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The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land…
The Song of Solomon; Chapter 2, Verse 12
When I first moved to Suffolk in 1988 I thought I had moved to heaven on earth! I had been living in a late-Victorian, terraced house in a south-east London suburb. Not the worst location by any means; there was a park, an excellent library, friendly neighbours and shops just a few minutes walk away. But…there weren’t many birds in my tiny garden, though I found that the flowers I planted with the help of my (then) mother-in-law attracted a few insects, especially butterflies and moths. The only wild flowers I saw regularly were straggly dandelions.
My parents had re-located to Suffolk in 1987 and I had visited them two or three times as they settled into their 18th century cottage. I decided that Suffolk was the place for me too, and the following year moved to Halesworth, a town about ten miles distant from them. Admittedly, the bird-table in my garden attracted mainly seagulls (I lived fairly near the coast) but I still managed to see a good variety of smaller birds and every now and again I saw something really special. The bird I remember being most excited about was a Black Redstart.
In the summer, I used to lie awake at night listening to Nightingales singing from the Folly, which is a patch of heathland on the edge of the town. When I visited my parents I discovered their garden had Turtle Doves that purred from the trees all afternoon on warm days.
When Richard and I got married in 1994 we moved out of Halesworth to the village of Rumburgh where we lived until 2004. I don’t remember hearing Turtle Doves in Rumburgh but there were plenty of other birds in the garden, notably Spotted Flycatchers which regularly nested in the Winter-flowering Jasmine against the wall next to the living-room casement-doors. I also saw a female Cuckoo in a tree behind the house and heard its bubbling song. The garden was an old established one (our cottage was two hundred years old) and was home to many different creatures, especially a large assortment of moths and butterflies. We regularly saw toads in the back yard and lizards were everywhere.
In 2004 we moved to Bradford-on-Tone in Somerset because of Richard’s work but we didn’t stay there long, just eighteen months. The birds we saw in our garden in the West Country were very different from the birds we were used to seeing in East Anglia. Siskins and Bramblings visited in the winter and Ravens and Buzzards flew overhead all year round. We had Serotine Bats roosting in the cavity wall of the modern extension to our home.
The year 2006 saw us move back to Suffolk to the house we live in still. We are only a couple of miles from Rumburgh and when we returned to East Anglia we resumed the life we had led before. Our present home is even more rural than our one in Rumburgh had been but the house itself is only thirty or so years old. Before we left Rumburgh in 2004, the Spotted Flycatcher hadn’t nested in the garden for a couple of years, but I don’t remember us noticing any other changes in the wildlife population. On our return to Suffolk we were amazed to see Yellow Wagtails in our new garden and we had Turtle Doves cooing in the trees round the pond. This was the first and last time we saw the Yellow Wagtails and from then on the Turtle Doves only visited sporadically.
In the following few years we became aware of a great diminution in the amount of insects, especially moths and butterflies, in the area. This led to fewer birds of all types, though I did my best by feeding them and trying to encourage insects into the garden. I feel that, as well as climate change, changes in agricultural practices must have caused the losses in our local wildlife populations.
However, in recent years the Government have provided countryside stewardship grants and we are fortunate that many of our local farmers have been trying to change the way they farm to include wildlife havens. As well as improving the quality of the many ponds and ditches, wide headlands have been left around the fields where grasses and flowers have been allowed to grow undisturbed. We live in one of a very few areas in Britain where the Barn Owl is seen regularly. These grassy headlands are ideal hunting grounds for the Barn Owl. In the past couple of years, farmers have been planting pollinator strips alongside their fields to encourage the insects to return to farmland. Wild flowers and insects are returning slowly to this intensively-farmed area of Britain. This year for the first time since we moved here, Turtle Doves have nested in the trees round the pond in our garden.
I have added a recording of a Nightingale, just for Peter – with best wishes.
Lavinia Ross said:
There is nothing like a country home and the sounds of birds and nature in general. The equivalent of stewardship grants exists here as well, at least for now. You are in a beautiful place.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lavinia. A country home is a real joy; I am so glad you still have yours.
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H.J. for avian101 said:
I’m so thrilled that you featured birds for a wonderful post. Thank you, Clare. 🙂 👍
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Clare Pooley said:
You’re very kind, HJ. Thank you! 🙂 🙂
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Laurie Graves said:
You have certainly experienced ups and downs with birds. My heart rose and fell and then rose again as I read about the changes in land use and the return of insects and birds.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Laurie. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the losses in insect life and subsequently in bird and other animal life can be stabilised and halted soon.
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Laurie Graves said:
Oh, yes!
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Liz said:
How wonderful to see these pictures, Clare, thank you! I don’t think I have ever given my mind to a turtle dove being ‘real’, so it is lovely to learn something new. 😀
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Liz! Turtle doves are like hot-house flowers. They hardly ever sing when the temperature is below about 18 C.. They might have arrived in this country from Africa but we don’t realise they are here until that first warm day when they begin to purr.
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Liz said:
It must be so delightful when you first catch the sound of that purr. I find the same when hearing a chiff-chaff. Much more common, of course, but not an everyday sound (for us anyway). So when their distinctive call floats on the air the heart soars!
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes!! 🙂 ❤
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margaret21 said:
What a lovely account of your life as a friend of birds!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Margaret. It wasn’t until I began writing this post that I realised I connected birds with the homes I’ve lived in and vice versa.
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margaret21 said:
Such a good idea!
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Anne Wheaton said:
It’s been a particularly good year for butterflies here and during lockdown, when there was little traffic to drown out all other sounds, the birdsong was a delight. Maybe we should lockdown for one day a year in spring so that we can listen to it.
The problem with the strips around the fields is that dog walkers think it’s an ideal place to let their dogs run free, which is very annoying and defeats the object of an undisturbed area for wildlife. (Sorry, farmer’s rant!)
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes! We have seen the heavy traffic of walkers and their dogs round the field behind our house. Thank you so much for commenting, Anne.
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Clare Pooley said:
I meant to add that a one-day lockdown sounds like an excellent idea!
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susanpoozan said:
Glad the farmers around you have listened to the call of nature and your life has become more interesting as a result, good to hear.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Susan. We are very fortunate to live in an area where the farming community is so aware of the need for changes in farming methods.
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East of Elveden said:
Lovely, Clare. It has been many years since I saw or heard a turtle dove – I am really pleased that they still visit your corner of Suffolk.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Laurence. Friends of ours had seven Turtle Doves visiting their bird feeding station on their farm last year. This year they had none. It is still touch and go as to whether these beautiful birds survive or not.
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derrickjknight said:
Quite a range of birds. We have enjoyed wood pigeons and collared doves in both Newark and Downton, but no turtle doves.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Derrick. We hardly saw any Collared Doves last year but this year they have been much in evidence. Wood pigeons are everywhere!
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derrickjknight said:
🙂
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Lyn said:
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, Clare. It sounds absolutely lovely. We have a Spotted Dove nesting in our little garden shed. She’s been doing it for several years now. We don’t use the shed, so I put a full length wire frame barrier in the doorway to keep any cats out but it allows the birds easy access. White cockatoos, Rainbow Lorakeets and galahs also frequent our front and back yards – somewhat strange as we have a primary school across the road and the kids are really noisy. 😀
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lyn. I loved reading about your Spotted Dove! I always feel so privileged and honoured when birds and animals decide to make their homes in my garden. When my younger daughter was still at school there was a Starling that mimicked the noise of the children playing outside. I only realised this when I heard what sounded like little girls screaming (as they all seem to do) and the playground was empty. The noise was coming from a tree across the road from the school! Some birds love noisy children!
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Lyn said:
LOL my friend has Magpies and a couple of Butcher Birds that actually come and knock on her balcony door to be fed. She loves it. 😀
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Clare Pooley said:
How funny! 😀
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Genessa West said:
When we lived in Kew we saw collared doves frequently, and wood pigeons, but never turtle doves. In Canterbury, our bird life is dominated by seagulls, although we do see most common garden birds. I can’t recall seeing turtle doves anywhere specifically, but I’m sure I’ve seen them somewhere. The most notable bird we’ve heard here, although not seen, was a nightingale. It was in a tree in the grounds of Christchurch University, which is right in the city, not far from the cathedral. We were walking home after a meal out, during the summer of 2019. I recognise a number of bird songs, but this one was new to me. The song was so mellifluous, that we both thought it must be a nightingale. On arriving home we googled the song of the nightingale and it confirmed our suspicions. I actually felt very privileged to have heard such a wonderful sound.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Genessa. I also feel privileged to hear and see these beautiful creatures, and nightingales in particular. Their song brings a lump to my throat. It seems strange to think of such elusive birds singing in the middle of a town or city but if there is enough cover – thick bushes or scrubland – they will sing and nest anywhere.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I love that you’ve been able to appreciate the birds wherever you and Richard have lived, Clare. Here in North Carolina, we have mourning doves. I’ve always had a special fondness for them. Whenever I see one, I think of my grandmother. They are such gentle creatures. I love to watch them walking around on our patio. Thanks for sharing! I hope you all are well. xo
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Jill. I have only seen photographs of Mourning Doves and have never heard them. It is wonderful when birds feel at home in our yards and gardens and let us observe them. I suppose your hummies have migrated south by now?
We are all very well, thank you. I hope that you and Derek are fine too. xoxo
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Genessa West said:
What a wonderful read Clare! Thanks you so much! When we lived in Kew we saw collared doves frequently, and wood pigeons, but never turtle doves. In Canterbury, our bird life is dominated by seagulls, although we do see most common garden birds. I can’t recall seeing turtle doves anywhere specifically, but I’m sure I’ve seen them somewhere. The most notable bird we’ve heard here, although not seen, was a nightingale. It was in a tree in the grounds of Christchurch University, which is right in the city, not far from the cathedral. We were walking home after a meal out, during the summer of 2019. I recognise a number of bird songs, but this one was new to me. The song was so mellifluous, that we both thought it must be a nightingale. On arriving home we googled the song of the nightingale and it confirmed our suspicions. I actually felt very privileged to have heard such a wonderful sound.
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Clive said:
This has made me nostalgic for my childhood, when I lived on the edge of a village, with a farmer’s arable field running along the bottom of our garden. I don’t think I really appreciated how much wildlife we had to enjoy until I moved from the area! A lovely post, Clare, and great photos.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Clive. Your childhood sounds much like my husband’s. He also lived in a village and played in the fields all day, when he could. He moved from the village to Manchester when he was nine and really missed his former life. I was fortunate in that I was brought up in a large town and as I have got older I have moved further and further away from built-up areas which I don’t miss at all!
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Peter Klopp said:
It was heartwarming for me to read how nature due to government action is gradually recovering in your area and that with the return of insects the birds are also returning where you live. How much would I love to hear the song of a nightingale? Unfortunately, they don’t live in Canada.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Peter! I hope that more and more farmers and gardeners begin to grow the plants that attract insects which in turn attract birds. I hope that fewer and fewer pesticides are used and we become a more caring society. I would love you to hear a nightingale, too Peter! If you go back to my post you will see that I have added a Youtube recording of a Nightingale at the end, just for you.
Best wishes, Clare
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Peter Klopp said:
Thanks for the special addition of the nightingale on youtube just for me, Clare. I will go to the video right away. Have a great weekend!
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure and thank you, Peter – you too!
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Richard Sutton said:
What a treasure to have turtle doves nesting in your garden, Clare. I envy you this rarity. There are several pairs breeding in the Knepp Estate here in Sussex, but I know of few elsewhere. Could they be on the way back? Let’s hope yours return next year.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Richard. I would love to think that Turtle Doves are on the way back, but it is early days yet. Friends of ours had more than one Turtle Dove pair nesting on their farm last year and saw seven of them together at their bird feeding station. This year they had no Turtle Doves at all! I was angry when I saw that the French government had given permission for 16000 Turtle Doves to be shot this year. They revoked the permission a few weeks later but goodness knows how many birds had been killed by then! I hope ours return next year and that our friends have Turtle Doves on their farm again.
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Richard Sutton said:
I share your anger at the way so many of our disappearing summer migrant visitors are being shot and trapped en route to Britain. These birds have enough hazards to face without the hand of man adding to their problems.
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Clare Pooley said:
Exactly!
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Trevor said:
A late reply!
We have an architect in Spain who hunts (shooting) who is very observant at noticing birds fly overhead. He spotted a field-fare or mistle-thrush and I commented about shooting and he said they were disappearing, not because the Spanish (or French) shoot them but because the French poison them in their vineyards!
Shooting 16,000 Turtle-doves sounds extraordinary.
You might like to see this blog and petition about the ‘legalised’ shooting or killing of wild birds in the UK:
https://www.change.org/p/natural-england-stop-the-legalised-killing-of-ravens-and-other-wild-birds-in-england/
http://jasonendfield.weebly.com/home/a-song-for-the-birds
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you Trevor. I have signed the petition and shared it on Facebook. I can almost sympathise with vineyard and orchard owners who see their hard work being eaten/destroyed by birds and know that their income will be drastically reduced unless they do something to stop it. However, there must be a better way of dealing with the problem than shooting/netting/poisoning these birds.
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Trevor said:
Let’s hope so.
We also see spotted and pied flycatchers in Spain. The latter on autumn passage.
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bowlandclimber said:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Turtle Dove. There are lots of Collared Doves in my garden plus a big fat pigeon.
Interesting post.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, John. I would like to think that Turtle Doves could return to the parts of Britain they used to breed in years ago but so many improvements have to take place before that can happen.
We have lots of fat Woodpigeons here, too!
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Trevor said:
I think you’d better beef up the wikipedia entry for Rumburgh Clare.
I remember when I first saw collared doves in my garden in Ilford about 1956 (I was 10) and I rang up the RSPB to find out what they were. They hadn’t long arrived and weren’t in any of the books!
I’ve seen Turtle doves in England a few times (most recently in Humberside) and we get one or more every year in Spain, usually heard and not seen unless one (a male) chooses to coo/sing from the top of a chestnut tree (60ft up) near the house. I think they nested at least one year and I saw two baby ones sidled up alongside each other in a bush.
I’ve never seen Collared doves and Turtle doves together. I think Collared dove numbers have gone down a lot recently – we don’t normally see them in Spain but might sometimes get the ‘Moroccan’ version in Portugal.
Yellow wagtail I last saw in UK near Barnes Common. See Grey wagtails slightly more often in Spain and Yellow wagtails in a cowfield in Deheda de Abajo near Doñana just before the lockdown.
What a long comment and what a lot of comments your post has elicited!
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Clare Pooley said:
Hi Trevor! That entry for Rumburgh is pants, isn’t it!?
Thank you so much for your long comment. You are fortunate to have seen baby Turtle Doves. We had no evidence that the doves nested successfully but they stayed with us from May until the beginning of September and continued singing all that time. Last year we hardly saw any Collared Doves, certainly none in our garden but this year we have had them here again.
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Trevor said:
That’s Dehesa de Abajo!
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I have to say that I know absolutely nothing about turtle doves but they’re pretty birds with the markings on their necks.
It’s always great to hear that birds and insects are making a comeback, no matter where it’s happening. It shows that we can help nature along a little if we just step back and let it happen.
Our cornfields have wide grassy areas around them that are often full of wildflowers. I hope that’s happening there as well.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much for your comment, Allen. The turtle Doves are indeed very attractive birds with rich colouring and that distinctive mark on their neck. It may be too early to say whether the corner has been turned and insects and birds are definitely improving in numbers. However, the fact that efforts are being made to help the wildlife of this country is very good news. Until very recently most arable fields had no grassy strips around them and some farmers were continuing to remove the hedges round the fields and plough right up to the road edges. The fields were being regularly sprayed with herbicides and insecticides. It was rare to see any wild flowers at all in this highly intensively farmed area. We have had a good year for insects and birds and I have found some new plants growing in the hedgerows and in our garden too. I hope we have as good a year next year.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’m glad to hear that your farmers have seen the light, Clare. It’s a start!
I hope you have a good year next year too, and I hope you’ll continue finding more new plants, birds and insects.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Allen.
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tootlepedal said:
It is good to see stewardship paying off.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Tom. It is indeed heartening to see that the efforts made to encourage wildlife back to this area seem to be working. I hope we have as good a year next year.
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Retirement Reflections said:
Hi, Clare – I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen a Turtle Dove either. Thank you for sharing this post, and your beautiful photos. Your warm writing style always makes me feel like we are chatting together in person!
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clivebennett796 said:
What a lovely post Clare. You’ve lived in some beautiful places and had some really special birds visiting or nesting. The Spotted Flycatcher is one of my favourite birds – you were so lucky to have a pair nesting. And I hope your Turtle Doves come back next year – they are so rare in the UK now.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Clive. I would love to see the Turtle Doves back again. Our farming friends had no Turtle Doves on their farm for the first time this year despite having a large sack of specially blended seed that usually attracts them. It may have been that nesting Buzzards in the large tree next to the farm house put the Turtle doves off. I love to see Spotted Flycatchers! They look as though they are attached to their perch by elastic.
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Lisa G. said:
I am definitely envious of that Halesworth rainbow, Clare! We’ve got trees in the back where rainbows generally show up, so I can never get a full view of one. I really hope your birds and insects increase. We have plenty of birds here and I don’t think it’s changed much over the years, except I used to see more crows when I was growing up, and I miss them. I have to say I was rather surprised to hear that one type of dove is attacking another.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Lisa. I was also surprised to hear from a friend that they had seen Collared Doves attacking Turtle Doves. However, once we started seeing the Turtle Doves coming to the place where we had put out their seed and being joined there by Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves we also saw a Collared Dove acting quite aggressively. It was driving a Turtle Dove away from the food and also pecking at it.
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Ste J said:
Nature is always wonderful, and best when shared on WordPress of course. Hopefully we will see more of them again, and maybe in a larger quantity.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thanks very much, Ste J. I hope we will see many more in the future but it is early days yet and I daren’t get too excited.
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Cynthia Reyes said:
There’s something special about this post and I love it. I love learning about the places you’ve called home, and the birds and insects that lived in each place. Our closest version of the Turtle Dove is our Mourning Dove, which I’ve renamed “Morning Dove” – they visit my windowsill in the morning, often in pairs.
I’m so glad the government has been encouraging local farmers to reestablish good practices that help bring back the insects and the birds. For so long, we humans have not paid enough attention to how our own practices affect the very things we love in the natural world.
I’m so glad the Turtle Doves have returned, Clare.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Cynthia. I think it’s so exciting when birds begin to trust us and your Mourning Doves who happily sit on your windowsill must make you feel very honoured and pleased. I hope we see the Turtle Doves again in our garden next summer but meanwhile they have two long journeys to Africa and back, crossing parts of Europe where the huntsmen love to shoot migrating birds. When they get to Africa they often find that drought/changes in agricultural use/war has made their wintering grounds uninhabitable. Conservationists have been asking the French, Italian and Greek governments to curb the amount of shooting of wild birds they allow and have also been working with their counterparts in Senegal, Guinea and other West African countries to see what can be done to care for wildlife there. We human beings have caused such destruction for so long it will be difficult to put things right in time to save these beautiful creatures.
I hope you and your family are keeping well in these troubled times.
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maryannniemczura said:
Clare, I enjoyed your post and photos. When I saw the Turtle Doves, my brain started singing the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song which includes turtle doves. We have flowering bushes and flowers which attract hummingbirds, sparrows of all sorts, lots of insects, etc. Of course, our apple trees were planted so the squirrels can climb the trees and consume apples – NOT! Our creatures are used to living with humans. You seem to enjoy nature as much as I do. Thanks for the entertaining post!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much for your lovely comment, Mary Ann. The Twelve Days of Christmas certainly does contain two Turtle Doves but they must have been trapped and put in a cage for them to be around at Christmas time. Normally they are sunning themselves in West Africa at Christmas! You do have trouble with your naughty squirrels! They eat all the bird food and now all your apples!
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maryannniemczura said:
Clare, lucky you to have turtle doves from time to time. Some of our birds winter over but others fly off to the south. My husband purchased a real pumpkin which we will leave under the tree for them to consume when we are finished with Halloween. oxox
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Clare Pooley said:
xoxo 🙂
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maryannniemczura said:
oxox
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Andrea Stephenson said:
Your joy for the different sights and sounds of nature you’ve experienced over the years really comes through in this post Clare. It’s sad that you could see a decline but good that some of those species are returning. As far as I know I’ve never seen a Turtle Dove, a Nightingale or a Cuckoo so it must be lovely to see them.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much, Andrea. I am very fortunate to have seen all three of these birds. All are much easier to hear than see. My elder daughter and I saw a nightingale sitting singing in a bush right next to the path through RSPB Minsmere a number of years ago. Before this year, the only times I’d seen turtle doves was when they had obviously just arrived in this country in the spring and were hungry and tired.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
I was interested to hear that collared doves attack them – I’d always thought of those as quite docile birds – maybe they envy the Turtle Dove’s plumage!
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Clare Pooley said:
Ha! That’s probably the reason!
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willedare said:
What a lovely post. I opened a map of England and followed all of your moves (north then west then back east). Now I am listening to nightingale sing thanks to the sonic sample at the end of your post. We have a pair of cardinals who visit our tiny backyard almost every day. Also some blue jays and mockingbirds. And plenty of sparrows. Bless your local farmers for being open to changing their farming habits/practices. Now let’s educate the local dog-owners!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Will. Your backyard must be very welcoming to have such a nice variety of birds visiting it regularly. I have always wanted to see and hear a Cardinal. My elder daughter went to stay with a friend who lived in Michigan and while she was there was able to see Cardinals and Humming Birds. She brought me back a little model of a Cardinal which I hang in my Christmas tree.
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willedare said:
Cardinals have at least two distinct calls — one is a chirp and the other a lovely liquid trill. Mostly I hear the chirps… This summer I encountered a lot of hummingbirds at two different locations in upstate NY. Their hum is VERY LOUD. Magical creatures…
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quercuscommunity said:
A great post Clare, and a sad list of birds I haven’t seen for years. We have a lot of buzzards and magpies we never used to see in the eastern counties when I was a boy, and the reintroduced kites, but I haven’t seen a cuckoo or a turtle dove for years, despite them being reasonably common at one time.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Simon. We are seeing many more magpies than we used to do and the buzzards are thriving; the first one I saw here was in 2006. I haven’t seen a kite this year though a neighbour saw one once in the early summer. For the first time in years we had a cuckoo singing in the area and it stayed for some weeks. A few types of warbler were plentiful as well (blackcap, garden warbler, whitethroat and lesser whitethroat) – probably because the hunters in France, Greece and Italy were all in lockdown as the migration took place.
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quercuscommunity said:
Yes, lockdown could be helping. My Mum and Dad went to Malta twenty years ago and told me the hills in certain areas are littered with used shotgun cartridges.
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Clare Pooley said:
That doesn’t surprise me. 🙂
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wholelottarosie said:
Dear Clare, I love the chirping of birds.
As I write this, I am listening to the nightingale singing in the video clip.
It’s so beautiful… i love it!
We live right on the edge of the forest, so we hear the birds singing early in the morning.
We enjoy watching jays, great spotted woodpeckers, owls, blackbirds, starlings, chaffinches, bullfinches and many more.
Clare, I enjoyed your post and photos.
Greetings from Germany…
Rosie ❤🌺
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Rosie. It must be wonderful to live so close to the forest! We live right in the middle of farmland, so just some hedges and a few small woods and a few trees that people have planted in their gardens. I love to hear the birds singing and chirping, too.
Best wishes, Clare ❤ ❤
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Jolandi Steven said:
It is wonderful to hear that farming practices are changing, and birdlife returning, Clare. Healthy ecosystems require many different layers of life that we often overlook.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Jolandi. Yes, it is all much more involved than it first appears. All the pieces of the jigsaw need to be in place to see a real improvement.
How are you? I hope your move went well and you are coping in a new country and a new home xx
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Jolandi Steven said:
I am happy to report that the birdlife is thriving on our land, Clare. Perhaps partly due to the area amongst our olive trees being so overgrown. There are lots of spiders and insects to snack on. 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
How wonderful! 🙂
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Charlotte Hoather said:
So many songs are about birds people just love them and have been inspired by them for Centuries. When I lived in Glasgow we used to have seagulls visit they are very noisy. Birds do come and rest in the tree outside but im not sure what types of birds they are, I must try to get a photograph of them.
That was quite a big move for you from Suffolk to Somerset my youngest brother nearly went to University in Bristol.
Best wishes
Charlotte x
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Charlotte. Yes, you are right; composers and poets through the ages have felt that birds were speaking to them and were reflecting their moods and thoughts. I think I read somewhere that the very first humans communicated by song-like sounds (think of Alpine yodelling and people who shout ‘coo-ee!’) and so we were more like birds then than we are now. But, the feeling of a shared language remains.
It was a big move to Somerset and we had just begun to settle down there when we had to move back! Two big house-moves in 18 months – not something I’d recommend to anyone!
Best wishes,
Clare x
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bitaboutbritain said:
I am always so impressed by your knowledge of wildlife, Clare. It’s wonderful that steps are now being taken to preserve it – not before time. I was ill earlier in the year and, recovering in the garden in the amazing weather we had at the time, enjoyed the birdsong so much. We were much more aware of it during lockdown than we had ever been before – maybe it was just quieter!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Mike. I remember you saying earlier this year that you’d been ill; I hope you are fully recovered now.
I am not sure why birdsong was more noticeable during the first lock-down. It was definitely quieter because of less road traffic and fewer planes. The air was much cleaner and maybe the birds might have sung louder and for longer because of that; who knows? There were more songbirds around; we were inundated with Blackcaps and other warblers. I think many of the people who like to shoot migrating birds as they cross Europe from Africa were ill or in lock-down themselves!
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bitaboutbritain said:
Well, anyone who shoots birds for the fun of it isn’t going to get a lot of sympathy, frankly!
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Resa said:
What a very lovely, lovely bird!
Thank you for the Nightingale Song. I don’t have time to listen… but I did listen to some of it. Sweet!!!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you very much, Resa! I hope you are keeping safe and well ❤
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Annika Perry said:
Clare, I’m writing this whilst listening to the peaceful and soothing sound of the nightingales! Wonderful! Wow! Your knowledge of birds is admirable and it’s interesting to learn the different ones as you moved around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a turtle dove, and you’re lucky to have so many around you. Not good that they are bullied by the collared doves. The last few weeks our usually busy garden has been quiet and empty, overnight the small birds seemed to have disappeared. This occurred throughout the neighbourhood and in the nearby town. It is very eerie and I miss the bird song ..yes, even the woods are spookily quiet. Very strange and unnerving! Enjoy your feathered friends and hope you see a yellow wagtail again sometime! Xx
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Clare Pooley said:
How strange that the small birds disappeared so suddenly! I hope they have returned by now. We still have quite a few in the garden though there are quieter days and busier ones, usually depending on the weather.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Annika!
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Annika Perry said:
They have returned this morning and you must be right, there are quieter days – it just lasted a month which I’ve never known before. So happy to see them back!😀
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Clare Pooley said:
I am so pleased! 🙂
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navasolanature said:
Incredible I missed this post as turtle doves are one of my favourites. Your photos show those gorgeous coppery markings.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you, Georgina. We were so fortunate last year to have them nesting in our garden. Sadly we had none this year and neither did any of our neighbours. I hope this was because of our very cold and wet spring and not because they had died.
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navasolanature said:
I hope so too. Perhaps they stayed further south. Or went to Knepp instead.
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Clare Pooley said:
I was hoping that too!
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Shristy Singh said:
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Mr Malik said:
What a beautiful, beautiful bird!
For the Nightingale Song, I am grateful. I’m too busy to listen right now. I did, however, listen to some of it. Sweet!!!
https://www.intellectfolks.com/a-look-inside-bc-history-and-academics/
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you for your kind comment and for visiting my blog.
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