Turtle Doves are making a promising, but fragile recovery – and volunteers are playing a vital role.
This year, a record 112 dedicated volunteers donated their time to Operation Turtle Dove’s monitoring network. That’s a 9% increase from last year, and together they have combed through thousands of trail camera images. Working alongside farmers, landowners and Conservation Advisers, their monitoring efforts are helping to provide better nesting and feeding habitat for these rare birds across southern and eastern England.
Turtle Doves, most famous for their appearance in the classic carol ‘12 Days of Christmas’, are one of the UK’s most threatened species. Their populations plummeted here, with a 98% decline between 1995 and 2023. Changes to our farmland meant fewer wildflower seeds – their main source of food – and the loss of hedgerows and scrub has taken away safe nesting spots.
These migratory doves spend their winter in West Africa before heading back to our shores for spring and summer to breed. Until recently, unsustainable levels of hunting along their migration route through south-west Europe were also adding pressure to a population already in trouble.
Following their sharp decline, hunting was stopped during 2021 in France, Spain and Portugal. No birds were taken for four years and, in that time, the western European population increased by over 30%.
With more birds likely to reach our shores in future years, we’re getting ‘Turtle Dove Ready’. Operation Turtle Dove is a partnership between the RSPB, Natural England, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Fair to Nature, working to create the perfect nesting and feeding conditions for their arrival. The RSPB’s dedicated Turtle Dove advisers are supporting farmers, landowners and communities in these efforts. The volunteer network also plays a crucial role in the project.
This year, volunteers set up trail cameras across 78 sites – and 23 recorded Turtle Doves! The cameras capture thousands of images that volunteers meticulously check for signs of doves. By dedicating their free time, volunteer power means more Turtle Dove habitat can be identified for targeted conservation work.
One of the Operation Turtle Dove volunteers, James Clissold, said: “This is my second year of volunteering with the RSPB and it's hugely motivating to know that we can help these beautiful birds. By encouraging people to make small changes on their land, we can create the perfect conditions for feeding and potentially breeding. My teenage son also volunteers with me, and it’s been great sharing the project with him. Everyone involved really believes in what they're doing, and it feels like a huge privilege to be a part of it.”
Watch this film to hear how James and son Reese are doing their bit to help Turtle Doves, including searching through thousands of images!
The cameras detected at least 28 different species in total, including Red-listed and Amber-listed farmland birds such as Corn Buntings, Greenfinches, Linnets, Yellowhammers and Stock Doves. This demonstrates that it’s not just Turtle Doves that benefit from this team effort, but a whole host of other threatened species too.
Rick Bayne, Senior Project Manager for Operation Turtle Dove, said: “The ambition of the communities and landowners we work with to help save these iconic birds is nothing short of amazing, and if we continue with this momentum, it won’t be long before we can expect to see Turtle Dove numbers starting to rise across the UK.”
The RSPB has launched a winter appeal to raise funds and ensure Turtle Doves aren’t just for Christmas. Donations will support vital year-round conservation work for this much-loved species and other wildlife at risk.
