Saturday 24th January — All 24 seen - Several had heavy tick loads around the dewlap and under‑leg areas, and a number had bald patches suggesting mites.

At 08:30 this morning, a group of eleven cattle were spread out and grazing contentedly in the thicket west of the Bourley Road car park. Cow 234 and yearling 271 were enjoying plenty of grass around the large pools of standing water left by recent rain near ///skewing.frames.slept. The cattle were all very friendly, coming over to greet me and enjoy some strokes. Youngster 228 was especially affectionate, thoroughly enjoying a long neck and back scratch before thanking me with gentle head rubs. The group was slowly making its way west, following the road. All eleven were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 09:45, the six Sussex cattle, along with youngsters 222 and 230, were grazing near their favourite corner of Sandy Hill. Most were browsing in the gorse bushes, but quickly emerged to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs.

By 10:30, cow 72 and steers 219 and 227 wandered in from the west to join the group, with older steer 33 arriving shortly afterwards. They were all friendly, coming straight over to greet me and enjoy some attention.

By 11:10, most of the cattle had moved east towards the end of Sandy Hill, where they settled to rest and chew their cud. A couple moved through the gorse to stand in the area recently cleared by the contractor. While chatting with one of the gents from Landmarc who spotted me during his site checks, we heard mooing from the bottom of the hill and saw older steer 35 walking along the path towards Horse Pond. After calling to him, he paused and looked up before moving into the pasture at the foot of the hill. I later went down to check on him and found him settled and well. He sensibly remained at the bottom of the hill, anticipating that the others would soon make their way down, enjoying the heather along the way.

I said my goodbyes at 12:10, leaving nine of the cattle grazing contentedly on the hillside, while Sussex cows 211 and 1396, along with steers 197 and 210, browsed gorse at the top of the hill.

I noted that several cattle had large numbers of ticks around their dewlaps and in their under‑leg areas, and that a number also had bald patches on their hindquarters, sides, and necks, suggesting mites. The recent wet and mild weather is likely contributing to this.

I also noted that steers 33 and 227 have slipped their collars.

The cows were all good today.