Hello! My name’s Sam and I’m the new Turtle Dove Conservation Advisor, part of the Operation Turtle Dove partnership project. I’ll be working with farmers and landowners across Essex and Suffolk to create and maintain suitable habitat in an area which is a stronghold for the remaining breeding turtle doves in this country. Establishing a network of good nesting and foraging sites will be vital in ensuring that this breeding bird does not go extinct by 2020.
Working with Kings crops, a seed recipe specifically targeted to the feeding requirements of turtle doves has been developed. I’m really excited about working with sites getting ready to sow the mix this autumn.
Above: Fumitory - a keycomponent in the diet of turtle doves. Hayley New, Conservation Advisor for South East Region and Andy Daw, warden at Norward Hill RSPB reserve. Admiring the turtle dove plot Andy planted last autumn.
I’ll also be working closely with project partners Conservation Grade, Natural England and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust to raise awareness of Operation Turtle Dove, as well as local groups such as the Essex Bird Watching Society, Essex Wildlife Trust and Suffolk Wildlife Trust. Some of these activities will include events such as farm walks, giving people the opportunity to ask us questions, see the habitat we’re after and hear from landowners who have already been involved about the challenges as well as successes. So keep an eye out for events near you!
So far I’ve been busy tagging along with our membership development officers, Martin and Sarah at the Hadleigh, Essex Young farmers and Suffolk shows. This weekend I’ll be attending Open Farm Sunday at Thorney and next week Cereals- come over and say hi if you’re there!
Above: Sarah and Martin increasing support for RSPB. One of the displays at Essex Young Farmers show.
I’ve also visited some remarkable farms. Bryer Beef in St Osyth where almost 50% of it is farmed for wildlife, and Sycamore farm in Swilland which was an remarkable demonstration of what happens on a farm when the farming stops.
Above: Sycamore farm used to be an arable farm growing wheat and potatoes. A keen naturalist, in the late 1980s Mr Digby decided to stop farming and see what happened to his land when he didn't do anything to it and let nature take its course. Well what happened was nature well and truely moved in. Within the first hundred metres of our walk we had purring turtle doves, warblers such as white throat singing away and in a more open section, several lapwing chicks.
I have been so inspired by the farmers that I have met, balancing the challenges of meeting their businesses needs and passion for wildlife and in doing so have created some of the best examples of habitat I have seen, alongside a profitable business.
Working on such a species targeted project, I have occasionally been asked ‘why save turtle doves?’. With a 93% decline since the 1970s perhaps we should just let them go? Well, I appreciate I’m biased... but I say no! For starters, Turtle Doves are an absolutely amazing bird. They are not just ‘a pigeon’ or ‘a dove’-they are one of the best looking birds we get in this country and whilst sightings are getting fewer and fewer each year, all our lives would be that little bit sadder if that soft, delicate purr disappeared from the countryside. In fact, this is one of the things I love about turtle doves, they seem so understated for what has to be one of our most ‘razzle-dazzle’ species. They don’t scream and shout about their presence, they just quietly get on with things, but this also means they have been quietly disappearing.
You might not know exactly what you’re looking at, but everyone knows that trees and flowers bloom in spring, that certain species are only around during summer, like swallows and swifts, butterflies and dragonflies. Without a calendar, you would still be able to tell the time of year just by the nature that you are seeing around you-and that includes turtle doves. It is not about saving just one species, but the bigger picture that they represent. That by saving them we are ensuring the future of other animals, plants and natural systems that we don’t yet fully understand, but may rely on. Do we really want to take the risk of losing them and all that they stand for? I hope, for the majority of you the answer is no.
If you are based in the Essex and Suffolk region and are interested in getting involved with this project, then please get in touch at Samantha.lee@rspb.org.uk.
Have you seen a turtle dove this year? Help us to map our remaining turtle doves using Birdtrack.