cows when you have encountered them resting. It is certainly important to know that our cows have no limb injuries and can walk normally. At the same time, attempting to get a group of cows onto their feet can be dangerous, especially if you come between individuals in the herd. It can also be stressful to the cows.

So, I would suggest that if a group of cows are found lying down resting and they are all chewing the cud, bright-eyed, breathing normally, with no discharge from either end, they can safely be left and there is no need to try and get them to their feet.

In fact, if you do force a group of cows to their feet, they may even give false indications of injury as they may exhibit stiffness and pins-and-needles and appear lame. Within a few, minutes, just like us, they will have walked it off.

So when should you report a cow lying down? When should you try and get a cow to its feet? Well, the place and position a cow is lying in is important. A cow lying in a ditch, on its own, is a very different situation from one amongst a group simply having a rest in the shade. I would suggest that any cow lying on its own, some way off from the rest of its herd, is worth a closer look. In this situation, when approached a healthy cow will quickly stand and rejoin the herd. If it does not, do not ‘make’ it get to its feet; if it is injured, you are likely to stress it out, which may cause it to injure itself further.

Instead, any cow in this situation should be reported to us. We can then monitor it and, if necessary, inform the grazier. A cow which has not risen for a day or more obviously becomes more of a worry. However, cows are notoriously stubborn. I seem to remember a James Herriott story about a cow which had lain prone in its byre for two days. It was about to be shot with a suspected broken pelvis when it rose languidly to its feet, none the worse for wear!
So I hope that helps to clear things up about when to help and when to let sleeping cows lie!

Oliver

The art of lookering!

Hello All,

It’s been great to see how well you have all adopted the looker blogs; hopefully this will make it easier not only for you to communicate with us and each other, but for the graziers too, who can now get an immediate update on their animals.

With cows on three of our sites, and the prospect of cows returning to Caesar’s Camp in the not-too-distant future, I thought this might be an opportune time to reaffirm the things to look out for when lookering (although judging by your posts few of you need any reminding!).

If you have time, it is good practice (and quite rewarding) to watch your cows from a long way off for a minute of two, if possible before they are aware of you. This way you will get a good idea of how they behave naturally, when they are completely relaxed, and will get a good idea of the herd dynamics. Once you know how cows act when they are healthy, you will be able to pick up on any change in their behaviour much more quickly.

As soon as cows are aware of your presence (or even moreso, the presence of a dog) they begin to behave differently. This is true even of cows that are ‘used’ to people. They may bunch up, the cows may move to protect their calves, or their breath rate may increase.

Furthermore, cows as herd animals instinctively try to ‘hide’ signs of illness or injury from potential predators, including humans. It is sometimes easier to check for signs of injury or distress in a group that is relaxed, rather than one that is on edge and aware of your presence.

What should you look for? Breathing is an important indicator. Is it laboured, rasping, or is it very shallow and fast? Both can be danger signs. Problems often manifest themselves at each ‘end’ of a cow: its head and rear end. All cows drool, but excessive amounts of coloured drool may indicate a problem. Cloudy eyes, or any discharge from the eyes, will also be worth noting.

If a cow has an injury or illness, it will soon lose interest in cleaning itself. Therefore, a mucky rear-end can be a danger sign. At the same time, it is perfectly natural and normal for a cow to take a mud bath occasionally!

Conversely, persistent licking of the same spot could be a sign of a skin infection or ringworm, and again this should be brought to our attention.

Some signs of illness are subtle. Yet it can be very clear when a cow is unwell. I encountered a number of cows affected by lead poisoning at Caesar’s Camp. They were separate from the herd, listless, with their heads down, but not eating or foraging, and could be approached, even touched, without showing any interest at all in you. In short, here was every danger sign that the lookering course teaches us to look out for. Even had I not known about the lead poisoning, I would have known something was wrong.

To make sure you check every part of a cow, it may be helpful to adopt a pattern which you use every time, checking first the ears and head, then neck, then front feet, underbelly, back legs, rump and back, before repeating this on the other side.

Keep up the reports, and many thanks for your continued help!

Oliver

Grazing Project Fundraising at Waitrose

Hello everyone,

Waitrose are doing a nationwide scheme whereby shoppers can nominate local charities to receive donations and end of till collections. Shoppers are invited to 'vote' (with green discs) for the project they think Waitrose should then donate sums of money to, in accordance with the number of votes received. One of three charities in the Fleet store at present is the Hampshire and isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's Grazing Project. We are trying to get the same project in the Yateley store as well.

So we are asking all of you if you shop in Waitrose Fleet, or fancy shopping in there over the next few weeks, to vote for the grazing project so that we can all help to raise some money for the project which will then directly improve your local wildlife areas. It really is that simple.

Happy shopping everyone.

Elliott

Caesars Camp clean up on TV

For those of you who could not make the clean up on site a few weeks back it was a very good success. Television crews were present and the news piece that went out a week or so later can be seen on

http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/news/?player=MER_News_15&void=231468

You can scan through the news piece upon where our article starts at 4.50 mins

Thanks again to everyone who turned up and for all of you showing your support, patience and understanding over these past few months.

Happy viewing

Welcome and Well Done

Well if you are managing to read this then my email instructions must have been pretty clear so welcome to the brand new Caesars Camp Lookers Blog and well done on getting here. We really hope that this proves a big success and will be one more way that we can help you all to get more out of your lookering.

If you ever have any urgent reports may I ask that you still contact the grazing project directly so that they can be rectified as soon as possible. As always technology is not to replace speaking to one another it is just to help us :)

Access to this blog is restricted to lookers only so please feel free to share personal contact details with one another.