#15 Hawks and Doves by Richard Baines
Meet Richard Baines, North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project Officer and Director of Yorkshire Coast Nature!
Richard is currently the Director of Yorkshire Coast Nature, an independent eco-tourism company, and Wold Ecology, a professional environmental consultancy. He was also the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project Officer, a project that he is still involved in, working with the Friends of Dalby Forest to create drinking pools for turtle doves. Richard grew up on the northern edge of the North York Moors National Park in the 1980s, and has been a keen birder and ecologist ever since.
Richard’s chosen species are both iconic birds that make the forests of the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors home; the Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur, and Goshawk Accipiter gentilis. The Turtle Dove is a small, gorgeously coloured dove with an orange and black patterned back, a blue-grey head, pink chest, and black-and-white stripes on a small patch on the side of the neck. Its song is soporific, a calming ‘turr turr turr’. They are the UK’s fastest declining bird, coming here to breed in woodland, forests, and farmland. What they lack in size or power they make up for in stamina – an incredible round trip of 11,000km every year to Africa and back on their migration! Sadly, they are heavily persecuted on this journey, with large numbers shot as they cross Europe into Africa. At the other end of the scale, the Goshawk is the epitome of power and strength. A large accipiter, it can be identified by its broad wings, large head and a shorter tail than the similar sparrowhawk. The adults are pale and grey and the eyes are a piercing yellow-red colour. It uses its amazing power to hunt quickly through forests, weaving in and out of trees with agility and speed to hunt anything it outsizes. You can find out more about the Turtle Dove and Goshawk on the NBN Atlas.
Goshawk, Berlin © Richard Baines
As a keen teenage birder, Richard dreamt of seeing a Goshawk, pouring over field guides and accounts of their secretive, ghostly presence. They were a rare bird on the northern edge of the North York Moors National Park then, and it was 1991 when Richard saw his first North Yorkshire Goshawk perched on a fence post at the edge of a forest – the memory of which has never left him. Though only a brief view, the way the bird dropped at speed from its perch and zig-zagged through the closely packed forest very much kept the magic alive. Richard has now been watching Goshawks in our beautiful North Yorkshire Forests for 30 years. In the 19th century, Goshawks were heavily persecuted leaving them all but extinct in the UK with the added pressure of habitat loss. Over the years, accidental and intentional re-introductions have seen their numbers rise to over 500 pairs, but they still remain at risk of persecution.
Turtle Doves, meanwhile, were not as rare as Goshawks in the North York Moors in the 1980s when Richard was birding as a teen. Though their numbers were declining – and still are – they had a stronghold in the North Yorkshire Forests. Pushing north, they were nesting in Yorkshire at the turn of the 20th Century during a time of new forestry planting. Like many other ‘farmland’ birds, they are essentially a forest species that has adapted to farmland when their choice habitat has not been available. As Volunteer North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project Officer, Richard organises surveys every spring and always looks forward to hearing about the first returning dove of the year. Just after dawn the males sing from an exposed perch, their purr drifting across the forest. Richard has even heard the singing of a Turtle Dove at the same time as a European Nightjar – just one of his incredible birding experiences with Turtle Doves. The first doves usually return in mid-April, but in 2019 the project’s first sighting was on March 19th, a very early date. The North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project was a National Heritage Lottery funded project that officially finished in 2020, however the hard work of Richard and other volunteers ensures that the good work continues in the form of surveying, working with land managers to create and improve suitable habitats, educating land managers and local communities about the plight of the Turtle Dove, and building links and sharing best practice with national and international partners to address their decline. This work has also improved our region for other bird species such as Song Thrush and Yellowhammer. You can learn more about Turtle Dove conservation at Operation Turtle Dove.
“Our Goshawks and Turtle Doves may be very different birds, but they share the same habitat, the beautiful North Yorkshire Forests. They belong here and occupy an important place in our natural heritage. ”
Our Goshawks and Turtle Doves may be very different birds, but they share the same habitat, the beautiful North Yorkshire Forests. They belong here and occupy an important place in our natural heritage. We should be proud we still have an opportunity to enjoy their presence in our region. They also share the same problem; illegal persecution which threatens their very existence. Turtle Doves are shot in their millions on their way to Yorkshire from Africa and Goshawks are persecuted in North Yorkshire. We pour hundreds of thousands of pounds into projects and protection for Turtle Doves, but a hunter can sign up for a European holiday shooting Turtle Doves for sport without any legal hurdle. So why should we bother here in Yorkshire? These and many other birds are close to our hearts, and there are many generations of conservationists we must not let down. Future generations should get the opportunity to experience these wonderful birds, which should be free to exist here and further afield without risk.
Turtle Dove, North Yorkshire © Richard Baines
Monitoring
If you are lucky enough to encounter a mysterious Goshawk or a beautiful Turtle Dove in our region, do record and submit your sightings to your local LERC and relevant local projects, such as the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project.
Further information and acknowledgements
NEYEDC would like to thank Richard for his time and expertise in helping to create this blog. 10% of the income from every Yorkshire Coast Nature’s Goshawk Safaris or a Forest and River Birding Day goes to RSPB species investigation, helping to target illegal persecution of birds. You can also donate to Richard’s campaign for Year of the Dove – Champions of the Flyway, raising money for Birdlife International who help prevent the persecution of Turtle Doves across Europe and beyond, and support the work of the Friends of Dalby Forest who are creating drinking pools for turtle doves.