This summer Operation Turtle Dove has supported farmers in providing supplementary food for turtle doves throughout the bird’s remaining strongholds during the breeding season. This new tactic follows recent results from a two year trial which showed that when best practice is followed, putting out supplementary feed for turtle doves does not exacerbate issues related […]
Continue readingTurtle Dove Talk
The North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project
From small dreams of local action for birds, bigger projects can grow! In 2015 a very keen group of local naturalists, birders and conservationists decided to form the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project. Our vision was to collect accurate data as quickly as possible on our local population within the Great Yorkshire Forest with a […]
Continue readingTurtle Dove Action Plan – it’s just the start
In the last in our series of blogs about the Action Plan for turtle doves, Ian Fisher and Joscelyne Ashpole from the RSPB reflect on the work that has gone into the plan, celebrate the ‘Eyes on the Flyways’ conference and look to the future. For the last two years we have been pulling together […]
Continue readingWorking on the land for turtle dove conservation
The issues facing turtle doves are complex and long in the making, fully understanding these issues has itself proved difficult. The new turtle dove Species Action Plan brings together all of the latest research and on the ground knowledge alongside the necessary steps to safeguard the very existence of this species. For Operation Turtle Dove […]
Continue readingManaging land and forging relationships for turtle dove conservation
Emma Stobart of the RSPB works with farmers and land managers to provide advice on how to manage and improve habitats for turtle doves in the UK. Here she talks about what the Action Plan means for this important area of work. I’m Emma, and I work for the RSPB on behalf of the Operation […]
Continue readingWorking together for turtle doves in the Gambia
The Turtle Dove Action Plan has brought together stakeholders from across the species’ European and African range and it is inspiring to hear how people right along the flyway are working to help the turtle dove. Here, Lamin Jobaate from the European Turtle Dove Working Group for the Gambia tells us about the work that […]
Continue readingGiving Turtle Doves an extra helping (hand) – supplementary feeding
One of the top priorities within the European Action Plan for Turtle Dove is a call for emergency measures to provide more seed food for these birds on their breeding grounds. Guy Anderson of the RSPB, describes a quick and easy way this can be done. We have known for some time that shortage of […]
Continue readingAsking questions and trialling solutions – the importance of science in our work to save the turtle dove
In our series of inspirational Action Plan blogs, Tony Morris from RSPB highlights how research is a key component in the conservation toolkit for our work on turtle dove. I am Tony Morris, the Principal Research Manager at RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science. Although my job is now largely desk-bound, once upon a time, not […]
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Celebrating a new chapter for turtle dove conservation
On the day of the ‘Eyes on the Flyways’ conference where a suite of action plans, including the Turtle Dove Action Plan, will be celebrated, Carles Carboneras from the RSPB reflects on the work that has gone into making the Action Plan for turtle doves a reality and highlights the next important steps. My name […]
Continue readingUnifying our voices for bird conservation
On World Migratory Bird Day, Anna Staneva from BirdLife International tells us about an exciting project that is uniting voices across the African-Eurasian flyways to save iconic species like the turtle dove. The theme of this spring’s World Migratory Bird Day is ‘Uniting our voices for bird conservation’. This message of international collaboration is exemplified […]
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