On errands up toward Onancock yesterday, with cold winds, fog, and driving
rain most of the way, I noticed many flooded farm fields full of gulls. Taking
a closer look, I was astonished to see among the (ultimately) 15,000+ Laughing
Gulls and various Herring and Ring-billed Gulls a few hundred Bonaparte's
Gulls in breeding plumage, often hovering over the large temporary ponds. I
have
seen this species take worms and small frogs in taiga breeding grounds
before, but I've never seen them foraging so extensively over fields in spring
in
Virginia. (No Little Gulls with these, unfortunately, but there should be some
around.)
Greater Yellowlegs by the dozens, with a few Lessers, were also in this
fields, looking wet and miserable. Late March and April are the time that
Ruffs
pass through the state in spring, well before most other shorebird migrants
arrive, and they are usually missed (but seen annually in MD/PA/NJ). This foul
weather is perfect both for halting the onward migration of this species and
for
creating the habitat (wet, muddy fields with grassy margins) it prefers.
Though a conspicuous species at this time of year, Ruff is a bird that
sometimes
blends in well with grasses and even conceals itself a bit, so it's worth an
extra look when yellowlegs are present, including in the valleys and the
Piedmont. The Virginia Committee has no archived identifiable photographs of
the
species from the state and would surely appreciate one!
As several contributors to this listserve have already noted, wet farm fields
in early spring - and especially inland lakes and reservoirs - can be real
goldmines, with seafowl, gulls, terns, and fish-diving species generally well
represented during periods of adverse weather, even well into May.
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, VA
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