Turtle Dove success

Knepp Estate, in Sussex which has pioneered rewilding, is bucking the trend of declining Turtle Dove populations. The species is considered likely to go extinct in the UK in the next few decades, with fewer than 5,000 left compared to 250,000 in the 1960s. In the summer of 2018, 18 singing male Turtle Doves were recorded on site at Knepp, which indicates that there may have been as many as 30 or more (they are shy and difficult to spot). The presence of fledglings at Knepp also suggests they are beginning to breed.