The most important week of the year for Turtle Doves

Just two Turtle Doves feature in the Twelve Days of Christmas, but we know we can do better than that! Between 2 and 9 December, we’re joining the Big Give’s Christmas Challenge. That means for one week only, your festive donation to Turtle Doves will go twice as far – so every £10 you donate is £20 to help Turtle Dove comeback. 

Turtle Doves are our only long-distance migratory dove which means that whilst we’re singing “Two Turtle Doves and a partridge in a pear tree”, they’re sunning themselves in West Africa – but they need us to prepare for their return. 

In as little as two generations, Turtle Doves have completely slipped from our memories. Our grandparents may remember their purring call on spring days, but for everyone else, they’ve largely fallen silent, until now. Between 1967 and 2023, the Turtle Dove suffered 99% declines in the UK breeding population.   

But they’re incredible comeback kids. Thanks to our work with partners, an adaptive hunting management system has been in place in Portugal, Spain and France since 2021. In just the first three years since this was put in place, the Western European breeding population of Turtle Doves has increased by 30%. How’s that for a Christmas miracle? 

In spring, Turtle Doves fly thousands of miles to reach us, and they overcome incredible odds to get here. Their migration route involves navigating the Sahara Desert and flying up through Spain, Portugal and France. Once they’re in the UK, Turtle Doves need seed food to eat and suitable places to nest, if they hope to survive. 

Your donation will go direct to the RSPB-led Operation Turtle Dove: partners, farmers and landowners working together to make the UK Turtle Dove-ready. With your help, we provide the best places for them to feed, ponds and ditches for them to drink from, and scrubs and hedgerows for nesting. 

We know we can save Turtle Doves. And this week, your donation will go even further – so double your donation to double your impact, and help us unlock all the matched funding available. But hurry – the Big Give finishes at 12 noon on 9 December. 

The first £43,750 worth of donations will be doubled via the Big Give, to a total of £87,500. Any donations received after we have hit our fundraising target are very gratefully received and will still go towards our work with Operation Turtle Dove, but will not be matched. Thank you very much for making a difference for Turtle Doves this Christmas. 

Turtle Doves are related to the much more familiar Collared Dove and Woodpigeon, but they’re smaller. Every year, they travel up to 3,000 miles each way, to and from West Africa. Their delicate purring call was once the sound of summer – but now it’s seldom heard. We don’t want it to fall silent. So why not make your donation go further for Turtle Doves during the Big Give? 

We’re a partner in Operation Turtle Dove, designed to improve the fates of Turtle Doves once they’re in the UK. Through working with landowners and managers, communities, partners and volunteers, Operation Turtle Dove is encouraging people to create Turtle Dove habitat across eastern and south-east England, including on farms, orchards, golf courses and community greenspaces.