Turtle Doves set to benefit from a new farming partnership

As Christmas approaches, you might hear more about Turtle Doves — ironically, not because you're likely to spot one, but thanks to the popular carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. However, these beloved stars of the season need our help. 

Turtle Doves are long-distance migrants that winter in Africa, flying back to the UK in the spring to breed. Yet between 1967 and 2022 Turtle Doves suffered a 99% decline in the UK breeding population. It’s the most extreme decline of any bird species in the UK, with the birds hit hard by unsustainable hunting in south-west Europe, and a lack of suitable food and habitats when they arrive in the UK.  

Thankfully, there is evidence the tide is turning. With a hunting ban in place in western Europe since 2021, that population has already increased by 25%. Operation Turtle Dove, a UK partnership, which includes the RSPB, is working hard to improve breeding habitat and food availability for the birds when they arrive back here in the spring. 

Our new partnership with Tesco will provide a welcome boost to these efforts. We’re working together to provide dedicated conservation and wildlife habitat advisory support to farmers and landowners in East Anglia. Expert advisors will use RSPB Fair to Nature’s  framework to support farmers in creating and enhancing spaces for nature such as creating flower-rich field margins, planting wildlife-friendly hedgerows and adding ponds. We can help farmers provide Turtle Doves with the food and shelter they need to breed successfully… effectively getting the UK landscape ‘Turtle Dove Ready’. 

East Anglia is one of Tesco’s key sourcing regions and we’re aiming to engage 300 farmers and landowners, supporting them to create 1,800+ hectares of wildlife-friendly habitats. And it’s not just Turtle Doves that will benefit, as the work is also supported by the RSPB’s Fair to Nature scheme. Through this, farmers and landowners will receive habitat advice which aims to also support other at-risk farmland birds such as Lapwings and Stone Curlews, as well as boost pollinator and insect numbers. 

Welcoming the partnership, RSPB Director of Conservation Katie-jo Luxton said: “In our lifetimes, almost half of our farmland birds, mammals, amphibians, insects and invertebrates have disappeared, along with 97% of our wildflower meadows. Thankfully, dedicated nature-friendly farmers and conservationists are already taking action to bring habitats and wildlife back across the UK, but support for their actions from across the supply chain – from consumers to supermarkets – will be crucial if we are to deliver at the scale nature needs.  

“We know we can’t reverse the tide for nature without farmers, and we’re looking forward to working together with Tesco, their suppliers and farmers, and community groups to help wildlife flourish in our countryside once more.”  

“The UK food industry relies on healthy soils, clean water supplies, and abundant biodiversity, so it’s vital we play our part in protecting and restoring nature in our supply chain, including in East Anglia, a key sourcing region for much of our UK-grown fresh produce.   

“Our farmers and suppliers in East Anglia want to do as much as they can to help protect and restore nature in the area, so we’re delighted to be working in partnership with the RSPB on such a crucial project.” 

You can also help Turtle Doves by donating through the Big Give between 3 and 10 December. Throughout that week, all donations will be doubled. So for every £10 you donate, we’ll receive £20 to help the UK Turtle Dove breeding population recover.  

All donations will go direct to the RSPB’s Operation Turtle Dove: partners, farmers and landowners working together to provide Turtle Doves with the habitat and food they need in the UK.