£1 from every tea towel sold will be donated to organisations helping Turtle Doves to survive at home in the UK and on migration.
 
Beautifully printed, high-quality tea towel featuring a pattern of my Two Turtle Doves drawing.
 
Two Turtle Doves but for how much longer?
 
Since 1967 we have lost 98% of the UK’s turtle doves. In fact, they are the UK’s fastest declining species… Legal and illegal hunting on their migration routes is responsible for the loss of over 2 million turtle doves each year and the struggle isn't over once they reach the UK either.
 
Habitat loss and a rapid change in farming practices have also contributed significantly to their alarming decline. Research carried out in England shows that adult Turtle doves are producing half as many chicks as they were in the 1970s as a result of habitat loss and the associated food shortages.
 
Luckily, there are people who are working to try and help these beautiful birds. These two groups are helping to keep turtle doves safe during migration and make sure they have a home in the UK.
 
CABS: CABS (Committee Against Bird Slaughter) monitors illegal hunting on the ground, disrupting the traps, nets, and lures set by poachers. They also are at the forefront of lobbying governments and the EU to put an end to the legal hunting of turtle doves and other bird species. Last autumn CABS teams collected 4122 traps, caught 217 poachers and saved 2347 birds from traps.
To read more about their work visit www.komitee.de/en/
 
In 2016 Richard Baines set up the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project as a volunteer group. The aim of the group is to survey the population, improve national awareness of this population, and move as quickly as possible to conservation action to improve the fortunes of these beautiful birds. They work with local landowners and farmers to help them create wildflower field margins and dew ponds that will help turtle doves thrive.
 
Their current project is raising funds for the creation of Dew pools in Dalby Forest to help Turtle Doves.
 
If you like this design, the following are also available
Original Drawing
Limited Edition Print
Greetings Card
Mug
 
Reference photo with kind permission from Richard Baines.