Turtle dove monitoring

Project objectives
Progress so far
Work planned or underway
Results
Image gallery
Who to contact
Funding

Turtle dove in hawthorn hedge
Turtle dove

The Turtle Dove is Britain’s only migratory dove, and populations have been declining since the 1970s (BTO). This decline appears to have accelerated during recent years, and is also associated with range contractions (BTO). Whilst problems on wintering grounds and hunting on migration may contribute to the population declines, the reduction in number of breeding attempts per year is thought more important in influencing population trends and is, by itself, sufficient to explain the population decline. This reduction in the number of nesting attempts has been associated with a reduction in available weed seeds on farmland and a dietary switch from weed seeds to cereals over the same time period. This work aims to determine whether the provision of seed plots on farmland could increase the breeding success of this species.

Project objectives

Determine whether turtle doves are disappearing from certain habitats, or whether geographic range is contracting
Monitor nesting productivity and foraging habitat selection of turtle doves on farmland
Trial and evaluate conservation management options aimed at increasing breeding productivity by providing a source of seed food in farmland
Determine effects of trial management options on foraging behaviour and breeding productivity
Establish whether other factors, such as disease, may also be influencing breeding productivity.

Key dates so far

During May to July 2010, we surveyed 58 1km grid squares which held Turtle Dove territories during 2008 or 2009, in order to determine which features were important in retaining Turtle Dove territories.
During September 2010, twenty-nine trial seed plots were sown on six farms across East Anglia.
During May to September 2011, we monitored the vegetation structure and seed provision of the trial seed plots and compared this to sixty-six control plots (of other potential Turtle Dove foraging habitat) at three points during the Turtle Dove breeding season.
Also during May to September 2011 we caught and radiotagged seven adult Turtle Doves, in order to monitor foraging behaviour of birds on both farms with trial plots, and control farms ~ 10 km away without trial plots. We also located and monitored Turtle Dove nests on both trial plot and control plot farms in order to compare breeding success.
Together with an MSc student from the University of Leeds, we screened forty seven samples, from Turtle Doves, Collared Doves, Stock Doves and Woodpigeons, for the protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae.

Work planned or underway

The fieldwork period for this project is May – Sept, 2010 – 2012. Fieldwork takes place across East Anglia

2012 will see the second year of Turtle Dove monitoring on both trial plot and control farms across East Anglia. In May 2012 we will be attaching satellite tags to five Turtle Doves caught on UK breeding grounds in order to inform us of wintering ground location and migration route of UK breeding birds. We will continue our radiotagging work to provide information about foraging behaviour and trial plot usage, and monitor nests on both trial plot and control farms to determine whether the trial plots may influence breeding productivity. We will also monitor the effect of two alternative management strategies (topping and scarification) for the trial plots in order to see which maintains the best seed source.

Results

Grid squares retaining Turtle Dove territories had a greater area of established scrub and large hedgerows, both important nesting habitats for the species. Squares further east were more likely to retain birds, suggesting a continuing range contraction from the west, and squares with more Woodpigeon were less likely to retain Turtle Dove territories (possibly due to subtle differences in habitat preferences between the two species).

Early results indicate that trial seed plots are producing considerably more seeds known to be important in Turtle Dove diet than other existing agri-environment options, whilst also maintaining a fairly sparse vegetation structure, important in allowing foraging Turtle Doves to access the seeds.