Wednesday 14th January - 23 seen

At 12:15 this afternoon, fifteen members of the Caesar’s original herd were grazing across the pasture near ///self.bicker.cheerily, moving in the direction of Horse Pond. It was lovely to see them dry and grazing contentedly in the sunshine, a marked contrast to yesterday when they were soaked and looking rather miserable in the constant rain. They were all friendly, taking turns to come over to say hello and enjoy some strokes. Youngsters 222, 227, and 228 were especially friendly, enjoying long neck and back rubs and responding with gentle head rubs. By 12:45, the group had reached the hillside north of Horse Pond near ///shin.array.blinking, where most were happily grazing on heather. All fifteen were relaxed, happy, and looking well.

At 12:50, steers 219 and 1626 were found grazing near ///react.focal.paddlers, around 300 metres southwest of Horse Pond. Earlier, they had made their way east along Sandy Hill before descending into the thicket on the far side of the path. Youngster 219 stood happily for plenty of strokes and rubs, while steer 1626 foraged for acorns. Both were calm, content, and in good condition.

After a check on Sandy Hill to look for any other cattle, I returned briefly to the first group at 13:15, where several had begun lying down to rest in the bracken on the hillside near ///quest.inspects.downs.

By 13:40, the remaining six Sussex cattle were grazing deep in the gorse near ///dries.blesses.active, close to the main entrance to the Gelvert reserve. They all came over to greet me, with most enjoying having loose gorse brushed from their backs and sides. Cow 211 was particularly affectionate, enjoying a long neck and head rub and thanking me with plenty of licks. All six were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

Just to the southeast, a contractor had done a tremendous job clearing the dense gorse bushes that filled the pasture as far as the eye could see. I had a nice chat with him while he tended three fires burning the gorse he’d cut down.

Despite a thorough search, I was unable to locate older steers 33 and 35 today. I suspect they were in the gorse bushes on Sandy Hill, but I was unable to find them. Numerous tracking collars were also not appearing on the map, possibly because they got soaked in yesterday’s heavy rain.

The cows that were found were all good today.