Dove Step Rehab - Completed
Dove Step is an unrivalled conservation project - raising funds for Operation Turtle Dove through endurance efforts.
We do not do our bidding via online petitions or twitter campaigns, we would not accept funds towards anything other than the fund-raising total and all monies go towards delivered, on-the-ground benefit for Turtle Doves.
Running 50 miles in a day, a year out from getting hit by a car, was a daunting task, compounded by the further 30 miles the next day. Waking up in Manningtree on the morning of Friday 18th June was a damp affair, I was gifted an hour or so running before the downpours started again. With the preceding spell of warm weather, path-side vegetation had bloomed, then bowed over under the weight of the rain water. At times hiding the route and veiling safe footings. It also served to drench any and all areas not already drenched by rain. 
Once you leave the valley bottom of the Stour and move cross country, the terrain becomes surprisingly punchy; with 2267ft of elevation across the 50 miles from Manningtree to Bury St Edmunds. Impressive for the otherwise rolling countryside of Suffolk. A strategic sit-down lunch and change into dry clothes at the Mill Hotel Sudbury was most welcome. Long time Dove Step team mate Malcolm Fairley had the dubious honour of my company after 30 miles of running, only to then transport my filthy kit back home to Bury St Edmunds! Still, without the kit change and respite - the remaining mileage would have been unbearable. There is a unique level of attrition that builds up when you spend hours in soaking kit; a nappy rash style glow enveloped by midriff and tiger-stripes of chaffing lacerated places that are not pleasant to lacerate! The vegetation along the route nettled, brambled and irritated my legs with grass seeds and the constant contact. The cumulative stings and abrasion meant I hardly slept over night as my legs throbbed and itched.
On minimal sleep and with 50 miles already in the legs, I was amazed to be able to run the next morning; well for the first 7 or so miles, then off-and-on till around mile 18 and arrival in Thetford. Pleased with progress, I then walked in the remaining 10 miles between the BTO headquarters and Brandon - the finish line - along the Little Ouse river.
It was an honour to be joined by RSPB and Operation Turtle Dove staff for the last leg of the two days endurance and the finish line cake (above) was also something to behold! 
So, in June 2021 we righted the wrongs of 2020, dropping more miles and funds for Operation Turtle Dove and specifically the North Yorks Turtle Dove Project. We also hit our fund-raising target of £21k raised in 2021, the ambition was previously to hit £20k in the year 2020, like so many things this was a Covid casualty. Without high profile coverage, the ‘Captain Tom Moore’ effect, or billionaire donors the funds we’ve attracted have solely come from friends, family and the bird watching community to which we belong. We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated both over the years and this year.
Richard Baines, Volunteer Project Officer at the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project had the following to say with regards the pond creation which will be the focus of this years fund-raising:
When I started working on the conservation of European Turtle Doves, I had no idea of the importance of ponds in their life cycle. Many doves and pigeons have developed a wonderful way of feeding their newly born chicks a highly nutritious liquid formed in their crop. Turtle Doves produce this ‘crop milk’ but they need a nearby source of water to be able to form the milk.
As soon as I learnt this fact, I was full on promoting the value of ponds for Turtle Doves. Within our North Yorkshire forests, we have many tracks with puddles, forest machinery tracks full of water and old ponds. However, during a typical summer most of these dry out and in these times of unpredictable climate very few water sources may survive when our doves need them most.
We therefore need many more permanent and ephemeral water sources within our Turtle Dove breeding areas if we are serious about saving these amazing birds. We started the process in 2020 by restoring a small number of ‘dew’ ponds in the North York Moors National Park. These old derelict ponds were originally constructed by local villagers as water sources for their livestock. Sadly, many have now been lost so we need to raise more funds to keep restoring more. The funds raised by Dove Step will be used to keep restoring more ponds!
Guy Anderson, UK Migrants Recovery Programme Manager at the RSPB also gave the following update:
The money that Dove Step have raised for RSPB has contributed to all of our input to Operation Turtle Dove... and this includes the work that my colleague Carles Carboneras has led – taking the International Action Plan, and getting its recommendations enacted by the EC and therefore by EU member states, as well as coordinating the science which has shown that recent levels of hunting have been completely unsustainable. This is detailed population modelling work, that has been vital evidence in securing the current (at least temporary) ban on hunting in France, Spain and Portugal. Without this science, it is much less likely that the ban would now be in place. And without the people to produce, coordinate and communicate the science, it would not have been done, or even considered. And without people like you [Dove Step] supporting RSPB’s input to this work, and providing us with the income to pay for it, it is much less likely that it would have happened at all.
We do not do our bidding via online petitions or twitter campaigns, we would not accept funds towards anything other than the fund-raising total and all monies go towards delivered, on-the-ground benefit for Turtle Doves.
Dove Step consists of friends and I, enduring for Turtle Doves, undertaking arduous journeys, raising both funds and awareness for Operation Turtle Dove. To date we have raised over £21k and endured over 2000 miles across 5 journeys and just 59 'Dove Step days’!
Once you leave the valley bottom of the Stour and move cross country, the terrain becomes surprisingly punchy; with 2267ft of elevation across the 50 miles from Manningtree to Bury St Edmunds. Impressive for the otherwise rolling countryside of Suffolk. A strategic sit-down lunch and change into dry clothes at the Mill Hotel Sudbury was most welcome. Long time Dove Step team mate Malcolm Fairley had the dubious honour of my company after 30 miles of running, only to then transport my filthy kit back home to Bury St Edmunds! Still, without the kit change and respite - the remaining mileage would have been unbearable. There is a unique level of attrition that builds up when you spend hours in soaking kit; a nappy rash style glow enveloped by midriff and tiger-stripes of chaffing lacerated places that are not pleasant to lacerate! The vegetation along the route nettled, brambled and irritated my legs with grass seeds and the constant contact. The cumulative stings and abrasion meant I hardly slept over night as my legs throbbed and itched.
On minimal sleep and with 50 miles already in the legs, I was amazed to be able to run the next morning; well for the first 7 or so miles, then off-and-on till around mile 18 and arrival in Thetford. Pleased with progress, I then walked in the remaining 10 miles between the BTO headquarters and Brandon - the finish line - along the Little Ouse river.
It was an honour to be joined by RSPB and Operation Turtle Dove staff for the last leg of the two days endurance and the finish line cake (above) was also something to behold!
So, in June 2021 we righted the wrongs of 2020, dropping more miles and funds for Operation Turtle Dove and specifically the North Yorks Turtle Dove Project. We also hit our fund-raising target of £21k raised in 2021, the ambition was previously to hit £20k in the year 2020, like so many things this was a Covid casualty. Without high profile coverage, the ‘Captain Tom Moore’ effect, or billionaire donors the funds we’ve attracted have solely come from friends, family and the bird watching community to which we belong. We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated both over the years and this year.
As soon as I learnt this fact, I was full on promoting the value of ponds for Turtle Doves. Within our North Yorkshire forests, we have many tracks with puddles, forest machinery tracks full of water and old ponds. However, during a typical summer most of these dry out and in these times of unpredictable climate very few water sources may survive when our doves need them most.
We therefore need many more permanent and ephemeral water sources within our Turtle Dove breeding areas if we are serious about saving these amazing birds. We started the process in 2020 by restoring a small number of ‘dew’ ponds in the North York Moors National Park. These old derelict ponds were originally constructed by local villagers as water sources for their livestock. Sadly, many have now been lost so we need to raise more funds to keep restoring more. The funds raised by Dove Step will be used to keep restoring more ponds!
So, to date Dove Step has supported habitat creation in the Eastern Region, research on the wintering grounds, supported Operation Turtle Dove and pond creation in the North Yorkshire National Park. We are proud to have raised £21k raised in the year 2021. At this time it is not clear if we will ever Dove Step again. If we do, it remains to be seen where and when. So…
Please don't forget Turtle Doves and please don't forget Dove Step.
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