12.00, today it was wet and misty and with low visibility i did not find any of the cattle, i cycled around the whale tail and down long bottom where workmen were clearing the scrub, back up to Caesars camp via the blue barrel, and to beacon hill, and no sign of them.

A few hours later - all in open on Bricksbury Hill.

Hello everyone hope you all enjoyed your christmas I found cattle this morning 9 am they were on top of the bank to the north side of the gravel pit I watched them for around 15 mins all looked ok although one all black one looks a bit skinny but she was feeding ok all 12 were there one moved off westwards all alone the rest moved to the east I dont now where they went I thought they may be going to the barrel but I did not see them any more norman

All 12 on top of the plateau

Hello
Had a good look at all 12 this morning on top of the camp plateau.
All look well, and were tucking into the heather which is poking through the snow.
Have a very Happy Christmas, and thank you for your help.
Alex

10 only in a close knit group in birch some 400 yards west of water tower at 1 pm.  They looked well enough if not very lively.  Gorse must be rather lean fare.  Of the remaining two - no sighting.

I read a report in last week's papers about a cow, in the north west of England I believe, that had died a rather painful death.  The cause was attributed to its having eaten a chinese lantern.  It stated that cattle are attracted to these devices because of the bamboo they contain.  From this I assume that the paper envelope is, or can be, made of bamboo pulp.  Death was caused by a wire in the lantern which penetrated the animal's gut.  The report also suggested that this was not the first such incident in this country.

I have observed a number of these lanterns on the heath.  It would seem sensible to remove them if you happen to come across any.

Perhaps HWT would care to comment. 

16.00,unlike Steve i waited until it warmed up.so at -1, i set off on my bike brrrrrrrr,i managed to find 9 cows at Q14 they were looking for things to eat in the snow and looked o/k if a little chilly, i had i good look along the main tracks of the whale tail but could not find any others,and as the light was fading i had to set off for home.

Only 11 Cows Seen

Found 11 cows looking very sorry for themselves up against the fence at about P13. It was 0930 and they were clearly trying to warm themselves up in the low sunshine. My car had said it was still -3deg on the drive up Beacon Hill. There was no sign of number 12 but I confess I did not search widely for her. They all looked OK, if cold. One was salivating heavily and had dribbles (or icicles!) hanging from her mouth.

12.15,i managed to get some free time so took a bike ride to check the cows,i managed to find only 11 at Q11, they were slowly walking East towards Caesars camp all looked o/k.i had a little look around but could not see number 12.

All cows seen

I visited Caesars Camp today and saw all 12 of the girls sitting and chewing the cud in the midst of an orienteering event! They were on the edge of the woods in the whale's tail (far west of the site).

cheers

Now 12 cows

Hello
Bob is right (see below) - there are now 12 cows on site.
The farmer took off the 10 in-calf cows and replaced them with 12 not-in-calf cows.
This is partly because one of the them aborted her calf over the weekend, and the farmer wants to keep an eye on them as it gets colder.
Thanks for all your help.
Alex

10.30, i managed a ad-hoc visit to Caesars camp this morning and managed to count 12 cows at the gate near beaconhill at P3, all looked o/k and very inquisitive, on my return reading the front page of the blog there should be 10 cows so maybe i counted a couple twice,

Seven of them in birch about 200 yards west of water tower; all appeared to be in good condition and grazing gorse.  Of the remaining three I got no sight.

Nibble the Heather Together

Out doing the site checks today and found all of the cattle about 13.00 out at N23 moving gently toward Long Bottom. The ten were munching heather tips and a bit of gorse and all seemed fine. Took some pictures of them looking good in the winter sun and will try to post if I can master the technology.

5th Dec, Jills post

All 10 looked well and peaceful early this afternoon. Most were lying down at about P16 with the others just ambling around.
Best wishes
Jill

I forgot to enter my blog for friday I found the cattle on my way home they 9am they were coming diagonally across the hillside from the track by the sandy hill road they eventually met me on the track at long bottom at grids qr 18 19 and made their way to the blue barrel I did not try to get to close to them until I am happy they accept my little dog I was about 6 mtrs away from them they all seemed healthy from that distance. Sat I again met them still at the blue barrel 8am they all started to move west across the slope on the north side of the track at long bottom I followed at a distance eventually they stopped to graze grids p 17 18 I was quite close to one of them around 2 mtrs it did not seem worried that I was there with my dog I watched them grazing for a while then went home ,I should say this my first sightings since they were put on site . norman.

Elliotts Site Checks

Hello all,

I arrived at CC at about 1:30 today to check all of the gates and signs and to try to find the cows.

It takes about 30 minutes in the truck (now that I have my route sorted) to check all of the gates and nothing out of the ordinary was found which is always pleasing and a relief.

During that 30 minutes I did not come across the cows so I then set off on a thorough drive around the entire site, back and forth, retracing my steps, time and time again and had not found any of them. By 3 I was preparing to leave as I had t then drive to wisley to return a trailer and then suddenly I saw 5 of them grazing in square M19. This then left with the dilemma of either leaving having only found five or driving around even more to find the others. My decision was made when I remembered that the trailer I had to tow to Wisley had no lights and it was now 3:15 so I had to leave the site having only found five.

Elliott

9 plus 1 seen

Hello
Saw 9 of them yesterday around 11am at 20I, on the steep slope above the big sandy patch. The other one saw our truck and rushed down to say hello.
All looking fine.

Jills report

Sat 28th

Found the 10 at T6 this afternoon. They seemed well and quite peaceful. What hairy beasts they are - they look ready for whatever the winter brings.

Jill

10 together at 4

Found all 10 of them in the old quarry workings at T7 at ~1600 on Saturday. They were grazing in a close group and all appeared well. They were not at all disturbed by being "lookered"!

Cattle back on site

10 cows were put back onto Caesars Camp yesterday. These cows will be staying on sight for the winter. As there are only 10 they might be harder to find, but at least there is less vegetation to obscure your view and a smaller group is more likely to stick together.

Happy lookering

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!

Hello
All of the cattle have now been removed from Caesar's Camp. This is a seasonal thing that we were expecting, but weren't quite sure when it was going to happen, so sorry for the lack of notice.
They should be back in a week or so. We will let you know when we know.
Thanks for your patience and assistance.
Alex

IMPORTANT

Hello
We spoke to the farmer yesterday and he has told us that he will be taking all the cattle off either today or tomorrow. This is to allow him to check them, wean the calves and make sure they are fit and healthy for the winter.
I will keep you posted with any updates we get from him.
Thanks for all your hard work.
Alex

Scattered Shower

Saw a total of 34 during my site visit today. 14 down by the Pavillion entrace/Concrete Road about 13.00 quietly cudding,and the rest around on the slope behind the covered reservoir moving and grazing as they they went. All looked reasonably well.

09.00, i only managed a count of 30 today, they were grazing around the covered reservoir at H16-17, and all looked o/k.

Taking the Beef off the Heath

Hi
I'll be leading a walk at Caesar's Camp this weekend talking about our plans to promote beef from the cattle involved in the Grazing Project.

Please see our website for more details and how to book a place.

http://www.hwt.org.uk/events.php/477/taking-the-beef-off-the-heath

Laura

phone call from concerned walker

Hello
I received a phone call on Sunday morning from a concerned member of the public. He was worried that one of the cattle had escaped. He saw it at Q25, between Bricksbury Hill and The Cresent.
I went out to have a look, but could not find any cattle out of the fence. I confirmed the location with the caller.
I suspect that he was mistaken because the fence is difficult to see in this area (covered with bracken) and it is an unusual place to see them.
However, if you do walk in this area, please keep an eye out and get in touch if you see anything unusual!

Many thanks
Alex

About 10 am.  16 head in & around Horse Pond; 18 or thereabouts in middle of old rifle ranges north of Jubilee Clump.  All looked fine.  I supposed the remainder to be at the western end but did not get that far.

A fine morning and the place is a delight compared to that which existed before the clearance.  It is a pity that the scars of the old rifle butts and the many, I think unnecessary, vehicle tracks, still exist.

I met cattle today 8.30 am, spread over a wide area between the track leading to where the dead cow was found and the track at the cattle grid on the track leading to the covered reservoir there were 29 there I got close to about half of them those all looked ok on my return home I met three more on the track at long bottom I was very close to these all looked ok ,on reaching the gate to go off site I met seven more , these I was very close to ,one calf a light brown and white one came up to me and sniffed my hand I stayed talking to these until the calf moved on .norman.

09.45, i managed a count of 40 spread out North of long bottom track at R16 down to Q19, all were grazing and looked o/k if a little wet. i cycled down to the blue barrel up to Caesars camp, over to the whale tail but could see no others.

my first sighting since coming back from holiday ,I found 26 spread over a wide area at caesars camp, I got close to most of these all appeared to be ok ,on my way home I saw two more on the track at long bottom one was collar she was coming back from the barrel the other was going towards the barrel ,on reaching the top of the hill by the broken concrete building ,I met two more grazing along the fence line both looked ok. norman

Midday; counted over 70 (some double counting no doubt) spread over a large area from top of Long Bottom to point some 1/3 mile to west.  Apart from lack of condition noted earlier no specific problems observed.

Saturday 17th, Jills lookering

Found about 60 in much the same area as Bob this afternoon. They were very widely dispersed and most were busy grazing. 145 seemed in very uncomfortable and struggled to get up on three legs - she didn't seem to want to put her foot anywhere near the ground. Her calf has become very defensive and keeps close by. A couple of calves (1533 and 1535) each ahd a sore, closed and weepy eye. Others seemed ok.

16.00, thanks to Steve I managed to find 65 spread out from the old pits of the whale tail through the woods up to the water tower. most were grazing and looked o/k, i did notice 145 is still having problems with her leg

Which end shall we park...

We were very glad to have chosen the Beacon Hill end to park the car this morning. The first cow was waiting for us just behind the cattle grid, with the rest (at least 60 counted) spread out from here to ~S5 in the old pits. Chances are that the others were in the woods as we spotted three calves on the edge. They all appeared well.

Most cattle found today

I counted 60 cattle today in 4 scattered groups in the Long Bottom and Horse Pond area. All ssemed happy and were either cudding or grazing.

11.00, today i was short for time and only managed a sweep of the whale tail and down to caesars camp,i did manage to find ten on top of caesars camp all grazing and looked o/k.

Thin cattle

Hi. Thought you'd like to know that I spoke with the farmer who owns the cattle today after letting him know some of our concerns about the skinny cows. He is aware of the situation and said that this is not just unique to those at Caesar's Camp as its been such a dry summer even those on the farm are losing a bit of condition too. He thinks the calves will be weaned (removed from their mothers) some time over the next couple of weeks so we may be seeing some changes to stock numbers soon. We will, of course, keep you posted.
Thanks for all your comments. Laura

13.00, i managed a count of 53 spread out from the South side of the gravel pit on caesars camp at N19 to the North side at M17, all were grazing and looked o/k, the cow with the limp was also there and managed to scrabble up the bank to join the others.

10 AM, a fine morning.  Cattle evidently very much dispersed.  I saw 6 from Jubilee Clump down below and about 400 yards north of that point and another 11 in Long Bottom about 200 yards south of the Horse Pond.

Jill's blog Sun 11th Oct

I popped up again this afternoon as I was out that way. Found groups of 11, 7 and 39 around the blue barrel. The two which were yesterday at R11 were with the main group. I didn’t see 145

Jill

Jill's blog Sat 10th Oct

There were over 57 in quite a large area around K/L 17/18. The group included 145 who was gingerly putting her hoof on the softer ground and 1527 (I think!) who might be the calf who comes up to Norman as he came really close and seemed to enjoy having his head and neck rubbed.

There were also 5 at R5, a further 5 at R 11 and two (a cream and pale brown cow and her calf) at T11. I couldn’t read the cow’s number as her hair covered the tag and the calf was 1490. The calf’s feet were caught in a long piece of red and white tape and various bits of vegetation (which I unravelled) and the cow seemed ok and was eating birch saplings and fungi.


Overall they all seemed placid and content, though flies were bothering quite a few of the cows and calves.

Jill

Bony

Saw the same group of 53 as Bob spread out over R14-15. All looked well although some of the black and white ones are looking a bit bony. 109 looked particularly bony.

09.00, i managed a count of roughly 50 at R14-15, most were grazing and looked o/k, i did see a pale brown cow with white patches with the others, i don,t know if it is the same one as mentioned but she looked o/k, went down long bottom track and up to Caesars camp and the whale tail, but could see no others.

Hello
I was up on site this afternoon (2pm) following a report of concern about one of the cattle. One of the lookers was concerned that a pale, nearly white, cow and her calf were separate from the rest of the herd and were sitting down by themselves in Long Bottom (R17/18).
I went to have a look, but they had moved, and the only pale cow in the area seemed to be fine.
May I ask to keep an eye out for her. She is probably okay because she has certainly moved from where she was, but she may now be ill elsewhere.
The other 40 or so that I saw all looked fine.
Many thanks

08.30, today i managed to count 16 around the blue barrel and about 46 spread out at roughly F27 across to K29, all were grazing and looked o/k.

08.30, i eventually managed to find about 21 near the blue barrel all looking sorry for themselves in the rain but otherwise in good condition, another group of about 46 was crazing near the sandy area at roughly H27-I30 those i saw looked o/k.

Site checks

I was on site after Ivan today and yes, the site is shrouded in drizzly mist, quite nice in a wet and dull sort of way!
I found 18 cattle by the blue barrel, including 145, and I agree her foot is certainly bothering her and restricting her a bit. The farmer is aware but I will contact him again to find out if he has treated her or has plans to remove her. I then found 5 more in square I28, lying down looking like they were pretending it wasn't raining. Then moved on and found 27 either lying down under trees or out grazing at J26 and J25. Then up to the camp and spotted a lone cow down near the covered resevoir so drove down and found 8 in H17, then 2 in H19 all eating happily, then from one of the higher ridges I saw (or heard actually) 1 single cow running across the sandy area in H20 shouting her head off, obviously doing as I was and trying to find the others!
At that point I left site - I don't envy you lookers trying to find them all in one go on foot or bike!

Laura

About 11 AM very wet & with poor visibility.  Some 20 around Horse Pond: the remainder hidden in the mists somewhere.  Those seen did not seem to be impressed by the weather but otherwise ok.

10.30ish,today they were spread far and wide, the first group i came across were in the whale tail, i counted 20 at roughly R5. the next group of about 25 were spread out between Q18 and O21.the third and final group of 20 were near the covered reservoir at about J17 to H19. There was a mix of grazing cows and some lying down chewing the cud. Those i could get close to looked o/k.

this morning 7 15 there were five cattle at the barrel ,three others coming from the pavillion end I went to the eastern end of the pond and waited ,others were coming from the pavillion end in groups of two three and four ,as I waited a total of 41 came by me some went to the pond to drink first, others went to the barrel first ,145 was among them I think she is getting worse she will not put her foot down on stony surfaces ,I was very close to most of these ,all looked ok except for 145 ,this will be my last post for two weeks I decided at the last moment to go off in my caravan . norman

I first saw cattle today 7.30 only eight at grid o 22 ,the black calf that comes up to me was not so brave only came to within one mtr ,these looked ok ,I carried on walking trying to find more I waited at the barrel and the eight I had already seen came to the barrel ,as I watched them others came from the pavillion end ,went to the pond to drink then on to the barrel ,only four in number I went on round the pond and started home ,others were coming from the broken troop shelter ,and more coming from the west of the pond I counted 24 in total did not get close to any of these . norman

15.45, i managed a count of 15 below Caesars camp at K22 slowly walking and grazing, a further 36 were grazing at about Q17-18, those i saw looked o/k.

Clearing the pond

Hi

We're doing some work to clear the small trees around the pond near to the entrance on the Odiham road next week. On Wednesday 5th we'll meet opposite the Total garage about 10am. If you'd like to join us please let me or Keith know and we'll give you a bit more details.

This type of practical volunteering can be really satisfying - a bit of good old fashioned hard work, beauitful sites to work on,helping wildlife and getting fit! Why not come along and join us to see if you like it?

Tools and gloves provided but bring lunch, hot and cold drinks for yourself and wear old clothes and strong boots! Also bring your waterproofs just in case!

Email me or Keith on LauraF@hwt.org.uk or KeithB@hwt.org.uk or give us a ring 01256 381190 to find out more or let us know you can make it!

Laura

I today 7.30 spread around the area below the seats at caesars camp ,I managed to count 48 here I only managed to get close to few these all looked ok ,as I sat watching some started to make their way slowly to the barrel ,I followed and waited to see how many came down eventually 15 arrived these I managed to get a good look at, they all looked ok I noticed two black and white ones were repeatedly trying to mount the others including the calves ,one calf was knocked to the ground with the cow on top I waited to see if the calf was ok ,it got up shook itself and moved away from the group ,as I walked away to go home more were coming down the track towards the barrel norman

16.30, i managed a count of 20 on top of Caesars camp and around 36 in the bracken just east of Caesars camp at K21 and spread out to L22 before my bike chain snapped so had to cut short my looking.those i saw looked o/k and i noticed some have got their shaggy winter coats.

Cow 145

We've had a few reports that 145 has a swollen leg and limp again. Just to let you all know that the farmer is aware and is monitoring her closely, with a view to treat her if it is necessary

Let us know if you notice any change

cheers

today 7.30 I found cattle spread over the hillside to the south of the gravel pit and right up to the track following the sandy hill road ,I counted 48 after walking all over the hillside myself ,145 is still limping badly she lets me get right up to her ,collar was on the track at sandy hill she now lets me get close to her ,she still looks ok ,the same black calf came up to me again as soon as it saw me licked my hand and nuzzled my leg ,all of the ones I got close to looked ok . norman

Bull removed

Just to let you know that the farmer has now removed the bull as he should have had enough time now to service all of the cows on site. In a few weeks time the farmer will re-visit the cows and check to see if they are succesfully pregnant. We will keep you all posted,

Elliott

this morning 7.30 a group were in an area at sunny hill ,I counted 28 here the ones I got close to all looked ok ,one black calf made me jump I was standing with my back to the undergrowth counting when it crept out and licked my hand I turned round and it started to rub against me I rubbed its face and scratched its head ,talking to it all the time ,I know there were more nearby but the military were camped out among the trees so I left the area ,I do not interfere with their activities . norman

today 7.15 a group of 20 were at the barrel these all looked ok ,others were spread over the hillside south of the horse pond .145 was among this group she is definatley limping again not as bad yet as she was the first time,she is reasonable when on soft ground but will not put her foot down when crossing gravel tracks.it looks to me as though there is some sort of infection in the left clove of her foot , I may be wrong over this but this is my opinion ,I counted another 20 here the ones I was close to looked ok apart from 145 ,they then all started off towards the pavillion end norman

found a group of twelve at the barrel at 7.15 am ,I carried on with my walk and found more scattered over the hillside to the south of the gravel pit ,as I walked among them trying to count them 145 came right up to me about 2 mtrs away ,she appears to have started to limp slightly again ,the left side of her right foot did not seem to be as it should it looked very dark ,I was only able to count 26 there ,I think there were probably more .norman

Lone Bull

Found a scattered group of 34 across P/Q 14/16 at around 1750 this evening and another 33 ranging across the back of Caesars Camp (~L18). On the way back to the car at Beacon Hill we found the bull by himself in a patch of scrub where we had seen the first group.

I found cattle today 7.15 am ,41 were at and close to the barrel ,as I sat on my shooting stick counting once again I was joined by calves only 8 today ,there is one ear tag 301355 it once again came up and sniffed at my leg this is the only one that comes this close norman

thankyou to the team for a very enjoyable and informative evening on thursday, I was unable to find any cattle again today went the wrong way again. norman

Site and Cattle check

Hello everyone.

Upon visiting the site today I had a couple of jobs to do as well as look at some future works.

First I collected the bagged up rubbish left over from a party up near the BMX track and then went and collected the boxed up cans and bottles down near the Horse pond. If only we could raise money by re-cycling other peoples rubbish!!!! Thanks to everyone who collected and bagged up this stuff.

We thenm went up to Sandy Hill where a broken post was reported. Upon inspecting the fenceline it became apparent that a fari few of these posts were either broken or very loose so we will be contacting the MoD to have them carry out some fencing repairs to this entire section.....watch this space.

We then went looking for the cows and found them all (we think) in squares I and J 18. they all appeared very calm and happy and it was lovely to see them on this part of the site as we really feel it could do with some grazing in that neck of the woods. To help us further achieve this we will be moving the blue feed bin/bucket thingy to this area the next time it gets filled so this will help encourage the cattle to spend more time in this area.

Great to see the site again and see the cows all happy,

Elliott

my first sighting today a group were spread around grids o/20/21/22 I sat on my shooting stick grid o 21 counting, they kept appearing all around me ,as I sat I was surrounded by 14 calves all looking at me ,I sat for 15 mins I got a good look at these and a few cows that were close enough , some calves walked away 8 stayed until I walked away ,I carried on westwards to count another group I had seen I counted these, and carried on and came across another group including the bull , I counted this group and started back home all of the animals I was close to looked ok including collar ,I don,t think there is any more problem with her, or 145 I had seen walking swiftly to join the others I counted a total of 62 today .norman.

only a short walk today have an appointment , 7.30 am 16 including the bull were in the trees where the barrel was ,unable to get close they kept walking away they looked ok from a distance ,a further 26 were at the barrel these allowed me to get real close ,collar was there she still looks ok, I stood for approx 15 mins watching they all appeared ok ,I ended up with a row of 9 calves standing about 1 mtr away just looking at me ,1 kept trying to sniff my dog but she was not having anything to do with it, a further 16 were spread over the hillside to the south of the horse pond 10 calves 4 cows these let me get close all looked ok ,the loose fence I reported some time ago near the field gate grid p 24 now has a broken intermediate post . norman

Noon - all at a point due north of Jubilee Clump and half way between the clump and the boundary road (Wellesley) peacefully grazing or chewing the cud.

this morning 7.15 the bull and 1 cow were at the barrel ,2 cows and 2 calves were in the dip beside the track at the eastern end of the horse pond they joined the other 2 at the barrel ,shortly joined by three other cows ,as I went out yesterday morning there was a group of six ,three girls and three boys late teens early twentys standing around at grid p/23 when I went by this morning, where they were yesterday it looked as though they were there all night having a drinks party there were empty cans scattered all over along with empty bottles I cleared up all of the cans and put them in the empty boxes they had left ,unfortunatley they had partly broken the bottles, I picked up all of the glass I could find and put it in the boxes ,there was to much for me to remove from site ,I have left it on top of a bank hopefully out of the way of the cattle .norman

10.15, i searched most of the area and eventually found 40 lying down near the sandy area towards the pavilion at roughly J29, those i saw looked o/k, as for the others i searched the whale tail and Caesars camp area with no luck.

7.15 today a group of 40 were at and close to the barrel ,the bull was in the regrowth south of the barrel grazing on the leaves on the regrowth ,collar was there looking straight at me her eye is all clear now, no wet face eyes nice and bright ,145 was there all of the others I was close to looked ok ,including the calf that came and sniffed my hand ,after around 15 mins they all started to move off westwards to join the track at long bottom as I left to go home they were at grids n/o 22/23 norman

today 7.45 I met up with some of the cattle they were at grid,s f 30 31 I sat on a bank watching and counting ,there were 20 in the group, as I sat three calves and two cows came over and stood about 1 mtr away just looking at me, me talking to them it was like an audience with five animals ,as I carried on I met up with another group they were in grids g 29 30 at the sunny hills area the bull was with this group ,the five that stood watching me in the first group ,all looked ok the rest of the group I looked at through my bino,s all looked ok as far as I could see ,the ones I got close to in the other group mostly calves all looked ok ,I was not able to get near any of the cows in this group. norman

12.30.i counted 23 grazing at G19-G20, and at least 40 spread over G23, to about F26, some were grazing and some chewing the cud, those i saw looked o/k

today 7.45 the cattle were down by the bourley road about 150 mtrs east of the corral all grazing moving slowly towards the car park I was at the seats at caesars camp I could see the bull and 145 I was unable to see collar but I think they were all there norman

11.45, in glorious sunshine, i counted at least 68 on top of Caesars camp, i think all of them were there, i was getting into the scenario of "did i count that one or not" they all looked o/k, the bull and the one with the collar was also there.

I came across cattle this morning 8.00 ,34 were spread over the hillside to the north of the horse pond, another 20 including the bull were at the blue barrel ,I was only able to get close to ten of them all 0f those looked ok ,no sign of collar today a total of 54 ,I suspect the rest were somewhere close by. norman.

Dead cow

Hello
I managed to locate the dead cow yesterday, and have arranged for her to be removed by the farmer. I am hoping that we will be able to find out why she died.
There are indeed hobby nesting, in the woodland around the reservoirs. You may still be able to see them hunting for dragonflies until the middle of this month, when they head back to Africa for the winter.
Alex

later - around 11.00 all (really almost impossible to make an accurate count) at the head of Long Bottom;  most of them grazing.

I was told, on Saturday, that there is a Hobby nesting somewhere in the area.

hello bad news this morning i,m afraid ,on my way home I heard a fellow dog walker calling me she is not one of the lookers but lets me know if she sees anything amiss, she told me there is a dead cow on site and I immediatly rang alex and reported this ,he said he would do the necessary to find the dead cow, my friend told me when she first saw it it was still alive and foaming at the mouth, when she next saw it it had moved and was then dead she took her ear tag no, and I gave this to alex when I reported in ,she did not know who to contact and was lucky to see me today ,it must be near grid n 16 .now some better news I saw collar and was surprised she let me get real close ,first time ever her eye appears to have dried up no wet on the side of her face and her eye was open ,Icounted 31 this morning near the gate at sandy hill playing field. norman

7.30 this morning cattle were at grids l,21 22 including the bull and collar only able to get close to one .they were moving at a fast rate along the track at the north side of the flooded gravel pit I managed to count 40 ,I could hear others calling at the southern side of the gravel pit but did not see any. norman

10.00,this morning i counted about 33
spread out along the long bottom track O22-O25, those i saw looked o/k.

7.30 today 20 of the cattle were at the barrel including the bull and collar, she let me get quite close today if I had remembered my bino,s I could have got a good look at her, a further 18 were spread over the hillside to the south side of the horse pond all I got close to looked ok . norman

Elliotts Looker Report

Today was my day for visiting all of the sites and checking all of the animals and remedying any problems.

Arriving at CC by the entrance next to the Pavilion onto Sunny Hill Road I checked out the snapped straining post next to the gate. Whilst this is stock proof we will be asking the MoD to send a team out to completely re-build this section as it is not an easy quick fix so hopefully this will be repaired fully soon.

I then drove around to all of the kissing gates and known problem areas and am happy to say there were no cuts and only one missing grazing sign. I had our new Assistant Keith Blackmore with me showing him around the sites so Keith will be checking next week so look forward to his blog entry. Keith is also now aware of where the interpretation panels are to be replaced so he will be getting on with this is due course.

I am pleased to say that Keith and I managed a positive count of every cow as they walked, not so quietly, up Long Bottom towards the Horse Pond. We saw 'collar' with her weeping eye and I have since asked to grazier to have another look at it. It was lovely to see all of the cows just milling, eating, chewing the cudd, laying up, walking, scratching, grazing, snapping branches all together and generally just being an absolutely brilliant herd of animals. Having not been to the site myself for a couple of weeks you can really see the difference that the cows have made this year and the site is feeling more and more like parts of the New Forest each time i visit - its great!

I took a couple of photos as it was such good weather. I hope you like them

Elliott

7.15 today some of the cattle were around the horse pond ,the bull was there grazing along the track to the south side along with one cow, others were at the barrel ,others were grazing along the north side of the pond 145 was there along with her calf this was the calf that used to play with my little dog ,it has now got a lot bigger and my dog will not have anything to do with it ,others were just to the eastern end of the pond in the dip to the side of the track the one with the collar was there, I tried to get a good look at her weepy eye unfortunatly she is one of the few that will not let me get close ,so I had to resort to my bino,s but she kept turning her head away ,in spite of staying for 30 mins trying I still did not get a good look at her, I counted 20 total today ,all of the ones I did get close to except the one with the collar looked ok norman.

7.30 this morning 11 cattle were at grid,s 22 23 ,a further 11 including the bull were at the blue barrel , a further 28 were spread over a large area from east of the horse pond to approx halfway to the sandy area at sunny hills, I did not see the one with the collar today, when I got to the gate to go home the 11 from the blue barrel were making their way up the hill towards the broken troop shelter ,the first 11 I saw were almost at the barrel norman

I found cattle this morning 7.30 they were spread along the track behind bricksbury hill housing ,I only counted 20 they were eating the young shoots on the blackberry bushes 145 was there she is walking perfectly now ,the one with the collar was also there ,her eye is still weeping, her eye was partly closed ,remember I reported the loose fence at the field gate grid p 24 the same cow that was pushing against the fence was there she turns her head on one side and gets her head under the barbed wire and then pushes against the sheep netting to get at the better feed on the other side ,she did this several times at different places I thought she was going to break her way through so I moved her on ,I heard some more down by the horse pond so I made my way down the hill and found another 10 including the bull some were at the blue barrel others were drinking in the pond the ones from the top of the hill followed me down and joined the rest at the barrel and pond ,as I was walking along the track at the north side of the pond a cow came out of the regrowth at the eastern end of the pond closely followed by the bull ,I stopped walking so did he, he had a good look at me then followed the cow this makes a total of 30 today norman

10.30, i managed to count 55 but there could have been more,they were spread out from about 021 to P23, those i saw looked o/k.

09.30, today i managed to find all the cattle in the whale tail, most were grazing and looked o/k, although there were a few that looked a bit skinny on the back, i also met Laura and Mike and they were aware of the skinny cows.

About midday all 60+ (and possibly 71) in a tight group in the large sandy area (old rifle butts) under Jubilee Clump.  Nothing of note observed.

Plastic bags and bottles.

Counted 26 at 0830 this morning around the butts at the foot of Caesar's Camp (~H19) and on the slope up to the camp. They were probably the same ones Jill saw last evening. They all seemed fine but one calf was eating a plastic bag and ran off when I tried to take it away. I then spotted his mum eating a plastic bottle! I managed to grab that away from her and dispose of it. The group were actually in some nice grass with no reason to be eating rubbish.

About 40 were peacefully grazing and lazing around H/I 16/17 early this evening. The group included the bull and the cow with the collar (neither of her eyes looked quite right). The others seemed well.

10.30, i only managed a count of about 33 this morning, they were all on the top of Caesars camp, most were lying down chewing the cud and looked o/k.

Friday morning's wander

Found c. 55 well spread out between T5 and R15and heading west quite quickly with plenty of bellowing on the way. The bull was there, looking very docile, but I couldn't see either 145 or the one with the collar. They looked fine.

I only found 5 cattle this morning 7.30 4 cows 1 calf grids k 25/26 never saw or heard any more although 2 of the four cows has come up from the old firing range area so more could have been around that area . norman.

I was late going out today 10 30 am met some of the cattle, grids o/p 20/21 did not get close to many , counted 58 ,I got fairly close to the one with the collar it looked to me as though the eye has dried up although she still had her eye closed ,I wonder if her eyelids are stuck ,the bull was there lying quite a distance from the cows and calves ,the ones I got close to all looked ok. norman.

Site checks 25/8/09

Hello. I was out yesterday checking the site and despite driving all over the place I only found 51 all together in the trees at J29 (I think?). It was very warm so I guess they were taking refuge in the shade. The group consisted of just cows and calves, many of which were suckling while the mums stood calmly around. No sign of the bull and the other cows.
Laura

08.15, today i managed a count of roughly 30 spread along the long bottom track at Q19-Q20 and a further 7 were at the blue barrel, most were grazing and looked o/k.

08.30, my first day back to lookering after 4 weeks and reading about a bull keeping the herd together i was optimistic that i would find them all, what a mistake, i found the bull all alone at the blue barrel, then further down the track East of the pond spread out at roughly N26 i managed to count 20 and further East in the woods near the open sandy area roughly K28-29, i managed a count of 30, those i saw looked o/k.

this morning 7.15 5 cows and the bull were at the blue barrel ,I carried on up towards the broken troop shelter and met some more coming down towards the blue barrel ,I sat on a tree stump and counted as they came by me I counted a further 57 ,I went on and looked out over the area where the fire was below the seats a further 6 were there ,I carried on with my walk and stood talking to another dog walker not one of the lookers and she told me a few days ago she had seen a group of youngsters throwing large stones at the cattle she said she heard them say she,s coming and ran away, as I went towards my route home I went past where the blue barrel used to be under the trees the cattle, a large group of them were either lying or standing under the trees ,the one with the collar was there she still appears to keep her weepy closed a lot ,I slowly walked among them to get a look at them ,did not see any more problems they dont seem to be bothered by me going among them perhaps because I stand talking to them a lot. norman

About 10 AM all in & around clump of trees to SW of Horse Pond.  Nothing of note to report.

this morning 7.15 some of the cattle were close to my home ,145 and her calf and one other brown one were just inside the gate I come through grid q 22 23 ,some of the rest were down the bottom of the hill grids l m n 19 20 21 ,145 seems to be walking perfectly now ,I went down to see the others I got quite close to a lot of them the one with the collar still has a weepy eye ,looking at her closely through my bino,s she keeps that eye closed a lot of the time ,some more were at the blue barrel I did not go to see those ,some more were spread far and wide around the area not able to count ,except for the one with the collar all of the ones I was close to appeared to be ok ,the bull was with these at the bottom of the hill. I could hear some more bellowing in the distance I would think towards the whale tail end. norman

Further update

Late morning there were about 65 in a largish area around I 28/29. Lots of grazing and lazing around. Couldn't see 145 amongst them but aside from a couple of weepy eyes (including one of the calves), those I saw seemed fine.

10:00. Didn't see any cows this morning. Did my usual wander from whale tail, up to the camp, down as far as Horse Pond, and back round again. I guess they must all still have been at the other end where Norman saw them earlier.

I did see that someone has pulled the Trust's sign off the gate opposite the petrol station again. The sign is still there, but the holes through which it was zip-tied on are ripped through. I found it stuffed through the cattle grid, so picked it out and wedged it precariously in between the ties.

the cattle this morning were down near the bourley road car park 7.30 , they were around 500 mtrs from the gate at the car park ,they were making a lot of noise bellowing constantly I made my way down towards them as I thought there might be a problem ,I watched them come out onto the tarmac road I was on trying to count them as they came out of the trees I managed to count up to 50 then a large group came out together and I lost count they all seemed to be ok I saw the one with the collar but not close enough to see if her eye is still weepy they all gathered near the gate and then started to make their way slowly away up one of tarmac roads away from the gate grazing as they went I stayed watching for 30 mins all seemed ok so made my way home . norman.

I saw the cattle this morning 7.30 they were spread over a wide area just to the eastern side of the covered reservois, not possible to count from where I was on top of the steep bank near the seats ,I would think most were there ,three were on the sandy area at the old firing range 145 was one of them they appeared to be licking the sand as I could not see any vegetation through my bino,s145 and one other started to make their way back towards the others the other one carried on towards the royal pavillion end. norman.

Well spread out

Counted c. 65 this morning spread throughout the area G/H 17-21. About 40 were heading west whilst the others were moving south. The bull was heading off for a drink and those I saw seemed well, though the one with the collar still has a weeping eye.

I found cattle 7.30 this morning after two days not seeing any .they were at the north side of the flooded gravel pit ,eastern end as I stood talking to one of the brown ones that appears to be carrying a calf the bull appeared from the undergrowth on the other side of the track I was on ,I just kept still ,he looked at me and just carried on walking I was about 4 mtrs from him ,the closest I have been yet ,the cattle then started to walk through the trees towards the south side of the gravel pit I followed and tried to get some sort of a count I managed to count over 50 then I lost it did not know what I had counted ,the one with the collar still seems to have a weepy eye did not see any other problems, 145 was there she appears to be ok now .I thought 4 number of the brown ones appear to be carrying calves ,I would think most of them were there. norman

11 AM 50+ spread over large area at western extremity and further 18 in small glade near water tower.  No specific observations to make.

Flies

I must have been walking among them about the same time that Jamie got his full count. Some were suffering from large numbers of flies including 145 and her calf who were under the trees where the lick used to be. I noticed that she too had a weepy left eye that was particularly attracting the flies. One brown cow that was separated from the rest was walking down the track down from Long Bottom towards the lick bellowing. I wondered if it might have been her calf that died.

Beautiful evening, and a full count

18:30 ish. Found 2 groups of 10 (including one heavily pregnant-looking cow) and 17 close together at M21, and the remaining herd of 44, including the bull, spread out around P18/19 and surrounding areas.

Following yesterday's tragic news, I gave them a good looking over with the binocs. All looked ok, except that cow 270 (with the collar) has a closed and weepy left eye. J.

Dead calf

Hello all,

Not good news i am afraid but there was a dead calf found this morning down near the large sandy area (Sunny Hill).

One of the lookers found the calf and reported it to us straight away which we are really grateful for. We immediately found the calf and informed the farmer who will visit the site to remove the carcass.

Whilst the carcass was in the early stages of decomposition (i.e. bloating with gases) it still looked to be in a healthy state and did not have any signs of injury. Obviously this makes us all think about the lead incident a while back but we hope that this is just one of those farming incidents that happens with livestock. However, if everyone could just keep an extra eye on the cows and spend a couple more minutes than normal that would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Elliott

some of the cattle this morning were spread over the area below the seats at ceasars camp ,I counted 38 including the bull and 145 she appeared to be walking ok now, I noticed the blue barrel has been moved ,two cows were at its new location ,I chased off a dog chasing one of the calves walking up to join the others below the seats ,the rest of the cattle appeared to be near the corall at bourley road norman

11 August 09

Hello
I went out yesterday (Tuesday) and had a look at the fence that Norman was concerned about (below). I have made a couple of repairs, and re-tensioned it, so hopefully it should last. Can people keep an eye out for this particular spot.
I saw the cattle in I18, but they were moving southwards.
Also, today, I had a report of 2 calves out near the Total garage on the Odiham Rd. I went up there only to discover that they were someone elses! We traced the owner and managed to get them in their trailer without further incident.
Thanks
Alex

I found cattle this morning 7 cows 1 calf and the bull were at the blue barrel 145 was there as well, the rest were spread over the hillside on the south side of the horse pond not able to get a count of these ,the ones from the blue barrel came out and joined the rest they then all started to walk up the hill towards the back of bricksbury hill houses I followed they then followed the track towards sandy hill and onwards from there, I walked quite a distance beside 145 her leg is still bothering her a bit she kept stopping and lifting it up for a short time then going on .the top barbed wire beside the kissing gate grid p 24.25 is very slack and one of the cows was doing her best to get over to get the better feed on the outside I moved her on as she was pushing very hard against the fence so hard she was moving the fence post norman

About 10 AM Long Bottom down towards Pavilion - the whole herd all quiet and seemingly well.

Sunday morning

Happened to be near Bourley Rd earlier today and found C 67 cattle enjoying a very lazy morning around G19. They were almost all dozing or chewing the cud - the only things missing were the Sunday papers! All seemed ok - bull and 145 included

Lunchtime report

I think I came across the same group as Norman late this morning. 5 were wandering east at about R21, a group of 7 was at R17 and a larger group of 21, including the bull, were around R19. 5 calves were enjoying themselves around the blue barrel. Couldn't see any others around the whale tail area or from the camp and ran out of time to go further.

Some of the cattle this morning 7.45 am were spread over the area around the seats at caesars camp, I counted a total of 11 animals a further 26 were at the bottom of the slope below the seats , was only close to 6 of them all of those appeared to be ok, I did not see 145 or the bull ,on my way back home a further 4 were walking from the blue barrel to join the rest these all looked ok as they passed me norman

Jill Goddard Looker Report

65+ were munching peacefully first thing this morning over a wide area around the main path running east from the gate at the top end of Sandy Hills. The bull seemed only interested in feeding, some of the calves seemed especially friendly and playful and 145 was putting quite a lot of weight on her sore leg but still holding it up occasionally. The nearby troop exercises seemed of little interest to any of them when I was there though there was a fair amount of bellowing (both troops and cows!).

this morning the cattle were fairly widespread unable to get very close ,some were around the broken troop shelter ,145 was with this group seemed to be walking ok the rest were where the fire was on the slope below caesars camp ,the bull was with this group I managed to get a full count norman

Saturday evening

1830. Very difficult to get an accurate count, but there were a large number of cows scattered all over from R14/15 up to P21/22. All looked well.

The bull seemed to have paired off with one of the ladies, but as ever seemed more interested in stuffing his face than paying her any attention!

I saw 145. She seemed rather grumpy and gave me a right bellowing, so I didn't bother her for too long. But long enough to see that although the bad leg looks a little stiff and limpy, she does seem to be using it well. When I saw her she was grazing on a steep incline towards long bottom.

One very lovely sight was a group of 4 calves that had been grazing on the top of a hill, noticed that all the others had moved lower down and left them all alone, so the four of them came thundering down the hill to where the adults were. They looked very funny.

Not so sweet were the 3 youths speeding around the place on a quad bike and a mini-moto - though I think after they'd seen me with my camera and binocs, they might have thought I was official or something because they left the area.

the cattle this morning were widespread on the area where there had previously been a fire ,on the right of the track going towards the royal pavillion ,to widespread to tell what grid squares they were in I would think most if not all were there, I was not able to get close enough to get a good look at any of them ,I saw the bull and also 145 she is walking better now but her leg is still bothering her ,while I was watching them a dog started to chase some of them I called it off and when the owner appeared told her she should stop the dog worrying the cattle as it an offence to allow this to happen, she said she knew this and would not let it happen again norman

Grazing (and Graylings)

Was on site today checking some planned works for this winter and saw most of the cattle. There was 36 or so together but loosely spread out around K22, K23, K24 and another 25 or more spread throughout the parkland area with all the oaks around H, I, J 27, 28 29. The bull was with them but showing more interest in eating than keeping all his ladies together. There was one solitary cow just off the top of the ridge from the camp (J20) happily chomping away as she was surrounded by troops with their guns, rucksacks and maps as though she couldn’t even see them! All looked well and very happy. Cow 145 was grazing well and looks healthy. She was putting weight on her foot in order to move around and graze but not putting any weight on it the rest of the time.

The effects of the grazing are really showing in these areas where they were today and they are doing a great job at opening up the sward and breaking down old grass stems and thatch on the ground. I also saw a handful of graylings in the parkland area all basking on the little bare patches created by the cows hooves. These inconspicuous butterflies need this type of bare ground habitat to thrive.

Laura

About 10 AM: half herd near Horse Pond, the other half including bull about 1 mile further down Long Bottom.  All very quiet.

the cattle this morning 7.45 were spread over a wide area both sides of the flooded gravel pit 145 was on the south side walking much better now but still holding her foot up at times not possible to get a count norman.

Only found 2 relatively small groups today. At about 12.00 I found a group of 15 (including the bull) under the trees around the barrel. Found a second group of cows and calves up the hill slightly further up the track from the barrel. Those that I saw all looked well.

Happy Families

I found them spread out around the Horse Pond and in the trees by the blue lick barrel this morning at around 0700. 145 was near the barrel, leaning against a tree, still holding the leg up when she can but putting weight on it when she moves. I wasn't able to get a count but all those I saw looked well. I didn't see the calf with the weepy eye.

The bull was doing some courting down by the pond but the lady was not interested. While I was kneeling down taking some photographs I found I was the subject of interest to one of the calves who crept up and gently butted me. It followed me around for a while until mum came out of the gorse to advise me to go away.

I met Norman (and Crystal) shortly after and chatted for a while until the bull decided he was wasting his time with his latest lady and set off for the lick barrel.

Jill's Friday looker report

Found c. 65 up at R/Q 4/5 first thing today. All were grazing peacefully, the bull included. 145 was gingerly putting her foot on the ground when still or walking slowly and I couldn’t see any with weeping eyes.

Bumped into Norman on the way back who had his camera so perhaps he will have some photos to add.

Jill

I met cattle this morning 7.30 am I counted 29 cows and 19 calves ,11+5 calves were at the blue barrel under the trees ,the rest were on the track above the broken troop shelter ,145 was with them still struggling to walk properly but getting better , did not see the bull it sounded like some more were below the seats at caesars camp all of the ones I was close to looked ok ,145 s calf came and visited my dog again . norman

Brown and White cow with Collar and weeping eye

Following a report from Ivan on a cow with a weeping eye (ear tag ends in 99) I have just spoken to the farmer. He confirmed that the cow has had the problem for about a week now and he has been treating it with the relevant medicine for the last week. So far the treatment has not worked too well so he is going to take the cow off of the site on Thursday unless it makes a miraculous recovery.

I will keep you all posted on this situation.

Elliott

Monday 2pm

Found a small group of c.20 in the small wood to the west of the Horse Pond and a much larger group, including the bull, further west up Long Bottom. Those we saw looked ok.

about 9.30 AM - as far as could be determined all including bull around Horse Pond.

A red-brown calf (last two tag numbers 99) has partially closed and weeping left eye.

Cattle checks and broken gate

Hello everyone.

yesterday (Sunday 19th) I visited the site following a report of a broken gate. The gate was opposite Alexandra road and have been levered out of its kissing gate compartment so was swinging wide open. I fixed the gate and hopefully made it harder to do the same again but we will see. I also replaced the cattle on site sign which had been ripped off.

Whilst on site I found the cows (well 63 of them was all I could count)spread out in squares H30, H31, I30 and I31. They were all laying down and chewing the cudd underneath the oak trees and in the long grasses. It was a lovely site and more than made up for the fact that someone had vandalised our gate.

The bull was with the herd as was cow 145. She was still very lame but at l;east was happy to put her weight on the foot when standing still. We will continue to monitor the cow to ensure she continues to made a recovery as she is every day. If she starts to get worse then we will address the situation with the farmer again and decide what to do next.

Elliott

the cattle this morning were on the bank opposite the horse pond, to spread out to count 145 was not with them ,I would think most of them were there the bull was there trying hard to serve one of the cows ,a light sandy coloured one he had no sucess while I was there . norman

Content Bull

Early this afternoon found about half the herd down at I 30. The bull is a very impressive beast and was lying down chewing the cud contentedly. 145 was with the herd, occasionally gingerly putting her foot on the ground but not putting any weight on it. 170 still has a weepy and cloudy eye. The other cows and the calves seemed fine. Three trial bikes were causing a lot of disturbance.

I found a small group of cattle where they were yesterday by the small pond ,145 was not with them found another small group at grid squares P 14 15 , again 145 was not with them saw the rest were around the arial compound at the beacon hill road end ,I did not attempt to count any of the groups as 145 has been my main concern and will be untill she is better, it took me sometime to get to them as it is way off my normal walk 8 00 am before I got to them ,I was pleased to see 145 was trying to put weight on her right front leg still difficult to walk but improving,I did not notice the bull but if he was with the large group he did not bother with me there is one calf I think it is 145,s comes and plays with my little jack russel I must take my camera and take a photo norman.

Bull on site and cow 145

Hello everyone,

i have just spoken to Rob, the owner of the cattle at Caesars Camp, to have an update on the cow with the sore leg. He confirmed that he has completed the course of antibiotics to reduce the infection. he even tried to give the cow an extra injection just to make sure but could not catch it so is happy that the cow is on its way to recovering.

He also informed me that upon visiting this morning to check on the cow with the sore leg he has delivered a bull onto the site to spend the next 8/9 weeks with the cows. This is all part of an extremely exciting plan of creating beef from your local heath and then being able to sell it in a local shop which is something the Grazing Project has been aiming at for the last three years.

Because the bull has so many cows to entertain him he should be very calm and docile. If anything it will be the cows that get a little bit more excited having him around! Having said that he is obviously a bull and is therefore very much larger than the rest of the cows. Accidents can always happen so please make sure you keep you safe distance and observe from afar.

Now that a bull is on site it is even more important the the signs are in place on the gates and that they are replaced as and when they are vandalised. I know a number are missing at present so will visit the site today and replace those with new signs.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask

Elliott

A plea for new members

Hello everyone,

Because of the current recession and the stresses and difficulties that this poses upon us as individuals and as a charity, we are really trying to raise our membership levels to help us through these difficult times. The money that is raised through membership recruitment is extremely important for the Wildlife Trust as it is classified as unrestrictive which means it can be spent on any conservation task we like with no strings attached.

I have recently uploaded a copy of our membership form which gives you all the information you need to join the Wildlife Trust and also gives you some extra information that our charity does outside of your area as well as details all of the benefits you will receive from being a member.

If you are not already a member please do just take five minutes to have a look at the link on the right hand side of the blog called 'www,hwt.org.uk'. If you would like to join, excellent, or if you feel you know of anyone else that would like to join then please forward the link to them and help us spread the word.

I do hope that you don’t mind me blogging this but we were all told yesterday at a staff meeting that we need to do more to gain members as they are so crucial to the Trusts future so this is the start of my efforts.

Best wishes

Elliott

I found the cattle this morning 7.45 am they were at the area around the small pond where the steep drop signs are ,145 was with them I noticed when she was grazing she was resting her foot on the ground now ,didn,t appear to be putting any weight on it ,but still limping badly when walking not putting her right front leg on the ground at all norman

Site checks 14/7

I checked all the sites yesterday and despite being at Caesar's Camp for a couple of hours I only sighted about 20 cattle in total. I kept meeting the same group who were all over the site on the move, from H23 to C26, then onto H18 and finallly at Q16

Cow 145 was not with any of the little groups I saw so I was unable to check its foot.

I fixed the fence by the field gate at the covered resevoir which had been cut a bit and trampled down.

Plently of water about for now in streams and pools

Laura

Cow 145 treatment with antibiotics

Good morning.

Rob, the farmer, has been out to check the cow (145) with the swollen leg last week and this weekend.
It has an infection in the cleft of the foot which is causing swelling in the foot and shin. It has been administered antibiotics on Thursday (9th) and Friday (10th) of last week and will be given another dose today. This will complete the course, so we should start to see an improvement this week.

If there is no improvement then the cow will be taken off site for further treatment.

Thank-you for your reports on this

Laura

Update

I think I found the same group as James a few hours later - they were still well spread out. The limping cow was struggling to graze and clearly couldn't put any weight on her leg. I did see 171 still with a very weepy and cloudy eye. I think there were some of the new calves in the group - they are very skittish and leggy.

1130-1200-ish. Found a large group of 63 spread around O/P 21/22. Plus an advance party of 3 at S16.

Cow 145 was with the large group. When I arrived she was sitting with the bad leg straight out infront of her - the knee and shin looking badly swollen. When she stood to give one of the calves a feed, she was holding the bad leg up with it just swinging and floppy.

Other than 145, all the others looked in good health. I didn't see any weepy eyes.

Cow 145

Hello everyone,

We have had over the past couple of days numerous reports of cow 145 which is very lame with a swollen shin. Each report we have had we have passed onto the grazier who has taken the information of board. I spoke to them again today and stressed the fact that so many people are ringing in with concerns and he said he would go down again to try to catch the cow and remedy the problem. This will be the second time the famer has tried to catch this cow in the past week or so as it managed to be too quick, despite its injury, for the farmers to herd last time. I will keep you posted as to how this situation continues.

Thanks

Elliott

I found the cattle this morning at 7.30 am they were mostly at the seats at caesars camp, a few were at the bottom of the slope where then first big fire was ,I did not attempt to count any of them I was to intent on finding the one with the limp, I met another looker told him what I was looking for and together we found her her ear tag no is 145 this is the same one I phoned alex about a few weeks ago only she is now worse than the first report ,she is not attempting to put her right foot on the ground at all ,having worked with cattle in my younger days she bothers me I am thinking of stopping looking for them I think she needs some serious attention the other looker I met said he would report his sighting as well norman

I found the cattle this morning 7.30 am they were spread over grids g h i 27 28 29 ,not possible to count as they were in the regrowth ,I would say they were all there ,I had a real close look at the one with the limp ,I got to about 20 mtrs of her looking through my bino's I had a good look at her face all looked clear , her rear end looked ok , her udder was ok , but her right front leg is giving her trouble she was lying on her left side but could not rest ,she kept moving her right leg and for some reason kept turning her head and resting it on her right shoulder after a while she got up but did not move I watched them all for 30 mins then moved on norman

17.00, i found a group of at least 55 at roughly G25-26,F26,most were lying down chewing the cud, yet again counting them was very difficult as the little ones are hidden in the grass, did not see any limping cow.

Injured cattle

Hello
Norman phoned in this morning to report a badly limping cow, and we have had other reports of weeping and sore eyes.
The farmer had already been up and will treat the eyes of the cattle with antibiotics. He will leave the limping cow for the time being as she is managing to keep with the rest of the herd and he doesn't want to make the problem worse by having to catch her.
In addition he has increased the number of cows and calves by 4 of each.
Thanks for all your help.
Alex

16.00, a very wet day up on Caesars camp today, that aside i managed a positive count of 52 but there could have been more. they were grazing at roughly J29-I30, they all looked o/k and were slowly moving East.

About 10.00 AM - all at top end of Long Bottom and all seemed to be in good order.

Those who enjoy the relative peace and quiet of the heath should note that TAG (the operators of Farnborough airport) have applied to double the number of aircraft movements.  The application is made to Rushmore Borough Council (RBC) on whose website further details can be found.  Any comments/objections should be made to RBC by 27 July.

17.00, i found 8 ( 4 cows 4 calves ) at P19, and a positive count of 51 at roughly G25-26. there could have been all of the main herd but spotting the calves in the grass is not easy. There was the remains of a smoldering heath fire at the top of Caesars camp which i reported to the fire brigade.

I found the cattle this morning 7.30 am they were under the trees at the blue barrels I stood watching, about 50 yds from them for about 15 mins ,most were lying down all close together not possible count but I would think most ,if not all were there coming back from my walk I noticed they had split up some heading towards the horse pond others heading west walking slowly and grazing as they went. norman

10.30, today i found at least 45 in the woods at M21 although a positive count was impossible most were lying down resting from the heat, a further 8, 4 cows 4 calves were under the trees at P17, 2 of the cows got very protective as i got within 20' of them so i did not venture any closer.
I noticed both ponds still have a lot of water in them.

I found cattle this morning 7.30 am I counted 18 cows 15 calves 9 cows were in grid squares k-l 16-17 rest were in squares m-n 19-20 all appeared to be contented most of the calves were lying down norman

09.00, i found 6 ( 4 cows 2 calves ) at R14 under the trees and i counted 50 but i think there were more at the blue barrels. most were lying down sleeping or chewing the cud all looked o/k.

I am a bit late with this I met another dog walker this morning ,8.am he is not one of the lookers however if he sees anything unusual he lets me know ,he told me that yesterday late afternoon he saw a calf all on its own lying in a deep ditch this is on the main track between grid squares p 15.16 and the cattle grid on the way to beacon hill road, he was a bit worried as he said he thought it was dead as it was not moving ,and was lying full length feet streched out and its head on the ground ,he stood for some time watching ,it eventually got up scrambled up the bank and slowly walked towards the trees at the water tower ,there was no other cattle near it ,and it was nowhere to be seen this morning .
norman

Hot and dry

Hello
You will have noticed that it is extremely hot at the moment. This means that there is a higher chance that we may run out of water on this site.
It would be really useful, therefore, if you could keep an eye on the water supply for the cattle (The Horse Pond and the 'new' pond at the top of Caesar's Camp). The Grazing Project Team will also keep an eye out, but cannot be there every day.
We have a couple of bowsers if necessary in an emergency.
Also, it is very important that you keep safe in the hot weather - how about taking a bottle of water with you and wearing a sun hat.
Thank you and enjoy the sun!
Alex

10-11 am Sandy Hill to Horse Pond to Caesars Camp to Water Tr. & back down Long Bottom - no cattle seen.

caesars camp cattle

I found some of the cattle 7.15 this morning four cows and three calves at the blue barrels ,I could hear others bellowing up towards the seats at caesars camp, when I got there I found what I think was the rest ,most of the cows were standing up under the shade of the trees to close together to count ,all looked ok to me ,a few of the calves were standing up again they all appeared to be ok.
norman

17:00 Large group all in the shade of the trees by the blue barrels. I counted about 49. There was also a fair amount of coming and going towards the pond. All looked ok.

09.00, i was short of time today and only managed to look from bourley road car park over to horse shoe pond then up to Caesars camp, with no sighting. I presume they must be over at the whale tail area.

Evening sighting

Found c. 56 over a wide area of P/Q/R/S 4/5 this evening. There might have been more but several were amongst the trees and it was tricky to count them all. A small group was hanging around the cattle gird - interested in making a run for it? They seemed fine, if rather hot and some were slightly bothered by flies.

caesars camp cattle

7.45. this morning I found the cattle spread over a large area opposite the blue barrels ,and the area near the horse pond .I counted all of the cattle seven were close to the track lying down chewing the cud these I was quite close to and all appeared to be ok the rest were all moving around grazing to far away to see clearly ,I could only see 14 calves but guess the others were close by,most of the calves were lying down and all appeared to be ok
norman

12.00, today i found 20 at roughly N26 coming out of the woods and slowly making their way towards the pond where 8 were having a paddle, i cycled up to Caesars and over to the whale tail with no other sitings. those i saw looked o/k

10.00 this morning i found 40ish at the blue barrels, most were lying down with a few at the barrels and one or two grazing, a positive count was impossible due to the herd spread out and lying down in the bracken, those i saw looked o/k. I cycled up to Caesars camp and over to the whale tail but saw no sign of any others.

caesars camp cattle

I met the cattle again this morning 7 45 am they were mostly lying down they were in grid squares p q 20 21,I was unable to get a count ,I carried on with my walk and stopped some distance away from them and watched ,they eventually all got up and started to walk fairly fast towards the blue barrels, I was then able to get a count there were 13 cows and 13 calves they all appeared to be ok ,I could hear others bellowing at the blue barrels but did not go to see how many were there.
norman

10.30 am 40+ in clump of trees just to SW of Horse Pond.  Some 40 mins. later most had moved off in NE direction down Long Bottom.  

caesars camp cattle

I met the cattle this morning at 8.30 the first day back from my weekend away ,they were in grid squares q r 17 18 ,most were lying down I was unable to get a definite count I would think most were there although I had already seen one with two calves by the small pond where the steep drop signs are ,they appeared to be content I stood among them for around 15 mins they did not appear to worry about me or my small dog, when walking on I met another one coming towards me from the direction of the blue barrels this one had the ring in her nose,she just carried on not taking any notice of me
Norman

Sunday 12 noon

Found 9 cows and 8 calves in the small patch of woodland just to the west of the Horse Pond. A dog walker told us the rest of the cattle were at the far south west corner of the Whale Tail. The ones we saw looked fine.

Saturday evening bellow

There was a great deal of bellowing from what seemed to be the entire group, but I can't claim to have counted them all. They were on the raised ground at ~O17 at about 1800 today when I first spotted them. As they came down the slope the mums seemed to stop and bellow back up to those still on the top. They spread out in several directions after coming down making it difficult to be sure of the number. I didn't spot the one with the weepy eye or the lame one.

Thursday Evening

Managed to count 29 cows in the area within R7 & R11 and T7 & T11. I could easily have missed the other 3. Found a small colony of 18 Bee Orchids near the flooded sand pit.

caesars camp cattle

I found the cattle this morning 7.15 a few were at the blue barrel under the trees ,the rest were further up the track towards the broken troop shelter ,most were lying down chewing the cud I noticed the closest one to me ,I was about 20 yards away from her was constantly moving her right front leg , stood still for about 10 mins watching she eventually got up and started to walk away ,I then noticed she was limping badly on her right front leg ,she hobbled for a few steps then stopped and lifted her leg up then hobbled off again ,going towards the blue barrels under the trees ,I found my mobile battery was down so I cut my walk short and went home and reported my sighting to alex ,he said he would phone the farmer I hope this cow is going to be ok
Norman

Cattle check by farmer

Hello
I have asked Rob, the cattle owner, to have a check of the cattle. He will go up there today.
Eye problems are common at this time of the year, it is likely to be something like New forest Eye, which can be serious if left alone.
Rob has treated one already last week, and should be able to deal with this one today.
Many thanks for your reports.
Alex

Tuesday 16th June.

I managed a full count of the cows and calves at about 0730 this morning. They are all in the Whale Tail. 14 cows and 14 calves in R8 with the remainder in the area of T6/7. Ear tag no.33 is lame in its left rear leg whilst 300178 has some kind of eye injury.

caesars camp cattle

I came across the cattle this morning widely spread on the south side of the flooded gravel pit ,most were laying down chewing the cud ,I did not disturb them they all appeared to be ok ,this was 8.15 am
norman

Sunday Evening

Once again the cattle were spread out along Long Bottom. Unable to get an accurate count. Spoke to a dog walker who reported that one of the cattle is lame in its left rear leg. Same person told us that a female, black and white cocker spaniel was hit by a car on Sandy Hills and disappeared on to the common. If you see it, local vets have the owner's contact details.

In the same area around Long Bottom at about 19:00. The herd was quite widely spread so difficult to get a confirmed count. One of the all-black adults looked as though she had a bit of a weepy right eye. It looked half-closed and there was evidence of running down her cheek. Free of flies though. Couldn't get a look at her tag.

On my ride back towards the whale tail, I came across a quite forlorn-looking young fox being mobbed by a couple of crows. Poor chap.

Saturday Evening

At about 18.00 found numerous cows and calves spread out along both sides of Long Bottom, with the majority in R14 and 15. Unable to get a definite count but all those we saw looked fine.

Found what must have been most of them this morning at 0800 at O18 on the map but I couldn't be sure I had counted 63 (I think I heard bellowing from the direction of Long Bottom as I was leaving).
They all seemed to be well and much more settled with people now. But I was chatting with a birder who was checking the nests of Woodlarks and Nightjars who told me that the cows had eaten all but one of the 40 Bee Orchids he had counted on his previous visit. They don't seem interested in eating the Spotted Orchids though (but they're happy to lie down among them!).

Saturday,09.00, i managed a count of 45 this morning at roughly P19 although there could have been more, as most of them were lying down making counting difficult, those i saw looked o/k.

Repairs Done

Hello everyone

Just to let you know that new 'cattle grazing' signs have been put up on some of the gates and the fence opposite Alexandra Road has been repaired.
We discovered that the larger signs near Sandy Hill have finally dissappeared - has anybody seen them?
Thanks
Alex

Full houses

There was a group of 25 at about P18 and another 38 at M17 earlier this morning - both groups seemed very content and placid - just ambling around and grazing. Even the calves were very sleepy.

Wednesday 18.30. Found 27 cows in the small patch of woodland just to the west of the Horse Pond. Lots of calves as well but I couldn't get an accurate count. All looked to be OK.

Wednesday 15.00, i found 42 grazing amongst the ferns at K22 and slowly moving SW, a further 5 were in the whale tail at S6 lying down chewing cud, they all looked o/k

Cattle numbers update

Hello all,

I have just been informed that some more cattle have been taken from Newlyns Farm and brought up to Caesars Camp. This now means there are 32 cows and 31 calves in total on the site.

Elliott

Tuesday o8.00, i managed a positive count of 53 this morning, they were all near the blue barrels, some under the trees chewing cud and some in amongst the trees and bracken grazing were it is difficult to spot the calves, they all looked o/k.

About 50 cows/calves at head of Long Bottom on side of valley opposite Sandy Hill - all appeared in good order.

Area is, I think, a considerable improvement on that of 3-4 years ago.  I noted a spread of orchids in open area opposite water tower and swallows, martins & swifts over large gravel pit.  The large number of tracks are a blemish and are  not, I venture to suggest, all necessary for military training.  The large open areas, the old rifle butts in particular, would profit from some vegetation.

Afternoon visit. 15:20. Small group of 8 still in the whaletail - 4 adults grazing in the pit, 2 Adults plus 2 calves sitting by the mast enclosure. All looked fine. I noticed that the blue barrel is now gone from the whaletail.
16:00. Eventually found a large group spread out between horse pond and the 2 blue barrels.
7 adults + 6 calves around the pond grazing.
A few individuals spread out amongst the tall bracken and up the hillside.
4 adults by the blue barrel in the open.
Then a large gathering around the blue barrel in the woodland, I originally counted 6 adults plus 12 calves, but they were soon joined by more - these could have been new ones, or ones from the pond I'd already counted. All looked well, sheltering from the increasingly grotty weather I imagine. There was a lot of calling between the barrel group and those scattered around the pond.
Grey calf was once again being very cute.

Saturday 10.00, today i found 3 groups, 8 were in the whale tail grazing at Q4, 25 were at O17 lying down chewing the cud and a further 19 were at J21,22 grazing, all looked o/k.

More cattle on Caesar's Camp

Hello
The farmer has added a few more cattle.
The total is now 29 cows and 28 calves.
Thanks
Alex

Filming on Caesars Camp

I was on site yesterday acting as a guide to a filming crew who are making a DVD which we will be able to use to promote the rural nature of the area in the future. The view from the Camp was incredible and we found sundews, heath spotted orchids, bog asphodel and lousewort as well as swathes of cotton grass which all looked outstanding in the glorious weather.

on a journey round I managed to count 14 cattle spread out very thinly near to the Horse Pond.

Elliott

Wednesday 08.30, due to a problem with my bike i was only able to cover the whale tail and down to Caesars camp and did not find any cattle today.

Tuesday 08.15, today i only managed a count of 33, they were roughly at grid R10, most were lying down chewing the cud and all looked o/k

Monday Evening

When we started our walk at about 18.30 all but one of the cows and calves were to the NE of the Horse Pond at L27. A single cow and calf were at roughly K24. By about 19.30 the large group were grazing to the south of Caesars Camp Fort M20/21. All appeared to be well.

Sunday 0800

Found the cattle in squares J23 and K23. I was able to get a full count of 25 cows and 24 calves. All looked fine, mainly lying down. Also heard two Cuckoos.

(09:30) Found the herd grazing at the base of the hill where Bob left them around K/L 21/22. Watched them for a while, all seemed well - didn't notice one with a limp, although there was one black adult with white face sitting the whole time in the middle of the herd while the others were all quite active. Very difficult to count - they were all wandering about, and the calves easily disappear when they sit down! My counts came up around 36-43.

A rather boisterous dog ran into the herd barking at them, but they didn't seem unduly bothered - they closed ranks and faced him down. He soon got the message to leave alone.

Passed by again at around 11:00, the entire herd was on the move, on/by the track M22-ish heading towards Long Bottom.

Saturday 08.30, today i found the cattle stretched out along grids K22,23, and L22,23, i could not get a positive count as some were lying down some walking about and others just grazing,which made counting them nigh on impossible. i could not see any cow limping maybe she was lying down.

I found the cattle this morning 7.45 they were mostly lying down so I did not disturb them ,they were in grid no,s o p 17 18 unfortunatly after I left they were disturbed by two dogs running among them ,they settled down but they were disturbed again by dogs running among them ,I came across them again later on they were all walking quite fast grid squares m n 18 19 they headed down a path way down towards the old troop shelter ,as they passed by me I counted all the mums but not the calves one of the black mums appeared to have a slight limp on her left front leg I was unable to get close enough to her to get her ear tag number ,I later saw them again walking quite fast heading towards the royal pavillion end this was around 9.00
norman

All well

Found all (I think - they were rather in and out of the undergrowth) at O17 heading slowly west. They seemed fine. I was also treated to two badgers and a black rabbit.

Wednesday 16.30, found all of the cattle at roughly Q19, some were lying down chewing the cud and some were walking about grazing, all looked o/k.

Site visit

Hello everyone.

Upon arriving to check the cows and fix a gate I was welcomed by 6 police cars and an ambulance all with lights flashing which made my heart flutter a bit. It turned out that a lady had broken her leg somewhere on site and they could not get into the site as they did not have a key. Anyway, after letting them in I quickly found the cows all down in squares L22, M22 and N22. Some of them were grazing teh new flush of grass which has greened up the large burn from a few months back. All 49 were counted and some of the calves are absolute cuties (especially the grey one!). Loely to see them all grazing and moving as a herd.

I then when and fixed a gate in S15 which was being left open by motorbikers/quadbikers. Hopefully what I have done will resolve the problem but where there is a will there is a way.

Tuesday 15.00, today i only managed a count of 36, they were in the area of the blue barrel at roughly R8-9, some were lying down and others were walking about grazing, they all looked o/k.

Cattle number update

Hello all,

As some of you have already notivced the number of cattle on site has increased over the weekend with the farmer bringin up some more on both Saturday and Sunday.

This now brings the herd up to 25 cows and 24 calves (so 49 in total)

Any questions or queries please do call on 01256 381190

Elliott

Earlier in the day, about 1200, there were 30 cows/calves at western end of the large water filled gravel pit on Bricksbury Hill and 3 cows & 2 calves (one very well hidden in grass/heather so there might well have been a third) on western side of Caesar's Camp.  All appeared well.

Am I seeing things?

Found three cows and a calf at about N16 mid afternoon and then about 20 cows and the same number of calves near the blue barrel. Perhaps I just counted wrongly as some were hidden by trees and undergrowth. They seemed content though several of the cows looked as if they had been lying in a mud bath.

Saturday 12.00. found all of them at roughly R15, they were not that easy to count as the cows kept moving around shielding the calves, all looked o/k

Saturday 12.30

Found the cows and calves in square R15. Full count of 18 cows. Couldn't get an accurate count of the calves. All looked well.

Wednesday 20 May 2009

We heard cattle lowing (is that the right word?) this afternoon at about six p.m. and walked up to find some of them (13 adults; 13 calves) near Caesar's camp. Quite a few of the adults were mooing and three cows - one with heavy udders trotted away from the crowd lowing away. It is now 23.15 and we can still hear a cow mooing. Wondering if this is OK. Not sure if we should be worried about this or whether this is typical cow-like communication.

Wednesday 17.00, i found them all at roughly O19, most were under the trees keeping watch on the little ones, all looked o/k

Tricky to count!

Found all 36 in square T6 at about 16.15. Cows were easy to count, the calves took about 20 minutes to get an accurate figure! All looked OK.

Tuesday 14.00, i found all of them at Q4 in the whale tail, some were lying down chewing the cud and some were up grazing, they all looked o/k.

Counted 32 in total up by picture 4 (lower right) but probably all there and apparently in good condition.

Apart from cattle saw some 100 starlings foraging for oak blossom (food or nesting material ?) down in Long Bottom and a warbler (Willow perhaps) near horse pond.

There is a large white plastic cattle food drum floating in the gravel pit up by Bricksbury Hill.  Perhaps farmer/HWT would care to remove it.

And another sighting

Was passing late afternoon so thought I would have a look too. All seemed well - the calves were keeping out of the wind and showers. The mothers were as unimpressed as I was with the trail bikes racing around.

Just seen the new group

Very pleased to have seen the new group late this afternoon. They were most lying down in R11 proabably because of the weather. All seem quite peaceful even with the Truffle Hound there.

caesars camp cattle

Icame across the cattle this morning they were in grid squares o p 16 17 they all appeared to be in the group most of the calves were laying down all appeared to be ok I have been told by other dog walkers that there is a bull with them if there is I have not yet seen him
norman

Just dropped by to see the new herd. All were still happily grazing at T7 (17:30ish). Some of the youngsters were having a sit down beneath a tree. The calves are very cute :-) I especially like the couple that have the big white patches over their rear 2/3rds.

All well

Found all 36 at about T7 early this afternoon. They were content, if a little bedraggled from the wind and showers. The mothers gently corralled the young between them and carried on grazing – seemingly quite at home in their new world and not worried about my being there.
Jill
P.S. The calves are adorable and I was very tempted to take one home!

Saturday 09.15, i think i found all of them this morning, they were near the blue barrels at R9.I managed to count 31 but some of the cows seemed a bit anxious the closer i got so i didn,t push my luck and left the count at that. Most were lying down with a few mothers on guard, they all looked o/k.

Hello
The farmer has now replaced the cattle with a different herd of 18 cows with calves. These will be added to when the other calves are ready to be moved from the farm into the big wide world. So in total, 36 cattle on Ceasar's Camp.
Thanks. Alex

Update

Hello
The farmer called me to confirm that all cattle have now been removed from the site.
Alex

All change

Hello
The farmer who owns the cattle at Caesar's Camp wants to trial a new, hopefully sustainable, grazing regime. He is going to remove the current herd of cattle and replace them with a breeding herd of cows with calves.
The calves will be removed (weaned) each year before the winter, leaving just the cows on site. It is likely that they will run with the bull so that they are in calf again for the spring, allowing the cycle to continue.
Therefore, the farmer will attempt to remove all of the cattle today and then replace them with the cows and calves over the weekend.
I will keep you informed of the number changes, and let you know of any change in plans.
Sorry for the late notice, and thanks for all your efforts. They are greatly appreciated by ourselves, the MOD and the farmer.
Alex

Full count

Found all 35 in Long Bottom at about 16.15. Spread out over a large area from N22 to Q20. All looked ok, mostly lying down and chewing the cud.

Tuesday 16.30, today i found 19 at the blue barrel chewing the cud and a further 11 grazing on Caesars camp at L18, all looked o/k

4 th May 1200.  Six cattle near Horse Pond at P22, remainder at west end at T6.  Nothing specific to observe.

And a few more

At about the same time as Bob, I found 14 at D26 - all looked content and were grazing well. I hope one of us missed the missing cow!

Saturday 15.00, today i managed a count of 30, they were spread out at roughly F26-E27, they were all grazing and looked o/k.

Exercise 'Bracken'

You may have noticed lots of fire service activity on Caesar's Camp today. This was Training Exercise 'Bracken'. They had some big bits of kit for pumping water around the site, with hoses over 1km long!
Hopefully this will aid them in fighting fires in the future.
I caught a glimpse of the cattle as I drove past the site on the Odiham Road, at about 9.15 but then didn't see them all day. They were sensibly keeping out of the way!

Wednesday 13.00, i counted a total of 24 in the whale tail at T7 after a tip off from Richard, they were all grazing and looked o/k,

Tuesday 13.30, i found 27 near Caesars camp at L18, they were all grazing and looked o/k. I later met up with mike who had spotted the remaining 8.

Sunday AM.

Found a large group on 22+ on the slope to the west of Caesars Camp fort P15/16. There are lots of hollows and ridges in this area so an accurate count was not possible.Then found another group of 7 at R17. All those I saw looked fine.

Saw the same 2 groups a bit later. Counted 20 around O17, all sat around chewing the cud. Then found 14 having a good wander and a munch around Long Bottom (200180 came over to see me, and gave me a good sniffing, which was nice)

All well

Found two groups late this afternoon (21 at P15 and 14 at R19). All seemed content despite the mass of fire and army vehicles around the area.

Saturday 10.00, today i found 11 at O19 and 24 in the whale tail at U7, all were grazing and looked o/k.

Terrapins in Horse Pond

Hello. I have had a few reports of terrapins in the Horse Pond.
These are most likely red-eared terrapins, a native of North America, and were probably introduced to the pond when they outgrew their owner's aquarium.
This species can live for up to 40 years in the wild, but it is unlikely that they can breed because our summers don't get warm enough for the eggs to be viable.
The terrapins may damage native plants and animals such as ducklings and fish but this has not been verified.
The Wildlife Trust will probably let them continue to live in the pond as trapping or culling is quite difficult, and they will eventually die naturally.
If you have any other interesting sightings, please let us know!