Closing days of June at Pits

 Oystercatcher

 Green Sandpiper

 Turtle Dove

Water level dropping

 Goldfinch in old workings

 Brown Hare

 Common Whitethroat

 Shelduck 

Linnet

I had two visits to pits at the weekend in contrasting weather with Saturday bringing warm and sunny whilst Sunday was windy and wet.

Find of the day on Saturday was a juvenile Turtle Dove that showed well at a distance before dropping down out of sight. It’s fantastic that another generation of Turtle Doves could be off an running again.  The gentle purr of the Turtle Dove is one of the sounds of summer in the UK. We are blessed that Turtle Doves still return to Warwickshire and they were one of the main reasons I discovered Salford Priors just nine miles from home. The dramatic population fall of one the UK’s most beautiful birds has led to the worrying statistic that the bird could well be extinct by 2020, just five years away ! They have suffered a 95% UK population decline since 1970 and a 74% decline across Europe since 1980.

For those who are not aware (I know I get many non birders reading the blog) Turtle Doves are summer visitors in the UK. They generally arrive in late April and depart in September. They migrate in groups ranging from 5 to 30. These migrants are at particular risk from hunters in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Italy, Austria and France.  The word “Turtle Dove” comes from the French word tourterelle which is a description of a turr turr sound.

Turtle Doves form strong pair bonds that may last for years and these pairs are counted by  the singing males. Their purring song can carry a considerable distance. These beautiful birds breed show a preference for open lowland habitats with hedgerows, scrub and small woods. They avoid heath, large woods and plantations. They feed mainly on the seeds and fruits of weeds and cereals, found mostly on the ground.

Turtle Dove chicks feed on ‘crop milk’, a secretion from the crop (an expanded portion of the alimentary tract) of the parent. Incidentally, like other pigeons and doves, these birds can drink directly, pumping up water rather than filling their beaks and then tipping their heads back to swallow, like other birds.

For a bird that has been a symbol of devotion for centuries, the poor Turtle Dove is having a very difficult time. Declining rapidly in numbers in the UK, it is at real risk of disappearing as a breeding species here within the decade. That soothing song, a familiar summer sound just a generation or so ago, is becoming a genuine rarity.

At the start of the 20th century, they were still apparently increasing in range and numbers, but from the 1970s onwards they declined severely across Europe and disappeared from many places where they had previously been common. Breeding success is low, and the number of breeding attempts per pair halved between the 1960s and the late 1990s: this reduction in reproductive output is sufficient to explain the population decline of UK breeding Turtle Doves. The problem is that, as yet, we do not know exactly why this is happening.

Even outside the breeding season, there are serious problems. This is the only migratory dove species in Europe, and each year they will make the long journey to and from their wintering grounds in Africa, around the Sahel desert. On the way, many birds will fly over the Mediterranean. In this area, and especially in Malta, there is a long tradition of shooting them in spring, on their way back to their breeding grounds. This is now illegal under EU law but remains stubbornly entrenched, despite passionate campaigning by the RSPB and others.

A study in 2010 of the distribution of Turtle Doves in Warwickshire is focused into 3 main areas; the north-west of the county, south east and the east. The concentration is very low with large areas devoid of any records. The Warwickshire landscape contains many small woods in agricultural land and so should be perfectly suitable for Turtle Doves.

A three-year project, led by the RSPB and conservationists, will aim to reverse a decline in the population of the farmland bird and aim to restore plants the birds feed on to the countryside. The birds' diet consists almost entirely of small seeds from wild plants, which grow among crops. Changes in farming practices in recent decades mean these wild flowers - including vetch, fumitory and clover - are now scarce. Farmers are being encouraged to plant these seeds on their land to the hope to help the remaining birds.

It may be a case that global warming issues on top of changing in farming practices may prove the battle to save the birds is a step to far but we can only try.

There are a number of ways we can all help :-

1)  Report sightings via Birdtrack

2)  Make a donation to Operation Turtle Dove

3)  If you know a farmer mention the plight of Turtle Doves and how their habitats directly affect Turtle Doves in the UK and its advantageous to use products that are Conservation Grade accredited. 

Continuing with the weekend sightings a pair of Oystercathers had returned to Pophills once again whilst large numbers of Swifts were in company of House Martins and Swallows feeding above the main pit & Pophills. As I walked across towards the main pit on Sunday I was scanning for an elusive Tern (still outstanding on my Gravel pit year list) when a Whimbrel past though over the east side of the main pit, nice year tick for the site. Finally I recorded six Green Sandpiper on the bottom lagoon again.