Operation turtle dove

Hi Ian,

Fab, Absolutely stunning birds that really are battling against it.

just one small thing...

On "The Project" page it states all the partners except Natural England. I know their logo is at the top of the main page and it seems to be everywhere else that mentions the partners just not on that page.

Pedantic I know...

H

The Turtle Dove is one summer visitor that I really missed last year,none turned up on our usual sites.

I am not suprised none turned up,and they will get less as long as those b----- in cyprus & malta are allowed to shot them, I think that is where the efforts should be consentrated and no disrespect  ment, but although making sure food supplies are in hand, it is no good putting all that effort in, if the birds are not getting through this barrage of guns. Jan

Hunting is very much an issue, but the issues are multivariate and also remember “our” Turtle Doves are not passing through Cyprus or Malta but France, Spain and Morocco (as far as we know!).

The problem associated with the -91% decline since 1970 in the UK (With a -69% decline across Europe) it seems to be clearly linked to a collapse in breeding productivity in the UK. In the 60s they were having up to four broods and from the 90s one, maybe two broods this coincided with a switch in food from more natural food sources of arable plant seeds to cereals and other grains like rape seed.  This has indicated a great reduction in the ‘natural’ seed sources these birds would normally utilise and these would be available throughout the summer period as opposed to one very small window of opportunity.

It is also likely that the birds face increasing pressures on their wintering grounds to land use change and agricultural intensification. Intensive grazing and irrigation could be reducing resources for the species on their wintering grounds further compounding the problem.

We need to quantify the scale and impact of legal and illegal hunting, both in Europe and elsewhere, and provide information that will inform a review and update of the European Commission Management Plan for European Turtle Dove.

We will carry out this work by establishing collaborations with partners across the flyway, representing a unique and truly coordinated approach to address Turtle Dove conservation through Operation Turtle Dove.

Dont forget to report your sightings of Turtle Doves to turtledove@rspb.org.uk

Hi Simon a friend of mine was telling me that the cyprus goverment gave permission for theshooting of turtle doves to be allowed, so I would say they are passsing through Cyprus other wise they could not shoot them, I feel a call to bird life Cyprus for an update would be in order. Alan

Unknown said:

Hi Simon a friend of mine was telling me that the cyprus goverment gave permission for theshooting of turtle doves to be allowed, so I would say they are passsing through Cyprus other wise they could not shoot them, I feel a call to bird life Cyprus for an update would be in order. Alan

The British breeding population (ie 'our' Turtle Doves) primarily migrates via the Iberia/Morocco flyway. It's thought that the majority of Turtle Doves that migrate via Cyprus/Malta are on their way to/from central Europe. So hunting in Malta and Cyprus is unlikely to be a major factor in the UK decline. Turtle Doves are in decline across Europe, though, and hunting may be a factor elsewhere.

Yes but surely morocco is on route to the uk, and some of them birds will come over to us via that country, so any killing en-route will effect our bird population. Alan

Unknown said:

Yes but surely morocco is on route to the uk, and some of them birds will come over to us via that country, so any killing en-route will effect our bird population.

I would be surprised if hunting in Morocco is a major problem for UK Turtle Doves (unless you are talking about potential illegal hunting there during the spring migration?).  The Moroccan hunting season for Turtle Doves seems to run from late June to the start of August, so few UK birds will be there at the time. 

The decline in the UK seems to be more severe that most other parts of Europe, so I would think that habitat/climate changes, perhaps coupled with the fact that we have (and always had) a relatively small population, at the edge of the species range, are more important factors than hunting elsewhere. That's not to say that hunting won't be increasing the rate of decline - though if it is, I would suspect that hunting in France is perhaps likely to be having more effect on the UK population than hunting elsewhere (don't ask me to back that up with any factual evidence though!). 

Let's hope that this project finds some answers!