South East Water partners with RSPB to support Operation Turtle Dove

South East Water continues to enhance biodiversity across its sites in Kent, through a new partnership with the RSPB to identify and create suitable habitats for Turtle Doves to thrive.

Working with the RSPB to support Operation Turtle Dove, the drinking water company is planting new hedgerows and areas of scrub in Kent. Former arable fields will also be managed to encourage the growth of arable plants and create patches of bare earth. These carefully planned changes will provide ideal foraging conditions for Turtle Doves, which rely on seeds found on open ground and within farmed landscapes.

The project aims to provide favourable habitats to help reverse the dramatic decline of this much-loved bird. In the UK, Turtle Dove populations fell by an estimated 99 per cent between their peak in the late 1960s and 2023. This decline was due to changes in farming systems that have reduced the availability of arable plants and seed sources, the loss of scrub and hedgerow habitats where Turtle Doves nest, and historic hunting pressures in some European countries along their migration routes.

South East Water’s Biodiversity Manager, Richard Dyer, said: “We consider ourselves guardians of the environment, and a healthy, vibrant environment where nature can flourish is essential to protecting our valuable water sources.

“By restoring these important landscape features, we hope to not only support the recovery of Turtle Doves, but also to provide opportunities for other farmland birds such as the Corn Bunting or the Yellowhammer.

“This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to enhancing biodiversity, protecting the natural environment, and supporting species recovery across our water supply region.”

Operation Turtle Dove’s Senior Project Manager, Rick Bayne added: “Now that unsustainable hunting along the migration routes of UK-breeding Turtle Doves has ended, the most important thing we can do is ensure they have the right habitats here to breed successfully.

“Working with South East Water is a really positive step toward that goal. Its commitment to restoring hedgerows, scrub and feeding areas will help rebuild the landscapes Turtle Doves and many other farmland species depend on to recover.”

For more information on our work in the environment, please visit southeastwater.co.uk/environment

For more information on the work of Operation Turtle Dove, please visit operationturtledove.org(opens in a new tab)