100 Turtle Doves Released
The Wardens at Sandringham were delighted to assist with the successful release of 100 captive bred Turtle Doves. Delivered to Sandringham on the 27th of October 2023 by ‘The Turtle Dove Captive Breeding to Release Project‘ in addition with the Turtle Dove Trust, released during the late spring and early summer of 2024.
The Turtle Dove Trust was founded by three Norfolk conservationists in 2019, Bill Makins from Pensthorpe Natural Park, Ed Pope of Watatunga Wildlife Reserve and Chris Knight (known for his pioneering work in re-establishing stone curlew in East Anglia) the Turtle Dove Trust charity aims to reintroduce and maintain a substantial wild flock of the captive bred birds able to survive year-round in Britain.
In addition Trevor and Deborah Lay began the ‘The Turtle Dove Captive Breeding to Release Project‘ in 2018. Steadily building up the breeding stock during the last 7 years, managing to breed 500+ in 2022 & 2023 and this season just over 800 birds.
606 of this year’s youngsters have been delivered to a total of eight holding/release enclosures around the UK mostly in East Anglia & Lincolnshire, including a further 135 to Sandringham i September 2024. The remainder have been held at Mettingham for additional breeding stock and/or future release.
The project supported by His Majesty The King, aims to help secure a future for the iconic bird here in the UK.
His Majesty The King with Trevor Lay from The Turtle Dove Trust
Turtle Doves are a red listed species in the UK with barely around 1,000 wild pairs, which are suffering at a spectacular rate due to a variety of factors.
The Estate and surrounding areas provide coppices, meadows, ponds and waterways as a suitable habitat for the birds and a food rich landscape.
Turtle Doves feed mostly on arable and mixed farmland, where its staple food of wildflower seeds and farmed crop grains are found on the ground.
The Turtle Dove Trust supports the ‘The Turtle Dove Captive Breeding to Release Project’ where it can, this year contributing financially, donating £6,000 towards the costs plus supplied most of the feed for all the Doves.
The expectation is that the flock will continue to seasonally increase adding to Turtle Dove numbers overall starting to rise across the UK. We look forward to tracking and sharing their progress.
