It is worrying to hear that the much-loved turtle dove continues to plunge even further into decline (Turtle dove flies towards extinction as numbers halve in UK, Nov 7) – but with the right conservation methods the tide can hopefully be turned.
A new phenomenon – ‘farmer-led landscape scale conservation projects’ - is capturing the imagination of many farmers up and down the country, resulting in some exciting initiatives to restore farmland bird numbers.
At the Martin Down Farmer Cluster on the Cranborne Chase, farmers used proceeds from a wildlife-themed calendar for the creation of small ponds which turtle doves have been using for drinking water and then nesting in nearby scrub and foraging in the surrounding field margins. This type of local initiative, with farmers working together across the landscape, could be the key to farmland bird recovery.
Roger Draycott
GWCT’s head of advisory services
Our second issue of Working Conservationists, this 40-page A4-size colour publication features eight case studies produced by the GWCT, focusing on the land managers who are helping to save British wildlife.
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