RSPB volunteer Heather allowed the RSPB Science team to catch and tag a turtle dove in her garden in 2014. Heather named the bird Titan, from Greek mythology – a god of strength, based on her observations of the dominant nature of the bird as he fed and chased females in her garden.
Titan has completed three successful migrations between his breeding grounds in Suffolk to his wintering grounds in Mali, giving us lots of information about the migration habits of Turtle doves.
We have been eagerly awaiting Titan’s return to the UK but unfortunately we have not heard from him since 22 April 2016, when he was still in Mali c.100km west of the capital Bamako.
We believe that Titan’s satellite tag battery may have reached the end of its lifespan. However, there is also a possibility that Titan may have perished. We remain optimistic though and will be looking for Titan in his breeding grounds in Suffolk this summer.
For more information follow us on twitter @SaveTurtleDoves or the RSPB Science team @RSPBScience #titan.