Turtle Dove

Turtle doves are red listed, and this is the first time I have seen one. It is a dainty dove, much smaller than the collared dove and only slightly larger than a blackbird. They are summer visitors and spend the winter in Sub-Saharan Africa. This bird was sat at the top of a very tall tree in Epney, Gloucestershire.

A group of five of us were on our way down to Dorset on a five-day butterfly and bird spotting trip, and it was a very hot day for traveling. 

We were told that there was a rare Caspian Tern at the Slimbridge Wetland Centre, so we did a detour in the hope of seeing it. Unfortunately, the tern flew off 5 minutes before we reached the appropriate hide. That’s the risk you take when you go off chasing a single bird. I wasn’t too disappointed, as I’m sure I’ll get to see one eventually.