Saturday am

At least 10, spread out and quietly grazing, around O22.

Friday am

At least 14 spread out amongst the trees and along the freshly cleared slopes of Hungry Hill.

 

 

Cloudless Blue skies

Cold and crisp this afternoon as we walked west along the path beside Sandy Hill. We found a group of 9 cows close to the water filled sandy pond at about Q13. They were enjoying a 'lick' that had been put down for them. There was a great deal of bellowing going on and they all looked well.

All seen today.

Between Jack and myself we saw all the cattle today. They were well spread out in several small herds. A few licks were dropped off for them to help them get the most out of the forage that is available at the moment.

Note: #44 who had come over from Gelvert a couple of months ago has now gone back - not helped by us but it obviously thought the grass is definitely greener on the other side! This means there are now 33 on Caesar's Camp.

A few today

At least six were on the top area near Beacon Hill road and the boundary with Gelvert.  They seemed fine.  A great number of dogs and their walkers were up there too - it's a beautiful day!

Boxing Afternoon

Short walk on Boxing afternoon walking off the Turkey.
We walked from Sandy Hill down around the Horse Pond and west to the new pond and then back along the path along the top of Sandy hill. We only saw 3 cows, all solitary and in the distance in the evening gloom.

All seen on 22nd and looking good.

Between Jack and myself we managed to eventually find all of the cows who were clearly playing a game of hide a seek amongst themselves into which we seemingly had to join in.  they were all spread out everywhere is mixed groups, both small and large.

Needless to say they were all well with clear eyes, good feet and coats.  One or two are starting to lose a bit of weight so we have begun to put out feed blocks for them to help keep them going on the rougher forage that they find on the heath.  these will be replaced on a weekly basis rather than when finished, and will be distributed wherever we find the bigger groups of cattle.

With the xmas holidays now being upon us please call our office number on 01256 381190 should you find any problems.  A member of staff is on call every day of the festive season and the number on the answer machine will be changed accordingly.

Merry Christmas once more

Elliott

Blustery walk today

Refreshing to walk with the wind blowing us round. Someone has dumped a pair of mattresses over the gate on Sandy Hill, into Caesars Camp. Depressing. Does anyone have a number I can phone to get them removed to the dump?                                                                                                                 We found a group of 8 cows beside the entrance at Sandy Hill, just as we arrived. One of them, 200092, seemed a little quiet. Neither feeding nor chewing the cud like the others and seemed to be staring into the distance. He didn't seem to notice as we approached him.
We found a further 12 grazing happily in the cleared area below the lookout.
We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

7 More Additions

Today 7 more Welsh black crosses were added to the herd.
They were dropped off with some of the existing cattle near the corral.
I will update the ear tag list shortly.
Thanks,
Jack

Tuesday morning

Managed to find 17 in total (although I suspect more than one was hiding in the gorse!).
One (100056) was found on its own along Sandy Hill track but 3 more were not far away, around Horse Pond.  The rest were all grazing the heather and gorse up on Caesar's Camp fort.

All looked well, but I thought 301940 looked a little slimmer than the others.

Tag nos:
100056
100063
200106
100098
200056
500044
100070
300114
400080
600075
100084
200064
200071
200057
301940
100105

Merry Christmas cows!

Friday Aftternoon

Despite much searching this afternoon I could only find 18 individuals, some of these being the missing ones from Rich's Thursday visit. Some of this bunch were getting right inside of gorse bushes so the rest could be anywhere, I searched right round the site with no luck.

Numbers to follow

Thursday 15th - Site Check.

Despite doing a couple of laps I could only find 18 of the cattle today. These were split up into three small herds and spread far and wide across the site.

They were all looking well though, no problems to report.

Thursday am

A lone cow making his way up the slope from the Horse Pond to Sandy Hill. 4 more around M28. This one was working on his camouflage skills:-

 

Sunday am

9 enjoying the morning sun, on the corner near Sunny Hill.

 

Saturday am

6 happily grazing, in the mist, around O23.

All found over 2 days. Spread out is an understatement 😉

Found a larger group of 10 and one of 6, the rest were in 2's and 3's. Almost all were in the woods, among gorse or eating heather. I did find the group of 10 along sandy hill however. I'm hoping that's not because people are feeding them there. I led them away with some nuts in the hopes that they associate a place off the beats path with food.
No issues to report anyway. And escapee num 067 was again among one of the larger herds and NOT on his own. May it continue.

Wednesday 10:00 am

8 browsing amongst the trees on Sunny Hill. All looked OK.

All seen on friday

sorry for late blog.

I found all of the cattle on Friday and gave them a good check over.  Eyes were clear, feed were good.  Coats were clean and all were well natured and behaved.

There were 5 in U11, 6 in K20 and the remaining were in Q4/R6.

Thanks all

Elliott

Thursday 1st 9.30am

21 seen grazing by Sandy Hill all looked contented.

Tuesday 29th

16 seen along track by Sandy Hill Road
Tag numbers:
400087
600082
200106
100091
100084
100?56 (long fluffy ears obscured digit!)
500044
100105
200057
100098
200092
200064
500067
400087
600075 all were well and happy :)

plus one more (tag not seen) slightly down the slope.

One more was spotted over towards the Gelvert Catchment but I didn't have time to go and check

Wednesday am

5 walking around the Horse Pond, looking for water, without success. They were making a lot of noise.

 

Tuesday am

No cattle sightings, but a beautiful crisp morning

 

Belated Post (21st Nov) Found 26 out of 27!

They were in 5 herds spread far and wide across the site! Fortunately, the missing one was NOT the escapee(eve of sunday 20th), who I saw with a small herd in the centre of the site near one of our controlled burn sites.

Dave is emailing Jack to get the rest of the herds numbers on the blog for us.

Thanks all.

Sorry, should have posted this yesterday!

We walked for a couple of hours around the eastern end of the reserve. Lots of people enjoying the late autumn weather on foot or on bikes.Surprised only to find 6 cows, up beside the lookout, grazing happily on recently cut gorse.

Saturday am

8 in the trees towards the NE corner. Somebody has had a go at the fence around the contaminated area, near the corner around H28.

 

A bit late to record this but before midday I came across 10 cows about 1/3 of the way between Horse Pond and the head of Long Bottom and on western side of the valley well out of the way of the forestry operations.

Thursday am

4 heading along Sunny Hill Road, towards Bourley Road. All looked well, but definitely on a mission.

Call outlast night. One escapee on Farnborough Rd. Police, camera, Action!

Call out last night ar 6pm from police about a cow wandering Farnborough Rd then Wellesley Rd. Got It in with Rosie (and friend Emma's Help). Out looking for hole / clue on How It escaped this morning. According to police, It started its Adventure around Cranmore Lane.   

All found today

12 found behind the houses. I put a lick out for them here.

7 found by the mares pond. 91 with a white face was very slow coming over for nuts, but looked ok otherwise.

8 found in the sandy area near the pavilion and completely ignored me when I called. They must not have been feeling hungry today, however I put another lick out for them here.

All seen today.

Found 14 up behind the houses around the corner with the apple tree. Just one apple on the track which none of them were taking any interest in so maybe they'd had their fill already!

I located a further 5 around O14 who all were munching their way through some heather.

After a detour down through the Gelvert Catchment Area to find the seven on there I came back onto Caesar's and finally found the remaining 8 cattle grazing in 20G where contractors had been working.

All cattle looking really good.

Tuesday am

No cows, but lots of activity and smoke

 

Spell checker blunder!

Sorry, spell checker auto corrected! Of course it should be gorse, not gauze!

Misty afternoon

We walked east from the Sandy Hill entrance and saw no cows until we found 7 or 8, close to the bonfire at about J 24. They didn't seem to be put off by the large amount of smoke from the huge bonfire, or the three workmen tending it.
There are large areas of flattened gauze and heather now, but these 7 or 8 were the only cows we saw.
I note on the 'I love Farnham ' page on Facebook yesterday that there was a distressed cow loose on the road in Farnborough, I hope that it was returned to safety.

Full house today!

found all 27, in several small groups.
4 by K18 on top of camp itself.
9 on top of sandy hill at R19.
3 at O17 on track leading to camp.
7 at P18 on grass area.
4 hiding at D29, near the pavilion.


All looking well.

Finally found some!
14 seen in two groups - 9 by track parallel to Sandy Hill Road, but only able to note 8 ear tag numbers:
200092
100091
301940
200071
200056
300072
100070
400080

Second group up on Caesar's Camp, these were all sitting so very obliging with their ear tag info:
200106
100098
300114
100105

All seemed fine.

Tuesday am

4 warming up in the sunshine near Sunny Hill. All quietly grazing.

Winter is coming!

Beautiful crisp afternoon. We came across 17 along the top path beside Sandy hill, all grazing happily. Have some new cows been introduced? Because there seemed to be a few faces I did not recognise. Then as we walked westward at approx P19 we found 5 further cows, lying down and chewing the cud contentedly in the winter sunshine.Everyone seemed calm and happy.

Walking back from the Water Tower to Sandy Hill at about 2 PM I came across 3 at a short distance from SW corner of the large gravel pit and another 17 on western slope of Long Bottom some 300 hundred yards SW of Horse Pond.

Tuesday am

4 cows, 9 Canada geese and numerous ducks around the Horse Pond. Lots of bellowing, as they tried to find each other in the fog.

3-4 PM at least 14 in area of dense gorse some 500 yards west of the Water Tower and another group of at least 3 about 200 yards due north of same tower. All grazing.  Quiet but dull afternoon.

Friday am

At least 8 in the undergrowth, next to the Horse Pond. All the ones I could see looked OK.

This one looks like he fancies duck for breakfast

 

All 26 seen.

We saw all 26 this afternoon, spread in several groups. 10 of them up at Caesars Camp, the others spread out along the central path and a few along the path beside Sandy Hill. Quiet on the ranges today, though there are a few small bonfires burning around the diggers removing gorse.

Thursday am

12+ scattered amongst the vegetation in the boggy bit of Long Bottom, some of them well hidden. Grazing quietly in the sunshine break through the fog.

Lucky Monday

Driving in from Beacon Hill I found a group of 7, some laid up and some grazing amongst the nice area of calluna dominated heath. 

Carrying on through the site a group of 11 were at the top of the ridge past sandy hill near to the 5 bar gate grazing the mown fire break verges.

Dropping off the ridge down to the pond and hanging a right to head towards the open sandy area near to the queens pavilion I found the rest all laid up in the wet Molina dominated wet grassland.

 Then headed to the Gelvert catchment area where my luck continued.






  
  

Found the other 10...

I managed to the find the ten that had eluded me on Tuesday. A few of them were up on Sandy Hill behind the houses and the remainder, along with quite a few more, were to the east of the horse pond. All of them were really spread out today but happily grazing away.

All looking good with no problems to report.

Tuesday am

6 happily grazing on the cleared area, just to the east of the Horse Pond. They do seem scattered at the moment, over the weekend I came across a couple of single cows, in both cases they were making a lot of noise.

Monday 18/10/16

Spent a couple of hours searching for the cattle yesterday afternoon and ended up with a total of 17 for my efforts.

I found 2 initially down in 29G and despite searching in the nearby woods/scrub I couldn't find any others. I then stumbled across seven lounging around in 29D. Further searching revealed 8 right over the other side near the tumuli in 3R.

I ran out of time after that, however, I will be back on Thursday to do another search. All cattle that I did find were looking well.

Thursday am

Spotted a few around Sunny Hill. Before I could get near them, my path was blocked and the cows scattered by a helicopter coming in to land.

Tuesday am

Only 2 seen at the side of the Horse Pond. 70 was having fun with an army truck, held it up for about 5 minutes, before moving off the track.

Missing 5 on Caesars

The 5 I couldn't find are ear tags 100056, 63, 64, 92, and 91. There is an extra one on Caesars at the moment- No. 44 which is an escapee from Gelvert. So there are currently 27 cattle on Caesars. All cows I did see are looking well.

Sunday am

No cattle sightings, just a mushroom picker with a large bag of spoils. I refrained from saying anything, as he was carrying a knife that was too large to be legal in a public place.

Cattle are Back on

Hello all,

The cattle passed their TB test with flying colours so were all released back onto site yesterday afternoon.  26 Have been returned to site and this number will likely increase as we enter the winter months to ensure the gorse and heather gets a good graze this winter.

As a result please may I ask that you start once more with your lookering duties and blogging as before?

You will also likely have noticed the works taking place on site clearing scrub over the past few weeks.  A third set of contractors is due to arrive in a fortnight with big plant machinery so please respect taped off areas and no need to check cattle that have decided they want to stand next to an excavator as it works!

Many thanks

Elliott

ALL CATTLE REMOVED FOR TB TESTING

Hello all,

As planned we rounded up the cattle today and walked them into the neighbouring site Gelvert Catchment Area, where, once united with Gelverts herd, we led them to Camp 45 (the meadow adjacent to Bourley Road.

There is plenty of grass in tehre and the gelvert stream flows through it.

They will be visited by the vet on Monday and given a small amount of TB.  they will then be visited again on Thursday where their reaction will be monitored and will be used to determine if they have TB or not.  We try to operate a closed herd which limits any unwanted exposure between our cattle and other farmers cattle.  We also hope their varied diet and ability to freely roam ensures they are fit and well to fit things off, but one never knows so fingers crossed!

Assuming they are given the all clear they will be returned the following week.

Enjoy your week off

Elliott

Fri 9:15, 10 just to the east of the Horse Pond

Sunday am

6 grazing on the open area next to Sunny Hill. All looked OK.

Friday am

Only one cow spotted this morning. Mind you, the whole herd could have been hidden in there without being seen.

All found Tuesday

The first 10 were north of the Horse Pond around G26.  The remainder were either on or near the lawn west of Royal Pavillion at about D29.  I did a fair bit of shouting and bucket rattling to round them up and gave the some cattle nuts.  This is to make it easier to gather them for their upcoming TB test. #56 had some blood around her rear so I guess she is in season.  They all seemed well.

Tuesday am

5 spread out around I32

OK guys, we've got this gate covered

19 seen

I popped into site today to check something quickly and came across 19 of the cattle.  They were grazing birch and drinking from the newly filled puddles.

They all looked well.

They were numbers: 64,56,56,84,92,44,70,78,95,14,105,67,75,82,91,87,40,106

No sloes!

Blustery afternoon, cooler than recently. We found 4 cows grazing beside the path running along the top beside Sandy Hill. We walked west, looking to pick Sloes, in order to make Sloe Gin. We were surprised and disappointing to find none to pick at all. So if anyone knows of any fruiting Blackthorn bushes locally, I would be pleased to hear from you!                                                                        There were a group of 4 lads, with 1 trail bike. They were roaring noisily around, digging up the paths and making a dreadful disturbance, to the west of  Sandy Hill.

Tuesday am

At least three around M28. 57 in the trees and the others just about visible in the very tall bracken on the downhill side of the track. There could have been many more hiding in that bracken.

Saturday am

12 getting ready for the rain on the open area around Sunny Hill. All looked well.

Only 21 found today

After a couple of hours searching, I could only find 21 today. There were 4 at Q15 (44, 84, 92, 91), 15 at H30 (68 and 71) and 2 at N22 (105, 114, 65, 98, 72, 80, 70, 63, 81, 57, 82, 64, 87, 56, 95). All looked ok, although the flies are really bad at the moment.

Wednesday am

At least 11 amongst the trees around I30. This was the first time I had observed them breaking branches off the trees to get their favourite nibbles. I found them because of the sound of crashing branches.

Saturday am

We were sitting at the Horse Pond when four friends dropped in for a drink. No sign of any more down the length of Long Bottom.

All accounted for

Hello all.

After another hours driving around I am pleased to say that all of the cattle were found and accounted for.  

I found four (105, 106, 98 ,80) all up on the main hill fort and then 9 (64,65,75,56,other 56,40,14,71,62) down by the Pegasus hut.

Along with those seen by Sarah and Rosie earlier this week I think it makes it a full house.

Elliott

Late post for Tuesday

13 found at Q14 by the lake, including the escapee from Gelvert, who was looking quite content! 106 had reopened the wound above her eye, and there was a fair bit of blood, but probably looked worse than it is. We're keeping an eye on it.

Thursday am

Must be a morning for hide and seek. I spotted a couple amongst the trees on Hungary Hill and another three amonst the reeds on the far side of the Horse Pond next to the heron.

Now 27 animals

A escapee is has come over from caesars (number 44), so there are now 27 animals to find. It can stay there until the annual TB test.

Bank Holiday Monday am

At least 14 in Long Bottom. There was one large group and then a number of smaller groups spread out across the width of Long Bottom. All busily grazing.

Sunday am

8, spread out, grazing amongst the tall braken in Long Bottom, to the east of the Horse Pond.

Between the herd I found on Monay and Dave's herd on Tuesday, all have been seen this week.

And importantly, no concerns.

20 found Tuesday afternoon.

I found 7 in the open shed at C27, 10 on the top of the camp, and 3 more at about T9. All were well as far as I could see.

10 seen this morning at western end of area by one story building in compound which contained, now dismantled, mast.

Pleasant to be back up on the ranges

We've been away for nearly 6 weeks, so it's really nice to be back up on the ranges to see the cows.
We found 18 in all, spread out on the path beside Sandy hill and on the slope leading down to the central track. They all looked fat and glossy, enjoying the long grass.
Interesting to see the old photo of the Horse Pond Arthur, any more old photos?

Damaged fence

Somebody has started to dismantle the fence at the Alexandra Rd gate.

Sunday am

5 grazing on the cleared area to the east of the Horse Pond. They've got a fair way to go to getting it looking like it did in the 1800's.

and group of 3, seemingly on their own, up on Caesar's Camp by Jubilee Clump later same morning.

Thursday am

6 with their heads down, enjoying the grass around L28. All seemed OK.

10 AM same 3 (now 4) on east side Bourley Hill on the move towards Bourley Road car park.

It was a frustrating day for me. I spent about 2 hours driving the site and only found 7 at about R14 cudding near a water filled channel. Flies of course but they looked OK. I was disappointed to be beaten by a Arthur on foot!

Came across 3 on Bourley Hill at about 10 this morning - could have been more but the bracken is thick and high hereabouts.

Tuesday am

11 grazing around L28. All looked OK

All well today.

Found 8 of the cattle in N20 after a little bit of searching. They were all making good inroads into the Molinia in that area. As it was quite warm I decided to make my way to the Pegasus hut to see if any of the others were seeking shade. Took a winding route on the way there to check out a few other spots but needn't have bothered as the remaining 18 were all in the Pegasus hut! All cattle looking well and relaxed.

All cattle found and looking well

all 26 seen in two groups, some by the shelter near the pavilion, and the rest in their favourite spot up on Sandy Hill. All looking well, but being bothered by flies...

Tuesday

I have today spent most of my day trying to track down all of the CC crew. However despite searching high and low I could only find 21, as follows. 100056 200056 400087 580095 200057 600082 200084 100084 600075 200092 300065 100063 301940 300072 500081 100091 400080 100098 200106 300014 100105 The gaps show how these groups were split, first and second near to each other right down by queens pavilion, last group up on the camp itself. Please try to get tag numbers so we can be sure all 26 have been seen this week. If not we will try to get back out. Cheers

Staurday evening

At least 16 grazing around P19-20-21 this evening.  Some well into the undergrowth, so I couldn't get to them all.  Those I saw seemed fine, though I couldn't see 160.

Saturday pm

8 seen resting under the trees at Ceasars Camp lookout and a further 6 found on the path by Sandy Hill.

Thurs 28th- 160 has injured its eye

Hello, One of the Welsh Black crosses with a white face (number 160) was reported to have allot of blood coming from around its left eye last night. Me and Elliote had a closer look today and it has a cut on the edge of the upper eyelid (maybe after rubbing on a branch or barbed wire). It looked ok and has scabbed over, however it is a bit swollen. If you could look out for 160 and check that the flies arn't bothering it too much, then that would be great.

Thanks Rosie    

Thursday am

16, in two groups spread out along Long Bottom. All looked well.

All found in two groups

I managed to get a full head count today.

12 were roaming around in K17 and the other 11 were cudding in L28.

All were looking well with big bellies, clean coats, clear eyes and ear tags all present.

Elliott

Tuesday am

11 moving through thick bracken around K28, towards the Sunny Hill end.

Only 13 found today

Only managed to find 13 today. 8 were grazing along the trackside at N26, whilst another 5 had a much better idea, and headed to the beach for a dip in the lake at P16! All looked well, the others were nowhere to be seen!

 

 

Cow ear tags that I saw were- 56, 57, 75, 81, 114, 71, 62, 68, 72, 87, 82, 95, and 84.

About 11.00 o'clock five head up by the large gravel pit grazing on bramble, willow etc.

late post for Saturday

Came across about 14 enjoying the cooling boggy area around F/G 16/17 late in the afternoon.  I was actually hunting the Gelvert 11 but they were  playing hide and seek too expertly.  Couldn't get very close to the cattle given the bog, but they seemed very content.

Saturday am

4 grazing under whatever shade they could find towards the Horse Pond end of Long Bottom. No. 72 on the track by the pond, making a lot of noise.

Wednesday 7:45am

10 around K27 and another 6 spread out along Long Bottom. All happily grazing beforevit gets too hot.

All found in and around the small barn near the old pavillion, closest to the MOD entrance.

They're not daft, good shade there. All appeared happy and healthy with few ticks and zero wounds I could see. Plenty of flies as expected but no symptoms of New Forest on any of them. All good.

They crammed a lot in there 15 mins later ;)

Just ten

Were grazing peacefully alongside the track near the favoured shelter early this evening.  They looked fine.

All found and well

Found all but two at H30-G30, all looking well, and enjoying holding up the army in their tanks. The other two were much harder to find, and having driven around the whole site, I returned to Sandy Hill to get a view, then spotted them hiding in the shelter!

Tuesday am

6 lying down in the boggy area around L26. Difficult to see, as they are almost hidden in thr bracken.

all well

Found 19 heading purposefully towards the comms kit for the Air Show, clearly wanting to take up the best spots for an afternoon viewing aircraft.  The other 7 were on the track near the housing area.  One was actually inside the old air shelter??  They looked well today -  clean coats and eyes, even the two brown ones.

Friday am

Half a dozen resting by the Horse Pond. Others being vocal somewhere NE of the Horse Pond, the braken is getting tall and they're difficult to spot. 

Wed 6th- all found

I found them all along the high road, at the back of the housing estate today (sorry i don't know the official names yet). They all looked good and enjoyed there nuts, however 200057 (very light brown) is still looking poorer than the others, one to keep an eye on. 300072 came over for a good scratch off me aswell.

About 10.00 this morning came across 17 or 18 in shade of a clump of trees at southern end of large open area in Long Bottom down near the 'Pavilion'.

Sunday afternoon

10 were grazing amongst the gorse near the comms equipment and 14 were on the fire break near the Upper Hale housing, heading purposefully eastwards.  Perhaps the missing two were in the undergrowth near the others?  Those I saw seemed well.

Friday 4pm

At least 21 cattle grazing quietly around K18/19. Seemed rather interested by the activities going on which I presumed to have something to do with communications for Farnborough Air Show.

All well by Upper Hale

Well happy to find them all grazing and cuddling along the fire break that borders the Upper Hale housing.

I checked their eyes, ear tags, feet, condition and coats and have to say they all look fantastic.

In fact in the midst of chaos they were a welcoming calming influence.

Wednesday am

7 grazing and resting around L28. All looked OK.

Sunday afternoon

A group of 15 dozing in the sandy area at the bottom of Long Valley late this afternoon.   They looked well.

Dodging the showers

Well, we walked for nearly two hours this afternoon, between the showers, up to the Look Out and over to the west. Whilst we saw a handful of dog walkers and a group of army land rovers negotiating the steep paths, we saw not one single solitary cow! Disappointing.

Wednesday am

10 sheltering from the drizzle, amongst the trees at H30. On the way back, there were cows hidden amongst the trees and bushes around I31. Could have been the same group, spooked by a dog, I'd heard barking from roughly their previous location.

Tuesday 21st June.

Found all 26 cattle together this afternoon. They were all up on the high ground behind the houses. All looking very well and relaxed.

Quiet afternoon

A short walk this afternoon found things quiet. We found 6 cows, including the brown and white No58, sauntering eastwards along the path beside Sandy Hill.We also saw a small deer quite close to the boundary fence. Is it my imagination or are there more deer around lately? We walked all around The Lookout and over to the west but made no further sightings of cows.

Sunday afternoon.

11 were grazing peacefully at Long Bottom (about O24) late this afternoon. One, 40087, seems to have a small piece of bare skin of the right flank - it didn't seem raw.

Sunday am

7 at Sunny Hill, keeping an eye on the cycling event. A further 9 in Long Bottom, east of the Horse Pond. Has anybody told them not to cross the red and white tapes!

Friday 5pm

10 cattle, lying, chewing and generally unconcerned by passers by. Number 105 ambled over for a closer look at us as we sat and enjoyed the view.
Further 13 cattle encountered as we walked back along Sandy Hill path at S16

Friday am

No cattle sightings, but the heron was on pond watch

Wednesday am

13 moving along Long Bottom, around K27, heading towards the Horse Pond. 9 lying down on the grass at G32. There were plenty of places, in either of the locations, for the remaing 4 to hide. All looked content and enjoying the better weather.

A fellow dog walker told me that he had seen a youth on one occasion chasing the cows with a large stick and on a second occasion throwing rocks at one of the cows. On both occasions it was the same youth and the incidents occurred around the Sunny Hill end of the area.

All together in one herd

An easy search today, as all 26 cows were together in one heard at P16. Checked them all, and they all looked fine. 57 was still looking thin, but not any worse than before- and seemed happy enough with all the others.

Late post for Saturday

Saw a group up on the top track near Sandy Hills yesterday evening.  57 was amongst them and looked quite dry but seemed a bit lacking in interest.

Sunday 8:00 am

At least 5 in the undergrowth, on the slope at L26. Another 8 at G29. 57 was with them, but they were all lying down, so I was unable to get a good look.

Humid morning

Humid morning, not many people about. We found 16 moving slowly along the valley east of the Horse Pond. They all looked relaxed and well, though one of them was bellowing. No 57 was not amongst this group.

Saturday am

10 on the move around K26. All looked OK, 57 wasn't with them.

Thursday am

7 by the side of the track at N26.

 

Here's no. 57. The back end is still quite dirty and the cow pats were fairly runny.

Tuesday 7th- 57 needs keeping an eye on and I didn't find 80,98, 106 and 114.

Hello, I found and sprayed 22 with fly repellent yesterday (tuesday 7th) , so hopefully it will help tackle the flys. The four I didn't find were 80, 98, 106 and 114; so it would be great if you could especially be on the look out for them. Also I noticed that 57 was looking poorer than the rest and its back end was a bit mucky. It is the light tan coloured cow with a white face. Could you keep an eye on it, to make sure that it doesn't loose more weight, however I think it is fine for now. Thankyou!!

at 11.00 in Long Bottom on eastern side and some 500 yards short of the Pavilion noted 10 + in area of heather, bracken and brush.

Wednesday am

No sightings in Long Bottom, but this guy was checking us out. He didn't seem worried by our presence, at all.

Sunday am

14 on the move and heading into the trees at the north east corner of the area.

Saturday pm

all 26 seen. 10 on path by Sandy Hill and 16 lying down at the look out on Ceasars Camp.

Saturday am

No sightings, but the cuckoos were giving it some welly as we walked down Long Bottom.

Friday pm

9 cattle found at R15. All peaceful.

Friday am

2 lone cows grazing at M28

Thursday am

At least 10 spread out along Long Bottom. Enjoying the british summer!!!

0615 and a thick mist accompanied by heavy rain did not bode well for the fist day of summer or lookering. The cattle were obviously sheltering from the elements as  they were no  where to be seen. On the down side I did find 3 dead Jay chick's  on the ground below a group of tall pines, it  might been that the were victims of yesterday's bad weather.

All 26 found

Eventually found all 26 today, although they were doing a good job of hiding! 12 were up at Sandy Hill, 4 were on the fenceline by Gelvert near the Bourley road, and the remaining 10 were at Long Bottom. Gave the two larger groups a mineral lick each. All seemed well.

Monday pm

9 cattle seen on path by Sandy Hill. Several of them had dirty rear ends, including the two brown cows. I have noticed smelly runny cow pats for a few days but this is the first time I've seen any of the animals for quite some time. All seemed OK otherwise and were grazing quietly.

Sunday afternoon

Thirteen enjoying the warm afternoon at around R16 late this afternoon - they all seemed well.

Saturday am

At least 8 munching their way down the middle of Long Bottom at J28. There could have been more amongst  the undergrowth, some of them were well hidden.

Friday am

Spread out, this morning. 3 around L26 and another 3 disappearing into the trees on Sunny Hill.

Thursday am

7 at K26. Disturbed by the army running past, but soon settled down again.

and continuing home from Gelvert area passed through Long Bottom and saw 2 cattle at a distance down near 'The Pavilion'.

5 Extras Added

This afternoon we added 5 extra Welsh Black crosses to the bunch. This now brings the total to 26.
Thanks, Jack

Monday 6pm

5 cattle seen grazing along path next to Sandy Hill

Full house in 2 herds in G21 and O24.

Plenty of troop activity today. And packed with visitors, which included my new lookering team of Natural England wardens! :) And very well they did too. No concerns with the herd.

Saturday am

7 looking very settled on the fresh grass around L28 and another 3 grazing their way along the track at L31.

Two groups spotted this morning . The first, a group of 7 were in the area of P26 just off the main long bottom track with  the others in the area 0f R20 not far from the bunker. all looked well.

Wednesday morning.

Split into a group of 6 and a group of 15. The larger group were in the woods near to the shell garage entrance. The six were right down by the large open sandy area to the north of the site. 

G28 and O11 respectively. 

Wednesday am

6 grazing around N25. All looked OK.

Found seven (at least) in brush at northern end of Long Bottom at about 11.00: they were moving slowly towards the Pavilion.

Party Rubbish

This was the sight that greeted us on the north side of the Horse Pond, this morning.

I

The life belts are floating in the middle of the pond and the danger signs have been ripped off the post. The other dog walker I was with had a rubbish bag, so with the help of a passing jogger, we have bagged the rubbish. If anybody is over there in a vehicle, then ths bag is at the side of the track to the east of the pond.

Sunday am

10 enjoying the new growth of grass around L28