Saturday 18th April - All 25 seen

At 09:20 this morning, a group of seven cattle were gathered near their favourite Sandy Hill corner. Cows 72, 214, 234, and 940, along with steers 33, 219, and 1626, were resting and chewing their cud in the sunshine. They were all very friendly, coming over to say hello and enjoy some strokes. Cows 72 and 940 both enjoyed long neck and back scratches, while youngster 219 particularly enjoyed standing in the sunshine and having his neck stroked. By 09:55, older steer 20 emerged from the gorse a little further east and wandered over to say hello. All eight were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At 10:10, youngster 270 was grazing in front of the cow shed, while older steer 35 was scratching himself against a post in the woodland on the far side of the wooden footbridge. Youngster 227 was grazing nearer the Bourley Road car park and soon stopped to greet me and enjoy some strokes. As I made my way back to the other two, he followed, then went into the cow shed to rest in the shade. The boys were happy and healthy.

By 10:30, steers 217, 220, 222, 228, and 271 were resting in the grassy area at the Royal Pavilion end of the site. They were all very friendly, allowing me to approach and give them plenty of strokes. After a while, youngster 222 got up and came over for a long back scratch. By 10:50, youngster 230 and older steers 21 and 30 joined the group, having finished grazing in the thicket to the southeast. They all came over to say hello before lying down to rest. All eight were content, relaxed, and in good condition. As I was leaving at 11:05, the group of three steers were making their way through the woodland to join them.

At 11:15, Sussex steer 210 was lying down, relaxing and chewing his cud in the shade to the south of the covered reservoir, near ///ship.hiker.irritate, while steer 1640 grazed nearby. A short time later, steer 197 emerged from the thicket to the northeast and came over to greet me and enjoy a neck scratch. The boys were happy, relaxed, and in good condition. By 11:35, cows 211, 212, and 1396 were resting in the bracken on higher ground about 110 metres to the southeast. They looked very comfortable, with the bracken helping to shield them from the flies. They were very friendly and happy to be approached for strokes and rubs, with cow 211 returning the affection with plenty of licks. The girls were content, relaxed, and in good condition. As I was saying my goodbyes at noon, the boys had climbed the hill and were grazing to the west of where the girls were lying.

The cows were all good today.