Friday 9th February

15 seen (the OGs) on the slope below Sandy hill. Have never seen them grazing this portion before so was nice to see. No issues.

Couldn’t for the life of me find the new 7. I searched everywhere and stopped and called multiple times but no luck. 

Thursday 8th February - 15 seen

Steer 30 and cow 940 were lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud in the area around ///object.means.note at 13.00 this afternoon.  Steers 35, 222 and 270 were standing close by, chewing their cud.  Steers 20, 21, 33, 217, 220 and 228 plus cow 72 were spread out grazing in the surrounding area.  The cows were all wet from the earlier rain but were looking well.

The three boys were still off on their adventures.  Steers 217 and 230 were lying down relaxing around ///table.fight.utter across from Horse Pond at 13:35.  They were both struggling to keep their eyes open.  Youngster 230 was particularly wet.  Yearling 271 was initially up and about munching on heather, but soon lay down close to steer 230.  The boys were all good.

Despite another long search, I had no success in finding the seven Sussex cattle again today.  I've no idea where they are hiding, and ran out of places to look.  I circled back round by Horse Pond at 14:45 and the three steers were still lying down resting and drying out.

Like yesterday, the contractor was busy clearing scrub in his tractor down in the area around ///tenure.test.shape.

The fifteen cows that were found were all good today

Wednesday 7th February - 15 seen

Steers 217, 230 and 271 were together just along from the Lookout in the area around ///argue.lock.menu at 12:45 this afternoon.  Youngsters 217 and 230 were eating deep in the gorse bushes.  Yearling 271 was enjoying some grass before wandering into the gorse bushes too.  The boys slowly emerged at the far side of bushes, where they started to eat grass and heather.  Despite being rather damp, they were all looking good.

Steers 21, 30, 35, 219, 220, 222, 228 and 270 plus cow 940 were all lying down, relaxing and chewing their cud around ///allows.origins.tastier on Hungry Hill at 14:00.  Steer 20 and cow 72 were standing to their side, chewing their cud.  Steer 33 was on the opposite side of the path munching on gorse.  All twelve were happy and relaxed.

Despite an exhaustive search of Caesar's, I had no success in finding the seven Sussex cattle today.  I'd love to know where they were hiding!

Bumped into Tom and his practical conservation volunteers a bit earlier in the afternoon while searching for the newbies.  They were doing a great job of cutting down gorse bushes and burning them in a controlled manner.  It was rather chilly out today, so it was nice to stand by the fire for a bit.

The fifteen cows that were found were all good today.

Tuesday 6th February - All 22 seen

Steers 217, 230 and 271 were lying down in the heather at the side of the small hill around ///takers.scrambles.puppy at 12:40 this afternoon.  They were relaxing and chewing their cud.  They were all looking well.

The other twelve Caesar's originals were wandering at pace along Longbottom from Horse Pond to the area around ///ripen.drip.functions at 13:10.  Upon their arrival, most stopped and stared at the seven Sussex cattle who were together grazing in the area.  Youngsters 219 and 222 started to approach the newbies, who all walked off together, climbing the hill.  The duo were quite persistent and followed the newbies all the way along to ///mainly.scars.emphasis where they paused.  They remained calm and non-aggressive to the newbies throughout.  The Sussex's continued into the thicket.  Steer 222 gave up and wandered back to the others.  Youngster 219 decided to follow the newbies some more.

The main group had climbed halfway up the hill to ///yacht.after.rots where they were standing chewing their cud.  They were all looking happy and relaxed.  At 13:25, youngster 219 came running back, mooing repeatedly as he arrived.  He was out of breath and had a rest.  He didn't seem too happy that nobody had followed him.

I didn't get a chance to properly check the Sussex's today as they were on the move while I was with them, but they all seemed fine.  They didn't seem particularly bothered about the other cows and were just happy to walk away.  I did go and have a quick look for them after I'd checked the main group, but couldn't find them.  Hopefully they'll settle into their new home and when ready integrate into the herd.

 

The cows were all good today.

Grazing Team extra cattle

Seven extra Sussex cattle moved on to site today. Couple have got slight rub on their back end in transit. 

Sunday 4th February - All 15 seen - Fire on Caesar's Camp

There has been a recent fire on Caesar's in the area around ///wants.fairway.laughs.  It was restricted mainly to gorse bushes and was smaller than past fires.  Cows 21, 30, 33, 72, 219, 220 and 940 were all in the remains, munching on chargrilled gorse at 09:50.  Youngster 217 was close by, munching on heather to the south.  Youngster 222 was standing at the front of the burnt bushes, relaxing and chewing his cud.

Steers 20, 35, 228, 230, 270 and 271 were all a little further north eating gorse in the bushes around ///recur.shields.ideals at 10:10.  They slowly started to come out into the open and say hello.  Judging by the soot on their coats, they had all been in the burnt bushes earlier. The two yearlings stood together, chewing their cud.

By 10:50, the six boys had wandered down to join up with others.  Several steers wandered over to the area around ///tent.strutted.tides where they all took big drinks of water from the deep puddles.  Ten minutes later, steer 20 went and lay down around ///tasks.hotdog.cabbies.   He was soon joined by steers 217, 220, 222 and 230.  Steer 219 was standing beside them and looked like he was going to lie down soon.  The other nine cows were all back grazing in the burnt bushes.

The cows were all good today.  I gave them all a good check and they were fine.  They seem to like eating the chargrilled gorse, but I can't imagine it's particularly good for them.

Saturday 3rd February - All 15 seen

All fifteen cows were well spread out in the wooded area around ///orbit.bill.back at the Royal Pavilion end of the site at 09:20 this morning. They were all happily grazing in the thicket. The cows were eating lots of gorse, holly and leaves from the various bushes. They were all relaxed and looking well. 

By 10:15, steers 20, 21, 217, 219, 220, 222, 228, 230, 270 and 271 had all wandered down to the area around ///ages.arena.sung where they continued to graze. Just as I was leaving at 10:40, steers 20 and 33, who had just wandered down from the woods, followed me over the sandy area before disappearing into the thicket around ///vent.wide.voice. The others didn't show any immediate signs of following. 

The cows were all good today.