Turtle Doves - a plea for your help in the South East...

As many of you will be aware our summer visiting Turtle Doves are in big trouble and not just from the guns of the Meditteranean basin but here at home where habitat loss and a shortage of spring food amongst other factors is contributing to a catastrophic decline.

A singing male at the only site in south-west Essex - Trevor Oakley

As such we are making a concerted effort to record and monitor the epscies over the next few years and will be working with farmers and other landowners to work out how to reverse the fortunes of this iconic dove. In the process we will undoubtedly also be helping our other declining farmland species such as Grey Partridge, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting and Skylark amongst others.

A male a site in Kent already managed specifically and successfully for Turtle Doves- Jason Moule

So, if you can help out in any way please follow the links below or contact either Emma (Essex) or Nicole (Kent) for more information...

Best of luck...

Sightings:

If people can let us know of their turtle dove sightings through the Operation Turtle Dove website, either by putting them onto Bird Track, or by emailing operation turtle dove via the website:  http://www.operationturtledove.org/contact/

Turtle Dove Habitat:

We are concentrating our efforts on known Turtle Dove friendly zones in Essex & Kent. These are the areas where the Advisors will be focussing on working with the farming communities and others to manage and create more vital habitat for Turtle Doves.

Essex TDFZs

Kent TDFZs

What they would love to know is:

• Farm contacts – if anyone know a farmer in any of these areas, who would be interested in helping Turtle doves and other wildlife on their land and would like advice on how they can do so, you can pass my details on, or with the farmer’s permission give me their details.
• Good habitat – we are trying to map good turtle dove habitat in the areas, so if you know of any good nesting or foraging habitat, or water bodies that they could use, email them with the following details:

1. Post Code/GPS or Map coordinates:
2. Type of habitat:
3. Is it Private or Public land
4. Have you see/heard turtle doves there
5. Any pictures

Foraging for the remains of last winters seed - Jason Moule

If anyone is interested in the work Operation Turtle Dove do, you can visit the website: http://www.operationturtledove.org/

Turtle Dove Conservation Advisor - Essex Emma Stobart emma.stobart@rspb.org.uk

Turtle Dove Conservation Advisor - Kent Nicole Khan nicole.khan@rspb.org.uk