Photographer captures rare turtle dove sighting near Jersey Airport

A rare sighting of a turtle dove in Jersey has been captured by a photographer.

The dove was spotted on Sunday feeding on Jubilee Hill near Jersey Airport.

Photographer Romano da Costa said he was "excited" to glimpse the bird, known for its gentle purr and in decline due to loss of habitat, seed and grain and hunting during migration.

Turtle doves are now officially classed as "vulnerable" across the UK and Channel Islands.

Mr da Costa said: "In Jersey we haven't had a confirmed breeding record in over a decade and visiting numbers have fallen each year to only small handfuls.

"I haven't seen one on the island since 2016 so it was very exciting to see this one after all these years."

Tom Stewart, from the British Trust for Ornithology, told the BBC any sighting of a turtle dove was "cause for celebration".

He added: "As far as we are aware, they don't breed in Jersey any more, the stronghold tends to be in the south-east of England and even there they are rare birds, which ties with what we know - that we've lost 98% of them across the UK since 1970."

Mr Stewart said the most recent survey in 2021 showed there were just 2,000 pairs left in the UK.

"Every sighting of a turtle dove is cause for celebration and a stark reminder of what we've lost," he added.

"They used o be common, iconic birds that people could just see in their daily lives and we don't have that any more."

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