Turtle dove

The UKs fastest declining bird species and on the brink of extinction. Suffering a 94% population decline since 1995. The turtle dove is slightly smaller than the collared dove and much more colourful. They are summer visitors, spending the winter in sub-Saharan Africa, they travel over 5000km to breed in a few remaining parts of Southern England and Wales. The amazing Knepp wilding project has seen the only recent increase in numbers throughout the UK. 16 males were recorded there in 2017 compared with 3 in 1999. I would highly recommend the fantastic book ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree.