Danaë Sheehan, RSPB Migrants Programme Manager, writes… The Passenger Pigeon Ectopistes migratorius of North America was once regarded as the most abundant bird on the continent, if not the world. Yet despite this, and over a period of just forty years, unsuccessful breeding, coupled with mass human exploitation and disease, saw the population decline so […]
Continue readingTurtle Dove Talk
Turtle doves – cpt rspb images
OTD TD25 – May 2012 (2)
What do we know about the effect of disease on turtle doves?
Stephanie Morren from the RSPB writes… What do we know about the effect of disease on turtle doves? Well the answer is, not a lot at the moment. We know a little about other potential problems facing turtle doves on their breeding grounds in Europe, their wintering grounds in Africa and their migration routes. But […]
Continue readingWildlife lovers rally to save Christmas icon – the turtle dove
Conservationists, farmers and wildlife enthusiasts have rallied to the cause of one of England’s most threatened birds, the turtle dove, which has seen its worst year yet. The farmland bird – forever associated with the festive season through the words of the seasonal song 12 Days of Christmas – is one of the fastest declining […]
Continue readingOTD TD11 – May 2012
Operation Turtle Dove on ITV Countrywise
Did you see ITV Countrywise on Monday 7th October? The programme featured a great piece about the plight of Turtles Doves and what Operation Turtle Dove is doing to try and save the species for disappearing from the UK altogether. Presenter Paul Heiney visited the Wader Aviary at Pensthorpe Wildlife & Gardens, near Fakenham, Norfolk, […]
Continue readingHotline sightings map April 2012-Jan 2013
Hotline sightings map – April-Sept 2013
Turtle Doves: Reminisces of a volunteer
Guest blog by Peter Wilkinson, ringer, birder and amazing RSPB volunteer from Hertfordshire It is a truth universally acknowledged among ringers (well, perhaps not among the statisticians, who know that these things are truly random) that a ringer in want of a spectacular recovery must only ring one or at most a very few of […]
Continue reading