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Joe Harris (RSPB Langford Lowfields Site Manager)

The Otmoor turtle doves have attracted some good media attention recently, with BBC Oxford broadcasting a radio and a TV piece about them yesterday (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-23674345). A number of people had come to the reserve with the aim of seeing the doves, so it was great to capture this excitement in the TV piece. It seemed like almost every visitor to the reserve in the morning was asked to perform for the cameras.

Otmoor represents the only reliable site in Oxfordshire where these beautiful doves still breed. With the thick, scrubby hedgerows, easy access to water and the availability of small arable weed seeds, along the edge of the bridleway providing ideal habitat for turtle doves. In recent years with farms becoming more efficient and ‘cleaner’, there are fewer arable weeds around and so many turtle doves have been forced into feeding on other plants such as rape and wheat. These provide poor feed for the doves, mainly because they can’t produce crop milk from them, the substance on which they feed their chicks.
Thankfully we still have quite a lot of quality seed bearing plants on the moor, including black medic, clover, birdsfoot trefoil and common vetch. These provide good quality small seed throughout the turtle dove breeding season.
Not only is the turtle dove population under huge stress from habitat loss and lack of suitable food, but many also get shot each year on their annual migration between the UK and sub-Saharan Africa. The UK birds fly over France, Spain and Morocco before having to deal with the Sahara, it’s a difficult journey and even when they make it across the Sahara they are now facing the problem of habitat loss in their wintering grounds.
These issues have resulted in a massive decrease in UK turtle dove numbers, 93% since the 70’s! 80% since 1995! In the 1960’s a pair of doves would have 3-4 broods of chicks in a breeding season, they are now lucky to have 1! It’s because of this that we are very proud of the Otmoor birds. We think we had 2 pairs nesting this year (it can be tricking knowing for certain as they move around a lot) and 3 chicks have made it through to fledging. With each pair of doves only laying 2 eggs, 3 fledged juveniles isn’t bad. They have provided really good views throughout the season and although they’ll be starting their long trip back to Africa soon, they can still be seen and heard along the bridleway.
Fingers crossed we’ll have some turtle doves back on Otmoor again next year, the summer wouldn’t be the same without their distinctive deep purring call.
The photos below were both taken by Sean Allison yesterday. He not only got great photos of the doves but also got roped into playing a starring role on the TV. The first photo is of a juvenile and second of an adult.