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.