NY Eve

 Found all 3 fit and well in F13 nuzzling under Oak leaf litter presumably for acorns and looking very fit and well. Trough and Gate repair OK.

29th Dec

 All 3 in M10 at 8:15 this morning hiding in the gorse. Couldn’t get in there but they looked fine. Trough checked ok and gate still closing well.

Mon 28th

 I didn’t see the cows this morning but it was very cold at 8am! Some tree have come die though so may I suggest if any Ranger is due to visit, please re check especially on the boundary (Fleet road, over railway, turn right, then through the barrier on the left) a couple of trees have fallen onto the fence line further down. Looks ok but does need checking 

27th Dec

 All fit and well standing in the sun drying off on the main track in H12

XMAS DAY

Ho ho ho . Cows in L10 and all fit and well. Some ice on trough but OK.

Wednesday 23rd December

 Re-bashed the temporary post holding the gate and rigged up an inner tube to help the gate close softly. 

New gate is first priority in the new year.

Teasel, Evan and Caledonia joined me to check out the work. All looked well if a little damp. 

Wed 23rd

8:30ish - Made a quick call to Harry as the black rubber band on the gate has broke so when I approached the gate it wasn’t closed properly although when I tested it, it did close but I was just concerned as it’s now the holiday time so many people will be passing through and not bothering to check it’s closed properly. 

Tuesday 22nd

 Found all 3 just off the track down from the big white gate in the gorse at 9am. Looked fine but couldn’t get too close. Trough ok and gate still closing ok

Monday 21st December

 Found all 3 in J10, laying down in some bracken. They all look well. Trough is full. 

Sunday 20th

 Eventually found all 3 in the gorse in the centre of the area. Teasel browsing gorse; the boys grazing heather. Trough OK and temporary gate post repair holding up but it takes a pounding as the gate is slammed closed by folk.

17th Dec -

    Location: Communal. gross. otherwise ( M13)

Found all three in the dense shrubs and trees going after some green leaves.

didn't get too close but generally looked in good health.

Alterations to the gate are working well.

Tuesday 15th

 Must have missed Graham by 10 minutes but only found 2 grazing in J12. No sign of Evan.

Checked trough - OK, and gate. Repair is working fine and gate is shut.

Teasle and Caledonia looking OK.

Found the three in no time all looking good

Notice: Protocol for reporting of emergencies during the Christmas period

Please note that the Estates and Grazing teams at HIWWT will have a skeleton staff operating over Christmas and New Year.

If you need to report an emergency to us during this time, such as injured or escaped livestock or damaged infrastructure, then please follow the procedure below. As always, please DO NOT use the blog to report any urgent or emergency issues.

To report an emergency (e.g. injured or escaped livestock, damaged infrastructure where livestock could escape from a site):

1. Call the office on 01256 381190.
2. Wait for the answering machine message, which will detail the name and mobile number of the member of staff who is currently on call.
3. Phone the on-call member of staff who will then respond accordingly.

Please do not phone a member of staff directly unless you know they are on call. If you are unsure whether a particular situation qualifies as an emergency then please phone the on-call member of staff anyway so that they can make a decision on how to proceed.

And finally, many thanks to you all for your hard work keeping an eye on the livestock all year, and Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of you from all of us at HIWWT!

Nil

 None spotted today

Inside at 3.00

 Walked site at 3.00pm found all 3 grazing amongst trees in G12. Evans seemed quite relaxed and all 3 were snuffling among the leaf mould under the trees.  Not as green as outside the gate. No problems.

10th Dec - Evans big day out

I arrived on the heath this morning at 8:30ish to find Evan had absconded.  

By the looks of it the gate near the trough had not been closed correctly, providing Evan with a chance to break into the lush green paradise of the neighboring fields.

The other two luckily remained on the heath but getting this youngster back in proved to be quite the challenge (nearly an hours worth of wrangling)

Having resisted attempts by myself to coax him and then with the help of Debbie and some passer-bys to try and get him back onto the heath failing, he charged across the woods into the bigger heath.

With some careful corraling and expert handling from a passer-by (who has looked after livestock before), we managed to get him through the gate and back to where he belongs.

The rest of the herd were not impressed and called for him continuously throughout, whilst at the same time drawing the attention of several dogs.

A pretty stressful morning for both animal and amateur looker.

On closer inspection, the gate post is not very stable and this prevents the latch from working correctly. So while today, we managed to avoid anything major happening, the risk remains that across the days when lookers or rangers are on-site, he or the others try this trick again. Some of the gates (esp near the one by the railway lines) are also showing signs of wear and tear too.

I would also like to raise a second point about training for such situations. While the basic training gives you provision to avoid harm to yourself and the cattle, I didn't think much of it was useful when you have a distressed animal on your hands. While wrangling them back onto the heath isn't a day job for any of us, a bit of guidance and tactics for how I & others might be better able to do this in the future would be useful.  

Thanks to Ciara, Alex, and Debbie for the assistance (esp in helping to find my mobile which slipped out of my pocket during this rodeo)

proof that the grass is greener

not a-moos-ed at Evans antics.

Monday 07th December

All 3 found healthy and very vocal as normal. Trough good

Sunday 6

 Two on the track in H12, one deep in the gorse. All looking very fit and well. Evan well settled in now.

Saturday 5th

 Found all 3 moving away from the trough through trees in F15. All moving OK no problems.

Trough working OK

Pushed gate hard and it latched. 

Friday 4th

 Found all three grazing in L11/M11. Evan and Teasle looking fit grazing on the heather - no problems. Caledonia tried to hide in the gorse so unable to get a close look at him.

Trough OK. 

Checked gate near trough which, as Debbie said, does not close properly. If an inquisitive bullock were to push on it, it will open and let him through. Problem is the gate post is leaning and the latch therefore does not catch. A quick repair (while waiting for funds) could be to hammer angle iron support at the rear of the post to lift it back vertical.

all found near trough and looking well

Tuesday 02nd December

 Ciara hasn’t got access to the blog and has asked me to update for her.

“All three found very quickly, all happy and healthy. Trough good”