A dawn visit to see the Turtle Dove.

Sunday 4 June 2023.

There was a short wait, but the Turtle Dove eventually appeared and began 'purring' . Fantastic. 

After birding pal, Andy Fisher had seen the Turtle Dove yesterday at Charlton, I decided that after checking the moth box (details to follow later) at 4.30am this morning, I would take a drive back up to Charlton village to see if I could see the Dove for myself. I guess that it disappears during the middle of the day, but both dawn and evening times could be best to see the bird where we normally see it.

The Turtle Dove remained faithful to just the one tree.

I arrived around 5.45am at the site and after safely parking the car, I walked to the usual spot and waited. For ten long minutes, no sight or sound of the Turtle Dove and then eventually, I saw it fly into a tall tree and immediately began ‘purring’. I quickly grabbed a few photos of the bird and though distant, my Bridge Camera has a superb zoom and I got some reasonably decent photos of the bird even though it was some distance away. This was my 186th species of bird in the UK this year and so pleased to catch up on this bird on my 4th attempt! I left the bird ‘purring’ in the distance with a big smile on my face and a nice quiet drive home to update my blog.

What a gorgeous sight and sound to be around.

Turtle Doves are now very hard to locate in the UK, especially in Hampshire where in the past, I used to see them at a variety of locations; but so difficult now and so this bird (saw at least two here last year) at this location is a real bonus. They have been so badly persecuted in mainland Europe for years and thankfully, some European countries, including France, have banned the hunting of these gorgeous birds and hopefully, numbers might recover over the following years? 

The Turtle Dove that was seen early this morning. You can just about hear the bird 'purring' in the distance.

Other sightings during my short stay there included a Common Buzzard drifting over the Hill to the south and both Blackcap and Common Whitethroat flicking about in the nearby bushes. A few Stock Doves were seen flying over (nearly ran one over near the Clanfield turn off!) and a several Mediterranean Gulls drifted over heading northbound. Another very sunny day beckons and noticing the sun rising early this morning on my drive up the A3 was simply stunning.

A doe Roe Deer was grazing in a nearby meadow on the hill near the Village.

There weren't many moths this morning which was disappointing and what with that persistent north-easterly wind still gusting across the garden, I wonder if it is really putting off the moths from venturing too far? However, there were two new moths for the year that included a Green Pug, which was resting right next to a Common Pug on my back wall of the kitchen. Also, a relatively common micro moth to my garden, Ephestia woodiella, was also new for the year. My first Carnation Tortrix for the garden this year was re-identified when I checked the photo.

My first Green Pug of the year near my moth box this morning.

Moths present this morning included the following:

• 1 White Ermine
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Green Pug (NFY)
• 1 Common Pug
• 2 Vine’s Rustic
• 1 Willow Beauty
• 2 Heart & Dart
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 1 Lychnis
• 2 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 2 Mompha subbistrigella
• 1 Ephestia woodiella (NFY)
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 Carnation Tortrix  

The micro moth, Ephestia woodiella, was also new for the year.