Cattle on the march at Caesar's Camp

Hello, Alex here

Following the completion of the bracken spraying at Caesar's Camp - the large area of heathland to the north of Sandy Hill estate near Hale (see photo below)- we have released 32 cattle onto the 260 hectare site!

This is our biggest project so far (biggest heath and most number of cattle), so it is a really exciting milestone.

The cattle are actually a mixture of Hereford crosses (black with white faces) and Aberdeen Angus crosses (all black). They are heifers, which are young female cows that have not yet had a calf. They are owned by a local farmer who has a farm shop near Odiham.

Today we went to check on the cattle and they seemed fine; a couple of the lookers were concerned about some kids that were following them about, so we had a word and explained why the cattle were there and why they should be nice to them. The boys seemed to take this on board and wandered off.

The rumour mill seems to have been at work in the surrounding area, saying that this project is a prelude to the building of houses. I can only say what I say to everyone - that this site is one of the most protected areas in the country (because of the rare birds found here) and so it is extremely unlikely that this area will be developed. The Wildlife Trust would not be involved in this project if there was any hint of destroying the wonderful heath and all its wildlife.

Talking of birds, there are concerns that the cattle will cause disturbance to ground nesting birds such as the nightjar and the woodlark. Whilst I cannot guarrantee that this will not happen, it is my point of view that it is vital that we manage the heaths as a whole for all flora and fauna. The best way of doing this, according to lots of literature, is with a suitable grazing regime. We are hoping that bird experts will be able to continue to monitor the success of the breeding birds in order to see if the grazing has any effect.

Thats all for now, thanks for reading!

Cattle going out at Caesar's Camp, Aldershot

From Laura, Grazing Project and Reserves Officer

Good news! The spraying of the bracken on the land at Caesar’s Camp has now been completed and so we are ready to put cattle out on the site.

We have a local farmer who is going to put his cattle out on the site, they are Traditional Hereford cattle – a traditional, rare beef breed which is medium in size and excellent at converting rough forage (such as that found on heathland) into meat. The breed is on the Rare Breed Survival Trust watch list – for more information about them why not check out their website http://www.rbst.org.uk/watch-list/cattle/hereford.php. There will be approximately 40 animals.

We are planning for the cattle to arrive on the 30th July, but the farmer may have to change the date due to his harvest, which is very reliant on the weather. As you all know the weather is very changeable at the moment so we will obviously confirm the exact date to you nearer the time.

For those of you who have offered to be an official looker for this site, we will send a separate email confirming your allocated time slot for each week - please check these and let us know if it still suits you and you’re able to start when the animals arrive. If you’d still like to be a looker, but haven’t returned your forms then let us know and we can add you to the rota.

Thanks for your continued support – we really do appreciate it.

Any questions – please let me know and we look forward to the cattle arriving.

From Alex, Grazing Project manager
Hello all
Unfortunately the planned introduction of cattle to Caesar's Camp will not be happening this week.
This is because the control of bracken by herbicides, which should have taken place already, has had to be postponed because of the bad weather. The cattle cannot go on the site until at least a week after the bracken has been sprayed in case they eat the chemical covered plant.
The MOD undertake this work because bracken (a type of fern, see photo below) can cover large areas of heathland, stopping other plants from growing. The herbicide that they use is very specific - it only effects ferns and docks - and it breaks down fairly quickly. The herbicide goes down into the roots and reduces the growth in the following year, so you won't see any effects this year.

Anyway, we will let you know when things are happening on Caesar's Camp - hopefully in the next week or so.
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