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Festive song favourite the turtle dove not about to vanish
THE 12 days of Christmas may have been replaced by a festive season that now starts in November and finishes on Boxing Day but the turtle dove is still top of the tree in Yorkshire woodlands.
The former farmyard bird had been in decline nationally but seems to have prospered since moving to forest habitats, including a number of North Yorkshire sites, according to work by volunteers to track migratory birds.
Brian Walker, Forestry Commission Wildlife Officer, and the RSPCA's Scarborough inspector Geoff Edmunds, are among 50 volunteers devoting their spare time to a local conservation project which has been running since 1993.
When most people are snug in their beds, they venture into the chilly woods each winter to gather data for the North Yorkshire Forest Bird Study Group.
Over the years they have recorded thousands of birds in forests like Dalby, near Pickering, Wykeham, near Scarborough, and Sneaton, near Whitby.
The aim is to monitor population trends and find out how species are coping with environmental and climatic changes. The good news for Yuletide traditionalists is that the turtle dove is holding its own in the woods.
Mr Walker said: "Turtle doves, which are really farmland birds, have suffered a big decline nationally. But they seem to be doing well by switching to woodland habitats, where local numbers are stable, according to our data."
The New Year is special one for bird lovers and marks the 100th anniversary of the start of putting rings on birds to study their migratory patterns.
Since the first lapwing was ringed in Aberdeen in 1909 over 35 million birds have been ringed by British Trust for Ornithology volunteers such as Mr Walker and Mr Edmunds.
The data is added to a huge database which over the years has unlocked many secrets about the migratory routes.
According to the Woodland Bird Survey, published by the RSPB and the BTO two years ago, Yorkshire's woodland bird population is increasing.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
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