There has been a great response to the SWT Turtle Dove Survey 2008 - thank you to all who contributed. 172 records have been received from throughout the county.  The soft purring song is often all that people have heard, due to the timid nature of turtle dove.  It is estimated that at least 50% of records were breeding pairs.  We are still awaiting records from some county bird recorders, so the final number of records could be as many as 300+!  Initial results seem to show the most common habitat for turtle dove is gardens, farmland and wooded areas.

For more information about this elusive bird download our factsheet:

Species factsheet