The capture and ringing of Turtle Doves.

Abstract

In common with many birds associated with farmland, the UK breeding population of Turtle Doves has undergone a dramatic decline over the last 25 years. The Turtle Dove is a Bird of Conservation Concern and is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan species. Additionally it is a trans-Saharan migrant that is a legal quarry species in countries bordering the Mediterranean, so the recovery rate of ringed birds is high. These two factors make Turtle Doves a high priority species for BTO ringers.
Annually less than 100 Turtle Doves are ringed in Britain and Ireland, probably owing to its patchy distribution, small population size and difficulty of capture. Over the last three years we have been studying the breeding ecology of British Turtle Doves; to identify reasons for the species' decline, improve understanding of its requirements and produce recommendations to help its recovery (funded by The Game Conservancy Trust, English Nature and WWF-UK). Having ringed over 200 Turtle Doves as part of the project, we provide information on their capture, ringing, ageing and sexing, in the hope that it may encourage other ringers to catch and ring the species.