Turtle doves in decline in Europe

Dear Richard,

As already mentioned below, why don't you or some other Maltese hero try to convince larger EU countries to change their farming methods? Why don't you also try to get some help from David Conlin while at it. By why should you go through the hassle...just blame Maltese hunters!!! We're the easiest target!

OK hunters continue to ignore the facts and then face the music. First of all, I never said that the Turtle Dove in Europe is declining due to hunting although various authors mention shooting in Mediterranean countries as one of the causes. But just the same, so if the Turtle Dove is declining due to other factors and not due to hunting, would killing them before they breed help the population? It would be nice to know that the Turtle Doves in Europe has such a stable population, that they can even be hunted in spring, because that would mean that the population is doing very very well, but alas, that is far from the truth. What will happen to this old tradition of yours when the Turtle Doves are gone? Your short-sightedness is only killing your own pastime.

David Conlin ...

bla bla bla... The same old sing song

Extremism is a mild form of mental insanity. Does Proact know something abut that ??

Mr. Cachia Zammit,

So, as you said, you do not bother for birds as a whole but would like to protect only 'european birds'? I think, you've wrote this, just to darken the Maltese' hunters and trappers image.... if you're so much a bird lover, you might go elsewhere when you hear that birds are shot illegally or protected birds are caught....not only in Malta or maybe in Europe....

Do you think that all turtle doves which breed in Europe, migrate in european countries only? When these turtle doves go out of Europe, what happen to them? Maybe, aren't they shot or caught, or they might have a blue flag attached to their legs?

Indeed Mr R.C.Zammit, if the number of turtle doves declines in Europe it will affect us, however, in your opinion if the turtle dove is as of least concern but abundant in Europe than it's acceptable for you. Least concern is evaluated globally and not just in Europe. As hunters and conservationists we have noticed a decline since many years ago, not because there’s a decline in number but because the turtle doves are rerouting for finding better breeding grounds, therefore hunting has no affect on this bird. For instance when you mention North Africa, some 20 years ago it was almost desert, today there are forest, and abundant of underground water which is pumped by farmers to the surface, and as David Borg Cardona mentioned recently, these birds are pests and harming the North African crops. Please read below what the recent studies had to say about the decline, and note, that hunting is not mentioned anywhere.

(1) Present address: The Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge

Summary:

The UK breeding population of turtle dovesStreptopelia turtur has experienced a 70% decrease in abundance during the period 1970–98 and a 25% range contraction between the periods 1968–72 and 1988–91.
To determine the causes of the decline, turtle doves were studied intensively at two sites in East Anglia in 1998–2000. The results from this work were compared with those obtained from the only other detailed study of turtle dove breeding ecology in the UK, in the 1960s. Since the 1960s the number of nesting attempts per pair has dropped from 2.9±0.1 to 1.5±0.1 in the 1990s. Overall breeding success has fallen from 2.1±0.3 chicks fledged per pair in the 1960s to 1.3±0.2 today. Diet has changed from 86±4% non-cultivated seeds in the 1960s to 34±12% in the 1990s. These differences are thought to be due to the intensification of agriculture, in particular the increase in herbicide use and its effect on wild seed availability.
Key words; Turtle Doves - agricultural intensification - breeding success - diet - foraging behavior

If one were to take a closer look at reports on the population fortunes of turtle doves in Europe, one could not miss that the decline in their numbers, as that of most seed eating birds, is the farming practices in Europe. Data collected from Britain has shown that" productivity per nesting attempt has increased while annual survival has fallen (Siriwardena et al. 2000a, 2000b, Browne et al. 2005). Browne & Aebischer (2004, 2005) conclude that Turtle Doves today have a substantially earlier close to the breeding season and consequently produce barely half the number of clutches and young per pair than in the 1960s. Thus, the recovery of Turtle Doves in Britain would benefit from the provision and sympathetic management of nesting as well as foraging habitats". The fact that the Turtle Dove’s population throughout its whole range is considered as of Least Concern, but declining in Europe is further proof of this.

So why , may I ask, if the situation is that serious, does not the EC ban hunting of the Turtle Dove in central Europe, where it breeds, when the birds are only just 2 months old? Millions are hunted in areas like France, Spain and Italy in September, and some birds are shot just as they leave the nest for the first time.

are more birds european then others ???? what is happening in north africa is that it is getting more favourable for them to spend the winter there so that is one of the problems also noted is that the collared dove has pushed from the north and has created problems for the turtle doves mostly in the nordic areas , so if you look at the global situation of the dove it is of LEAST CONCERN, if you look at it in one specific country say germany you see a decline , but if you look at it in spain it is of least concern , this is a huntable bird it is sustainable through out europe and africa and will remain like that , if you really want to help try taking care of its habitat not by banning hunting . Bans never solved any problems any were .

Indeed Mr R.C.Zammit, if the number of turtle doves declines in Europe it will affect us, however, in your opinion if the turtle dove is as of least concern but abundant in Europe than it's acceptable for you. Least concern is evaluated globally and not just in Europe. As hunters and conservationists we have noticed a decline since many years ago, not because there’s a decline in number but because the turtle doves are rerouting for finding better breeding grounds, therefore hunting has no affect on this bird. For instance when you mention North Africa, some 20 years ago it was almost desert, today there are forest, and abundant of underground water which is pumped by farmers to the surface, and as David Borg Cardona mentioned recently, these birds are pests and harming the North African crops. Please read below what the recent studies had to say about the decline, and note, that hunting is not mentioned anywhere.

(1) Present address: The Game Conservancy Trust, Fordingbridge

Summary:

The UK breeding population of turtle dovesStreptopelia turtur has experienced a 70% decrease in abundance during the period 1970–98 and a 25% range contraction between the periods 1968–72 and 1988–91.
To determine the causes of the decline, turtle doves were studied intensively at two sites in East Anglia in 1998–2000. The results from this work were compared with those obtained from the only other detailed study of turtle dove breeding ecology in the UK, in the 1960s. Since the 1960s the number of nesting attempts per pair has dropped from 2.9±0.1 to 1.5±0.1 in the 1990s. Overall breeding success has fallen from 2.1±0.3 chicks fledged per pair in the 1960s to 1.3±0.2 today. Diet has changed from 86±4% non-cultivated seeds in the 1960s to 34±12% in the 1990s. These differences are thought to be due to the intensification of agriculture, in particular the increase in herbicide use and its effect on wild seed availability.
Key words; Turtle Doves - agricultural intensification - breeding success - diet - foraging behavior

Dear Richard,

Unfortunately you failed to inform the general public about the reasons for the decline in the breeding population. I would say that YOU tend to ignore the facts and try to interpret them the way that suits you best.

Do you really think that you or anyone else in this tiny country will ever convince France or Germany to change their farming methods? I hope you are aware that the major threats are habitat destruction and intensive farming.

The REAL reasons are easily downloadable from the internet but no one really cares. Let's just blame Maltese hunters, what difference does it make??

Thanks to Richard Cachia Zammit for saving me the effort of putting this matter straight and pointing out that the hunters are misleading us on sustainable hunting of Turtle Dove by quoting global figures and not the real situation of the (European) population which they continue to decimate.

The same applies to the Lesser Spotted Eagle, Aquila pomarina. The population in Pomerania in Eastern Germany, the westernmost edge of its range, is declining mainly due to loss of habitat (an anthropological problem which ornithologists are trying to put right). This is exacerbated by the 'Cainism' factor where the first born (Cain) kills the second chick (Abel). The programme in Germany involves removing the second egg from the nest, incubating it, and returning the chick after the Cainism effect no longer applies - normally after a couple of weeks. Both chicks then fledge successfully and thus help to stabilise the population. 'Sigmar' was an 'Abel'. There is no reason to believe that he was not fully fit - at least before he took six lead shots from one of the 'black sheep' of the Maltese hunting community.