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Turtle Doves


scolopax
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Of all the birds which have suffered a population crash one of the worse if not the worse affected has been the turtle dove.  They used to be common, especially around thorn scrub, but I am now lucky if I see a single bird a year. Last year saw none, year previous one, etc

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Yes, they were a common sight around here back in the 70's, but have gone into decline since.

I was heartened by the large numbers of birds in the Hawthorn scrub at a big Clay shoot I attended in Northern France back in July 2010, but when I went back to the same ground last year in July, there was hardly a bird to be seen, very sad.

Is this a natural decline in species, or is it the effect of them being shot in big numbers over North Africa or the Pyrenees as they migrate Northwards?

On the other hand, I was amazed to see about a dozen White Storks sat in a stubble field just off the motorway between Boulogne and Calais last August, an incredible sight, I never realised they came so far North?

Cat😎

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The main lot were late coming back this year like a lot of the other migrants. Back and nesting on at least four farms/sites. First back on 20th April, but one or two earlier else where in Suffolk. Still hopeful of  more. Three successful pairs on 200 acre farm done better then the only three pairs that attempted to nest on the whole of Minsmere reserve other year. Had good success on other farms/sites to. And still they say there no need for pest control. So wrong! The field workers for the conservation orgs know and can see it works. They want our knowledge and data but will not tell print the facts these birds are doing ok on shoots and where there is targeted pest control. Had them breed successfully on 7 farms/sites last year. Only two of which were recorded as those farms are in The Turtle Dove Project. R.S.P.B sat taged 2 birds in project. Best i had was two successful nests in just 70ms of good thick thorn and bramble hedge. They actually don't need a lot to trithe.  Bit of the right habitat in the right place, supplementary feeding and pest control works! Fact! There science is flawed! Trying to reinvent the wheel to make them look good and not listening to those on the ground that really know and do it. Simple! Or it should/could be!

Problem we have had  locally is that because the reserves etc are still shut. Birders are doing twitches on sites they have sussed turtle doves and red listers are. Blocking gateways,access, tracks and wandering where they like, stopping/interrupting farm work and disturbing/putting pressure on some of the rare birds they claim to love! Just to get a life year or county tick. I am passionate about all wildlife and the countryside ( and some of it tastes nice) but them twitchers a strange blinkered lot! Hobby's deserted nest because of them.

Wildlife/Bird porn on a farm the other evening. 😉I was scouting for woodies and blacks for next day as i had been told they still hitting the beans. Need rain so bad now! Have never known woodies and stockies to be on the beans so much. Because of less rape and moisture i guess? There were numbers of both on the beans when all of a sudden all the blacks erupted calling loudly. Woodies not overly bothered. Through the bins i could clearly see a male red kite gliding over the top of the field towards me. Fantastic sight/colours lit by the low sun Not see many in Suffolk and the blacks clearly not happy and started mobbing it. They were joined by gulls. This didn't seem to bother it and it went down a picked up something dead off of field and continued to eat it in flight still quartering the field towards me. it was then briefly joined buy a female! amazing. She left after he wouldn't give up food. What made it special though was all this time i had at least 3 hares in front of me. A turtle dove continuously purrrring behind me. Coal tits and goldcrests feeding and calling in the firs above me and kestrels still feeding 5 chicks in a pole box to the right of me.  . . . .    Saw kite again next day when i shot over beans along with a cormorant or 2. . . . . Picked 15 woodies and 3 blacks. Was so windy.  NB

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I don’t know the reason for declining numbers but I know they are still hunted a fair bit in Macedonia and Serbia.

We have a white stork here in our meadows at the moment in Hampshire which is very rare. I see many when I drive in Europe in Hungary and Croatia .

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3 hours ago, FGS said:

I don’t know the reason for declining numbers but I know they are still hunted a fair bit in Macedonia and Serbia.

We have a white stork here in our meadows at the moment in Hampshire which is very rare. I see many when I drive in Europe in Hungary and Croatia .

Part of it is over hunting on migration/winter grounds. Partly disease (tricho a prob). Partly a change in farm practices. Farms bigger, to tidy and efficient now. Need good thick thorn hedge with bramble habitat for successful breeding and protection from predators. Need untidy corners/strips with early seed producing plants/weeds. Hence the need to try and help them to build up energy quickly to breed when they return with supplementary feeding. They do not need big areas be successful. Rough spinney, bit of mature hedge or wild garden. In fact a lot of smaller areas with the right habitat and correct safe place to feed is better and more successful. Predator control is vital if we want to build numbers up! That include ALL corvids! Most definitely squirrels! and keeping on top of rats. Collard doves can be a big problem to where there are several. They will bully them off feed territory and nest sites. Also bully any fledglings. WJ  have managed to get collards off the GL, but you can get license to control them. It's all quite simple and not that hard to do really and  getting it right for turtle doves also helps other birds. whitethroats and other warblers will nest lower down in the scrub in the hedges. Buntings and finches will also nest there and all make the most of supplementary feed in the hunger gap. All benefit from targeted pest control and fewer predators! Getting it right for one helps many! . . .   Strange that when i was a kid in the 70's turtle doves were a common sight and sound of summer, just like swallows and cuckoos. Collard doves were then a rarity that quickly established themselves in this country by the 80's. Competition helped caused decline in turtle doves? In some areas yes/ maybe.       NB

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Agreed that the decline in Turtle Doves coincided with a big increase in the Collared Dove population, but they too are now on the decline in these parts.

Swallows appear to be arriving later each year, and numbers of Swifts appear well down year on year.?

Cat.😎

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1 hour ago, Catamong said:

Agreed that the decline in Turtle Doves coincided with a big increase in the Collared Dove population, but they too are now on the decline in these parts.

Swallows appear to be arriving later each year, and numbers of Swifts appear well down year on year.?

Cat.😎

Ive not seen or heard a single collared dove this year......normally quite a few about

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