Saturday 15th August - All 4 seen

Shortly before 15:00 this afternoon, the cattle were gathered around the water trough, having recently wandered down from the duck pond. As I approached, the boys were all standing to attention, watching closely. As soon as they recognised me, I was greeted with a full chorus of moos. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over, say hello, and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. At one point, youngster 276 became a little too pushy in his bid for extra attention and needed to be gently told to calm down.

After our initial greetings, the boys soon gathered around me, content to stand and chew their cud. Although it was nice and cool beneath the shade of the trees, there were still plenty of flies about, so they were happy to have them gently brushed from their faces. One by one, they stepped forward for long neck and back scratches, clearly enjoying the attention. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

By 15:40, it had clouded over, and the boys had drifted out into the pasture to the east, where they stood contentedly relaxing. They continued to wander over for more back scratches, shuffling back and forth so I could reach all their itchy spots. After youngster 282 enjoyed his, he lay down at my feet to rest, while the others continued standing nearby in a loose circle. It was lovely to spend some quiet, relaxing time with them today.

As I said my goodbyes at 16:30, all four had settled down to rest in the bushes near ///penned.nails.boast. As I walked away, they all got back to their feet and emerged from the bushes to watch me leave.

When I first arrived, the trough was only half full, so the boys had clearly already enjoyed some big, refreshing drinks. It was quickly filling up, though, and I gave it a good clean as it did so, removing leaves, pine needles, and even a few feathers from the surface.

The cattle were all good today.

Friday 14 Aug 26. (09.30 - 10.00) All 4 Seen & All well.

 They were all together in a chest high area of bracken.  I saw Jet stood in the middle and almost stood on J'Adore, (who was laying down) to get to him.  J'Adore was very content to let me stroke him between and over his eyes.  I guess this was short relief from the flies.

Jeans was also laying down, only a few feet from J'Adore.  This prevented me getting close to Jet.  I then went around past J'Adore and came upon Jura,  (also laying down) who also was happy for attention.

They were all very close to each other and I was not able to get any worthwhile photos.  Other that the flies, they all appeared good.

I walked over to the trough, which was full and clear when I arrived.  I scooped-out another ten or so handfuls of leaf/twig detritus from the bottom.

I hope the walk and barbecue went well.  I am sorry that I was too unwell to attend and meet up with other lookers and staff again.  

Thursday 13th - Staff Check

Visited site today at 12.15 as reports this morning of a large fire at Hawley lakes so drove around site to assess proximity. 

No evidence of fire anywhere near the site. 

Boys near trough with no issues to report. 

Stay cool, Zoe 

Thursday 13th August - All Good

Found the boys chilling under the trees by the dump. It was very quiet and peaceful other than the sudden release of breath every few seconds from the boys. I don’t know if they do this when they’re very hot, but I’ve never heard it before. It could just be that the flies were getting up their noses. They seemed fine though. 

Checked the trough. It looked good, full and clear.

Currently having internet problems so can't upload pics just yet. But things were good anyway. 

Wednesday 12th Morning

 A quick check this morning.

Trough all good.

Cows in a very hard to get to place at the back of the "duck pond" but they were all OK

Monday 10 August 26. (07.10 - 07.35) All Four Seen. All Well.

 They were in M3/M4.  J'Adore was laying down under thick Rhodi bush cover.  He was just chewing the cud and was happy for me to give him a forehead scratch.

 

Jeans was only about five yards away.  He was stood still under the shade of the rhodi bushes.  I was not able to get close to him. 

Jura and Jet were only about 15 yards away, but they were in more open ground.

I then swung round in the open to where Jeans had been  He was still parked in the same location,   So I was only able to get this rear view.

 

Unable to do this Monday 10th and probably not Tuesday

 Sorry about late notice but I am away for a long weekend so will not be around Monday and possibly not Tuesday 

Saturday 8th August - All 4 seen

At 14:35 this afternoon, the boys were just emerging from the thicket onto the edge of the main path near ///referral.weeds.dish, just up from the entrance by the car park. When they spotted me approaching, I was welcomed with a chorus of moos before they took turns coming over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes. They were all very affectionate, offering gentle head rubs and plenty of licks. Afterwards, the boys were happy to stand beside me, resting and chewing their cud, but it was very warm, and they were being bothered by a huge number of flies. So, around 15:00, I led them over to the woodland west of the main entrance, where it was cooler and the flies were less persistent.

The boys soon gathered around me again, happy to stand close, rest and chew their cud. They would frequently step forward for longer neck and back scratches, tucking their heads into my side as they tried to keep the flies off their faces. When not being fussed over, they would huddle together or stand facing the trees. Occasionally, the boys would wander over to the bushes to the north to snack on some leaves. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

At around 15:45, I set off west to check the water trough, with all four cattle following at my heels. I would stop every now and again just to check they were okay, only to receive more head rubs or gentle nudges indicating more strokes were needed. When we got to the trough, the boys immediately gathered around both sides to enjoy long, refreshing drinks. It was wonderful to see them all happily drinking without their collars making a sound. Afterwards, they gathered around again before moving towards the fence line. It was actually really cool in the shade of the trees, and there were considerably fewer flies. After giving the trough a clean as it filled back up, I went to spend some more time with each of them, with the boys happily accepting more strokes and rubs.

I said my goodbyes at 16:30, leaving them all relaxing near the fence line, fairly certain they were going to settle down to rest when I left. Instead, after a short delay, they emerged from the woodland to watch me wander off. They followed for a bit before starting to graze, gradually making their way towards the trees to the northeast.

The cattle were all good today.

Friday 7 August 26. (07.50 - 08.15) All four Fit & Well in E6/F6

 Quickly found all four.  J'Adore was separated from the other three in F6, about ten yards from the ammo dump perimeter fence.  He was quite happily munching away at young heather.  Occasionally he turned around to where the NoFence showed where the others were, but was gradually heading NE, (away from them).  He content for me to stroke his back and neck while he fueled-up.

The other three were in E6, (about 50 yards from J'Adore) to the SW of the ammo dump.  As you can see, they were right next to the green electric sub-station immediately opposite the gates.  

Jura was grazing clockwise around the base of the sub-station, while Jeans was stood still by it's NW corner, while Jet was licking all over  his LHS.  This one-sided grooming was going on for about five minutes.  All appeared  well & content and  happy to have scratches and strokes.  This included me stroking/scratching Jeans on his starboard side, while Jet attended to port!

While I was scratching Jeans, Jura appeared around the corner of the substation and looked at Jeans, Jet and I. This is probably anthropomorphic but to me that look was disappointment & disapproval !     

I then checked the trough, which was clear & full.

Thursday 6th August - All Good

Found all 4 cows by the trough around 10:25am. All cows & the trough looked good.

 

 

Wednesday 5th - Morning

 Found the cows just at the side of the main track a little way from the cattle grid.

I first saw 283 chewing something.  I managed to get through the scrub and he had dropped what turned out to be a dog throw, ball on a rope.  Good job he hadn't tried to swallow it.

I took throw home and binned it. 

Other than that the cows were all good, just lots of flies around them.

I went over and checked the trough, all fine with that.  I did scoop a load of pine needles off the surface.

When I returned to the entrance they were all in the wood resting

Tuesday 4th August all 4 seen in L6 9.15am

 All seen this morning in what used to be very wet area!

Busy eating the trees. There is a lot of good grass in the area 

We really struggled to get out ..its a difficult area !