Castle Bottom Lookers

Castle Bottom Lookers

Monday 3 December 2012

The cows have left the site!

Hello everyone,
The cows were collected by the grazier on Friday afternoon... they didn't seem too eager to leave but hopefully they will be taken somewhere with more food for the winter months! We hope to see them (or a different herd) back on Castle Bottom next Spring, when new growth and grazing resumes. Many thanks again to you all for all your help this year, your time and support really is vital. Despite all the ups and downs this year, both the cattle and ponies have been extremely lovable and have done a brillant job keeping down the scrub, and all the lookers have also done a fantastic job of checking on them. Thanks!
I will be sending an email out shortly to see if anyone would like a certificate to prove their involvement and to find out if anyone is interested in continuing lookering duties next year!
Til then, hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Best wishes,
The Rangers

Monday 15 October 2012

Lookering season is coming to an end...

The nights are drawing in, the weather is changing and so too are the leaves. The growth of vegetation on the heaths has virtually stopped, signalling the end of the livestock lookering programme for this year. To this end, we will soon be removing the livestock from Castle Bottom.

The grazier is hoping to take the ponies off site this week and remove the cattle in two loads the following week. Of course, we will endeavour to keep you informed as to when exactly this will be, but sometimes they are removed at the graziers convenience without us knowing.

We would ask you to keep lookering (and reporting) on your usual days for the interim period and as soon as it is confirmed there are no livestock remaining, we will let you know.

Many thanks for your continued support.

The Rangers.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

After three hours and miles of trudging through the mire I eventually found the highlands in a pine, heather and birch munching loose roaming band.  I was perturbed as I had still not seen the big fellow, and he had not been seen by us for a few days, but from the top of a hill I spied him well away from his ladies and kids down in the thick bog myrtle where he could get a little peace from them.  I’m off home now with mud up to my knees, I did get stuck for a bit and thought id have to phone for help for a minute so watch it out there and don’t get bogged down by it all :->
The ponies were in the central grassy area grazing. 

Sunday 22 July 2012

Saw all the cows and ponies today, they all seem to be doing well and are doing a good job in keeping the birch down, and little Smudge is growing up fast!


Wednesday 6 June 2012

Our Jubilee Addition -'Smudge'

Exciting news!

During a wander around Castle Bottom this afternoon i saw the horns of one of the cows deep in the undergrowth and went to investigate... as i approached i noticed a little black 'smudge' at the cows feet!  Imagine my surprise when the little smudge stood up and turned out to be a brand new baby calf, born at some point over the Jubilee weekend.

Mother and baby appear to be doing well -mum is busy grazing and the baby had most definatly found his feet and was bouncing around by the time i left them! Obviously it is still early days and there is still alot that can go wrong, but everything is looking good at the moment.


Over the next few days -do not be surprised if you don't see them, mum is still being protective and keeping them well hidden, but i'm sure it won't be long before they join the rest of the herd!  If you do see them, please don't get too close for the moment as the mother is likely to lead them further into the undergrowth where it will be harder for us to keep an eye on them!

Sunday 27 May 2012

Another scorching hot day, saw the cows all wandering between shady patches to stay cool. All looked healthy and happily grazing. Also met our lovely new resident ponies, the grazier must have brought them onto site when he took away Jack and Jill on Friday. It's not til you see them both close up that you realise how much the names Little and Large really suit! Both seemed very friendly and happy to walk alongside me as I walked the site. For those of you that haven't met them yet, here they are grazing in the sunshine:

Friday 25 May 2012

Ponies taken off site

Unfortunatly following recent complaints about Jack's behaviour the decision was made to have Jack and Jill removed from site.  The grazier came and removed the two ponies this afternoon, and they will be going to a home where there is less public access.  It is hoped that replacement ponies will be brought on at a later date.

During a walk around this morning i saw all the cattle, they were understandably sheltering from this hot sunny weather and were all lazing about in area 11.  They all seemed healthy and were munching away.

Friday 11 May 2012

All cows and ponies fine today

What a lovely sunny day - Castle Bottom really does look glorious in the sunshine! Checked all the cows and ponies today, and they all seemed very healthy and inquisitive. Jack was behaving himself too, although we are still trying to arrange for him to be replaced with a calmer horse, no dates confirmed as yet. Before we had to drag ourselves away from the site we also did a reptile survey (lots of adders and slow worms about!), fixed the lifted board on the boardwalk, patched up the broken gate at the corral, and painted the steps on the boardwalk to make them more visible (til we ran out of paint!). Here is a picture of one of the cows coming to have a sniff of our lunch and one of the slow worms (legless lizards) we found under a reptile tin.

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Bald Patches and a Bolshy Jack

Hi all, I have just returned from Castle Bottom, having found all the cows sheltering together in the woods (area 10), and the ponies up at what seems to be their favourite spot by the corral. We looked at the patches of bare skin that are developing on two of the cows, and checked that the skin looks healthy, with no wounds/rashes/sores/scabs to suggest any health problems. I spoke to the grazier who confirmed that this is relatively normal this time of year, as the cows are moulting and losing fur anyway, and perhaps might lose a clump in patches dues to licking/excessive rain/rubbing on vegetation/fencing posts. So it seems like it is just another thing to keep an eye on and monitor.
The ponies seemed quite calm today, although judging from their recent behaviour it may be wise to exercise caution when undertaking checks. It can be a good idea to carry a large stick, as an extra barrier between you and the animals, and to make you look bigger and therefore dominant. Although the ponies are not wild animals as such, they are not tame either, and can behave unpredictably as their moods change. Please do let us know if there are any further incidents involving the ponies - it might be useful to keep some kind of record of their moods/behaviours, to see if we can identify any trends or triggers.
All the best,
Natalie

Friday 27 April 2012

All cows and ponies healthy

Hello All,
Just seen all the cattle together (ish) and the ponies not too far off too. The Little Calf was tricky to spot at first but was found wandering nearby and soon caught up with the rest of the herd. One thing we did spot was a small bald patch on one of the adult cows, which I haven't seen before (pic below). It didn't look sore, there were no flies or maggots to be seen, and the cow was walking and grazing as normal, so I don't think there is anything to be overly worried about, but it is definately something to keep an eye on.
Hope you're not all getting too wet in the rain, we somehow missed all the showers today!
Natalie

Wednesday 11 April 2012

The Little Calf

Thanks everyone for keeping your eyes out for the little calf, just to put your minds at rest I saw him this afternoon.  It seems he likes to spend a fair bit of his time alone and hidden deep in the mire, making it very hard for you lookers to locate him.  He is eating, wandering about and healthy so even though none of you has seen him in a while there really is nothing to worry about.

All we can really do is continue to keep an eye out -when you post on the blog continue to let us know if you have/haven't seen him and we will also continue to go out regularily to check on them all as well!  We'll keep you updated every time we see him (we'll go wading in the mire if we have too), and hopefully over time he may start to spend more time with the rest of the herd!


In the mean time -we know you all worry but please try not to worry too much it seems he's just a bit of a loner!

All the other cows and ponies were fine as well!

Thursday 5 April 2012

All Present and Correct!

The livestock were checked today and thankfully, all the animals were located....even the elusive calf! They all seem to be doing well grazing near to the corral. They followed me for a short time "mooing" gently before leaving me. I met some of our Lookers on-site, which was very reassuring, to know the animals are being checked regularly. You do tend to get quite attached to them over the months. Our bull decided to have a nice scratch on one of our signs, so no doubt this will need replacing at some point. They seem to find the new signs irresistible! I got a nice shot of some of the herd, so here they are....


Sunday 1 April 2012

10 Highlands now remain on Castle Bottom

Sadly, the Highlands this year have not coped very well during their first week at Castle Bottom. It is thought that they were brought onto the site unwell, perhaps with a mineral deficiency, or other illness/weakness. As soon as the cows were introduced to the site, one pregnant female lay down and was unable to get up. After a couple of days of monitoring her, and trying to help her stand, she was then removed from the site by her owner, to be seen by a vet. Sadly, she did not respond to medical help, and had to be put down a few days later.
A few of the other cows seemed similarly weak, and had to be rescued from the mire as they could not get out by themselves. All cows were successfully rescued from the mire, and were closely monitored for the following days. During the cattle check on Wednesday afternoon, one cow was missing, and was found dead at 7pm (many thanks to the vigilant walkers that found her and called her in). On Friday, a second cow was found dead in similar circumstances. It is still a mystery as to the cause of death of these cows. Possible causes of sudden death in cattle include magnesium deficiency and a clostridial infection.
The remaining 10 cows appear to be healthy and sticking together (with the exception of one very independent young brown calf), but will need to be closely monitored for the coming weeks. The rangers will be out looking for them as often as they can, but ask that volunteers please check them as thoroughly as possible during checks, and let us know as soon as possible if any are missing/showing signs of distress.
Kinds regards,
Ranger Natalie

Sunday 25 March 2012

13 Highlands join the New Forest Ponies on Castle Bottom...

We have a large herd to look out for this year - 13 Highlands joined the New Forest Ponies on Castle Bottom yesterday, including a whole family: mother, father brothers/sisters and two young calves. There were some initial teething problems, as the whole group decided to explore the boggy mire as soon as they stepped out of the trailer, resulting in 3 cows needing to be rescued. Hopefully, they will have now learned the dangers, although they will be closely monitored during the coming weeks.
I will be holding a training sessions to introduce this years Volunteer Lookers to the cattle this coming Sunday morning (1st April), time TBC, if you think you can make it please let me know!
Photos to follow,  all the best,
Ranger Natalie

Sunday 18 March 2012

Introducing Castle Bottom's newest residents, Jack and Jill...

Meet Jack and Jill, the two New Forest Ponies that will spend the rest of the Spring, Summer and Autumn on Castle Bottom NNR. After meeting them for the first time on-site today, it is clear that Jack is the dominant personality, with a curious nature, whereas Jill seems to be quite shy. 
Thanks to those of you that have already emailed to express interest in volunteering as Lookers again this year.  The ponies will soon be joined by 12 Highlands, as soon as we have a date fixed for them to be brought onto site, I will arrange a training session to introduce you all!

All the best,
Ranger Natalie

Thursday 8 March 2012

Cattle due to return later this month!

Now that the winter works are now finished, and Spring is well on its way, it’s almost time for the cattle to move back onto Castle Bottom. This year we will be welcoming 8-10 Highland Cows onto the site, along with a couple of New Forest ponies. During the 8 months or so that the animals are on the Reserve, the grazing herd help to produce a mosaic of micro-habitats that are essential for maintaining the richness and diversity of the heathland on Castle Bottom. Here are a few benefits of having cattle on the site:
  • Grazing by cattle produces the uneven age structure of heather which is required to support the specialist heathland birds, reptiles and butterflies
  • Grazing helps to keep down scrub and suppress the spread of invasive species
  • The broad hooves break up plant litter, helping to maintain the open, low nutrient status of heathlands (this could also result in some extension of wet areas necessary for plants like sundews)
  • The dung produced will support a number of invertebrates (a welcome food source for birds and reptiles!) as well as fungi
Many thanks to those of you who have already contacted me to say that you would like to volunteer with us again this year. As soon we have a fixed date for the cattle to return to Castle Bottom, we will be arranging an on-site training session for everyone who has expressed interest in becoming a Volunteer Cattle Looker. If you are interested in helping out this year or would like any further information, please contact us on 01252 870425 or email northern.sites@hants.gov.uk.
Ranger Natalie