Wednesday 31st December

Ok, may have been better to wait for the fog to lift before looking for fog-coloured sheep. 

Second count: 20 white-faced woodlands on the side of the down spread between the lower and upper paths. 17 Shetland with them, with the 18th being on his own near the north east gate (I empathise the desire to be alone)

One Shetland with a  bald patch on his back, see photo (I have more close up photos if the team need them, including  ear tags but the numbers are faded).

Two black dogs off the lead, ,. Owner walked them within a few yards of a dozen sheep and of course the dogs chased the sheep.  She said it was my fault for requesting that she put her dogs on the lead . Sheep don't seem very distressed I think a bit too cold to worry too much. She then put them on leads, so she had leads with her all the time. The green signs aren't as clear as I remembered, they hint that dogs should be on leads but don't mandate it. 

I found the north west gate (adjacent Hampshire gate) unlatched. On testing, it doesn't always latch of its own accord.

Monday 29th December

 Found all 38 sheep grazing on the open downland all in the Western half of the compartment.

37 are fit and healthy, the other is well other than a graze to its nose (see below, sheep further back in the photo). It wasn't keen on me getting close, hence the slightly poor picture :-

There were a few people out in the nature reserve, but the only ones with a dog had it off the lead playing around plum pudding but then put it on a lead when they came into the Central Compartment.

Water tanks full, Sheep nuts still about 1/4 full.

Sunday 28th December

All 38 were present and looked to be fit and well. The White faced Woodlands had very clean and bright fleeces. Gates used were in good order. There are nuts in the bin, about 1/4 full, but were not used by us. Both water tank systems (central compartment) were working and in good order. Some walkers but no dogs.

Pippa     pp Will Hacking & Paul Pethica

Friday 26 December ( Boxing Day)

A cold morning but all 20 WF and 18 Shetland were out on the slope next to Plum Pudding gate , no issues noted to sheep or gates. 

No walkers or dogs.

Christmas Eve 2025 (Wednesday, if you have lost count)

All 38 sheep found. 15 white face and 17 Shetland were near the north west gate. Remaining five white faces and solitary Shetland were along the new track along the North fence. All healthy and grazing. 

The nine reindeer, however, are missing, I wonder if somebody has borrowed them and will return them on Friday :-).

Water trough is full and there are plenty of  nuts.

Gates are ok, but the sign on the gate between West and Central at the North (by the Hampshire gate) is on the wrong side.

And there is no sign on the gate between the east and central compartments at the bottom of the hill , and it doesn't have a latch or loop.

In honour Christmas Eve I admit breaking the rules and giving the sheep a little treat of sheep nuts. I hope it doesn't spoil them . Happy Christmas!

Christmas Emergency Phone Details (And staff livestock check 23/12)

 Hi all,

Thanks again for your help this year. 

All 38 sheep okay this afternoon - all grazing down in the lower slopes of the Central compartment.

I am on annual leave from 24th December to the 1st January - so any livestock issues in that time please can you contact the following staff - as they are available on-call for any advice or assistance. I will be back from Friday 2nd January. If you can't get through to the staff below, please call our head office number: 01489 774400

• Wednesday 24th December - Sam Martin (07825 201545)
• Thursday 25th December - Sam Martin (07825 201545)
• Friday 26th December - Fiona Haynes (07831 692963)
• Saturday 27th December - Tom Graham (07796 387872)
• Sunday 28th December - Tom Graham (07796 387872)
• Monday 29th December - Andy Reeves (07825 213412)
• Tuesday 30th December - Fiona Haynes (07831 692963)
• Wednesday 31st December - Andy Reeves (07825 213412)
• Thursday 1st January - Tom Chinneck (07879 988300)

Thanks and hope you have a lovely Christmas and NYE!

Andy

Monday 22nd December

 Found all 38 sheep and all look healthy. 

12 were in the area around the water trough (10 WFW and 2 Shetlands), the others were spread out across the downs. At first count there appeared to be 22 WFW but they were moving around and I can confirm there were definitely 20.

Water troughs were full to the brim, sheep nuts are about 1/4 full (some used in sheep move ?).

No dogs or walkers seen either on the nature reserve or Clarendon Way this week.

But the latch mechanism on the NE gate has been damaged, see pictures below, the piece that you would usually use to lift the latch appears to have been sawn off. It is possible to still open the gate but more tricky to do so.

All other gates and fences are fine.

Sunday 21st December

 Sheep all present & correct

Pippa   pp. Lizzie Lane

Friday 19th December

 I checked the sheep Fri 19th & completely forgot to share my uneventful findings that all 38 seemed fine, well dispersed, no one else on the down. Apologies for forgetting to share!

Pippa    pp. Sammy Perrett

Wednesday 17th Dec - 2 dead sheep

Unfortunately 2 dead shetland sheep were found on-site today by our looker Guy. 

As a result we have moved the remaining 38 into the Central compartment.

We will be conducting an autopsy to try to ascertain the cause. Will update on here when we know more.

There are now 20 WFW and 18 shetland on-site.

Monday 15th December

 Found 37 Sheep today, all 20 WFW and 17 Shetlands.

The WFW were either

- in the open near plum pudding (10)

- down the slope below the beech wood near plum pudding (9)

- just into the trees on the lower slope (1)

15 of the Shetlands were on the lower slopes towards the water and the other 2 (separately) nearer the central compartment.

Water trough full.

No dogs or walkers seen on reserve, 2 runners on the reserve footpath outside the compartment. 

Saturday 13th December

 We counted about 40 sheep. Not easy because they were well spread out . They all looked very well and content munching grass in the sunlight. The water supply was fine. We didn't see the nut container. Gates all in order.

Pippa        pp. David & Vicki Reynolds

 

Friday 12 December

17 Shetlands found grazing on the lower slope the other 3 and 17 Whitefaced were in the trees in the 'hollow' , unable to locate the other 3 Whitefaced but assume they were hiding out of the rain somewhere!. No issues noted to sheep.

Plenty of water in trough , no dogs or walkers. 

Wednesday 10th December

All 20 Shetland close to the northern boundary at the Eastern end of the Western compartment. All 20 white-faced woodlands either in the Beechwood or on the grass slopes. All sheep look healthy to me. Water is fine all gates okay, and no walkers or dogs seen.

Monday 8th December

 Found all 40 sheep and all look well, a couple are missing patches from their coats but I think this is just due to going through the undergrowth.

The sheep were found :-

2 WFW on steep slopes below the Beech Wood behind Plum Pudding 

20 Shetlands and 3 WFW on the downland and nearby bushes along the Northern edge of the Compartment.

15 WFW in the bowl, most at the bottom but with a couple slightly up to the East.

No dog walkers seen on the reserve. 

Water trough full,  at home we place a tennis ball in the pond to stop it completely freezing. This works with cats (and local badgers) but a sheep might be big enough to be able to eat it.

Saturday 6th December

All sheep present and correct. It was an easy count this time as they were relatively static. About half were down in the dell keeping dry! The water trough is fine. We didn’t use the nuts.

Gate 1 is loose in as much as if you lean on it, it opens (ie. without having to use the lever/catch mechanism). Gate 6 closes properly but the mechanism does seem a bit loose (probably because it gets a lot of use from people walking up to the Plum Pudding. We didn’t use the nuts.

Pippa         pp. Jim & Mary Whelton & Gwen McConnachie

Friday 5 December

 Majority of WFW in crater by big rope swing, rest in open pasture swing side of Downs with a couple of stragglers nearer water trough. All 40 walking fine. Removed long bramble from a WFW by standing on it - bramble not sheep. Smashed ice in trough & wondered if it needs a float to prevent freezing over? No dog walkers. Slippery but all fine. Stopped to admire someone's hard work clearing scrub.

Sam

Tuesday 2nd December

Southerly gate between West and central compartment (next to tumulus) not latched, the latch is stiff. And I'm sure you were aware, there is no latch on the southwestern gate leading onto the trackway.

Water trough full

Shetlands were all near the northern fence (17), or bottom end of woodland coombe (3), headed out into the sun on the slope by the time I left. White-faced woodland, 11 against the Western fence, 9 in the woodland coombe. All 40 looked healthy to me all on their feet at one time or another, no signs of illness or injury.

Two dogs both on leads and their owners were aware of the presence of sheep, keeping well away.

Monday 1st December

 Found all 40 sheep, all checked that I could get close to and those looked well.

18 Shetlands were out on the lower slopes. 7 were towards water (which was full) and 11 around a corner.

At one point the 11 started moving quickly towards the trees. It turned out to be a dog off the lead, not chasing them but making them unsettled. I politely asked the owner if they had a lead and he did quickly put it on the dog.

The Shetlands then followed me into the central bowl where the other sheep were. They were very scattered so it took a while to find them all. A few were too far up the slopes for me to get near for a health check.

Note: 1 Shetland and 1 WFW were under a yew. The best place to be in the weather, but I thought it worth mentioning after what happened in the Spring when they all went under the yews.