Hi all,
I got this question from one local birder so perhaps others are also
wondering.
A Ruff is a Eurasian shorebird species (Philomachus pugnax) that shows
up rarely, maybe once per year somewhere in the Willamette Valley. If
you have the Sibley field guide to birds of western North America, you
can find them on page 169.
This species is notable for its dimorphism -- males and females can look
very different, especially in breeding season. So different that back in
England, there are different words for males (ruffs) and females
(reeves).
The males (during breeding season) are something else to see, since they
have one of the craziest looking plumages of any shorebird.
Unfortunately we never get to see them like that in Oregon -- they show
up here just as an exceptionally dumpy-looking large shorebird, with
kind of grungy-looking plumage.
The last time I got to see Ruffs/Reeves and their offspring, I was at
Hjälstavik which is one of the prime birding sites in the Uppland region
of Sweden. I had my scope set up on a viewing platform, and was enjoying
watching the young ruffs/reeves (about half the size of the adults) as
they chased after flies on a dried-up section of the marsh. Lots of
stints out there too.
The local birders weren't nearly as interested as I was. Frankly they
were bored and were walking around while waiting for something more
interesting to show up. That caused some problems for me since my scope
would bounce around while they walked on the platform. On the other
hand, they were still very excited about a Greater Yellowlegs that had
shown up there, a few weeks earlier. And once they realized from my
accent that I was from the U.S. of A., they were kind enough to point
out a Little Gull amongst all of the Black-headed Gulls.
I guess it goes to show, it's all about location. If those same Swedish
birders saw the photos that Harry posted in his blog, they might not
even notice the Ruff (or Reeve?), but they sure would pay attention to
the yellowlegs. I try to keep that in mind every time I see a Greater
Yellowlegs -- they're very cool birds too, well worth appreciating!
Happy birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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