[tn-bird] Re: RUFF at Rankin!
- From: Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>
- To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2002 10:32:19 -0400
Dean and Amber,
Nice find!
This makes two consecutive years that Ruff has been sighted at Rankin.
Last September 23, Linda Northrop, Alice Loftin, and I found two
juveniles on a distant flat across the water from the tipple. Like you,
we were forced to view the birds from a considerable distance, but the
field marks were unmistakable: prominent buff on the head, neck, and
breast; dark eye line; dark-centered feathers on the upper parts;
greenish-yellow legs; Pectoral Sandpiper-like bill.
Linda and I are planning to join Leslie Gibbens and Michael Sledjeski
at Rankin for a canoe trip this afternoon. We'll definitely look hard
for the Ruff. Thanks for the post.
Don Miller,
Greeneville, TN
K Dean EDWARDS wrote:
> Sorry for the delay in posting but other commitments kept me
> from getting online last night.
>
> Sunday afternoon/evening (18 August 2002) several birders
> observed a juvenile Ruff at Rankin WMA in Cocke Co., TN.
> If the differences in size between the sexes translates to
> the juvenile birds as well, the bird was probably a female
> (and thus properly referred to as a Reeve, not Ruff).
>
> After having panned through the herds of shorebirds a few
> times already, I was scanning back through and this bird
> jumped out at me. It had not been there before or had been
> hiding behind a tree that snookered our view.
>
> It was hanging around the shore a little ways into the water.
> We observed it for 10-15 min during which time it mostly
> bathed and preened but did some feeding. Not a good sign
> if I interpret Ol'Coot's lessons properly.
>
> The whole mass of birds was spooked by a Red-shouldered Hawk
> and flushed. After much searching, I'm pretty sure we relocated
> the bird but it was over a mile away so viewing wasn't the
> best. We packed up and headed out to the point near the
> coal tipple for a better view. Unfortunately, something
> again flushed the birds while we were in transit. They
> flew about TWO miles away this time. Despite several hours
> searching, we never saw the bird again.
>
> Birds were coming and going all evening. Three Black Terns
> and two Common Terns also disappeared about the same time
> as the Ruff.
>
> Here are some details.
>
> Observers: Dean Edwards, Amber Edwards, Boyd Sharp,
> Jean Alexander, David Johnson, June Welch. The Routledges
> from Greenville were also in the area but I'm not sure if
> they saw the bird; Larry may have.
>
> Superficially, she looked like a great big Buff-breasted
> Sandpiper. The mantle and scapulars had solid, dark centers
> surrounded by a fringe of buff giving the bird a very neatly
> patterned look. The underparts were washed bright buffy
> all the way down, gradually fading toward white near the butt.
> The bird was in the water the whole time so leg length was
> hard to judge. The legs were dull yellow -- not the bright
> yellow of a yellowlegs but definitely yellow. Bill was long
> (definitely and readily noticeably longer and more "stout"
> than for a Buff-breasted, more in the proportions of a Pectoral)
> and appeared completely dark; there could have been some color
> at the base but I didn't see any. The bird was seen close
> to Killdeer, a Pectoral Sandpiper and a peep or two. In
> direct comparison with those species, overall size was between
> the Killdeer and Pectoral -- closer to the Killdeer than the
> Pectoral -- much too large for a Buff-breasted. The bird
> appeared plump and pot-bellied. Head looked smallish proportionally.
>
> Those of you are familiar with the quest Allan Trently has
> set some of us upon in rewriting songs to be about birds
> (e.g., There's no bunting like Snow Bunting) and remember
> McGruff the Crime Dog (Take a Bite Outta Crime) will appreciate
> Amber's contribution to the effort given below.
>
> Ruff, McGruff
> Rankin Bottoms, TN 37713
>
> Dean and Amber Edwards
> Knoxville, TN
>
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Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society
web site at http://www.tnbirds.org
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TN-Bird Net Owner: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN
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