A turtle dove triumph: A case study

How Graham Denny has made his 200-acre Suffolk farm an oasis for one of our most threatened birds.

Turtle doves are the poster bird of British wildlife decline, often in the news as the UK’s most rapidly declining migrant species. Their numbers have fallen by 96% since 1970, yet in 2018, Graham Denny had nine calling males and four pairs bred successfully on his farm, despite a poor breeding season nationally. His success is not limited to these beautiful summer visitors. Since 2006, Graham and his friend John Walshe, an accredited British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) bird ringer, have tagged an incredible 32,162 birds on the farm including 4,897 yellowhammers, 2,474 linnets and 5,150 greenfinches. John’s meticulous records indicate a rise in numbers over time, for example ringed song thrushes go from one in 2007 to 25 in 2016 and lesser redpoll from 0 to 61 in the same period.

So, how has this miracle been achieved?

To find out more on how Graham has turned his 200-acre Suffolk Farm into an oasis for one of our most threatened birds by getting your copy of the 2nd issue of Working Conservationists.