Ruff - a new one for me!

[pressld2]

Last weekend on the Thames at Crossness was a wader that looked initially like a redshank but I had some doubts. A friend I met while there was also dubious but couldn't name it at the time. He later suggested that it was a ruff and when I showed the pictures to a very knowledgeable birder today he confirmed it. This takes my 2009 list from a paltry and pathetic 50 species to a staggeringly huge 51!

When first seen it was very distant and the only shots I could get were through some fence railings so these are very heavily cropped...



Later it came a bit closer and wandered down to the waters edge where I had a clear shot without the railings in the way. This is still a cropped image but not as heavily as the two above...



Dave P.

[Jason Green]

Excellent images there, Dave. It's great when you see a bird for the first time, isn't it? I like seeing anything new, but you often get few 'new' birds compared to inverts, making it that bit more 'special'.

Congratulations

[Jez]

Lovely images as usual Dave and a new bird ticked off the list for 2009! Nice one

[welsh.lensman]

Excellent images Dave, a bird I've yet to photograph, well done.

[oxycera]

Ruff is one of those birds that can be tricky to identify when you've not seen one before; a useful 'standard' wader to know, like Dunlin.

[Goatboy]

Well done Dave. Always a nice bird to see.


My own 2009 list has gone from 51 to 52 this morning with Goldeneye.

I rule!

[Ruth Daniel]

Nice Ruff pics Dave!!
They can be very tricky to id at certain times of the year!!

[rlchew]

Well done Dave on seeing a "new one"!

Whether it is the 51st or 351st I think there is always an excitement at seeing a "new one".

Ruff can often be a problematic species to ID showing a widew range of plumage variations and even sizes in my experience.

Richard

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by rlchew

Well done Dave on seeing a "new one"!

Whether it is the 51st or 351st I think there is always an excitement at seeing a "new one".

Ruff can often be a problematic species to ID showing a widew range of plumage variations and even sizes in my experience.

Richard

yes varies hugely in my experiance. Almost if it has red legs and its not a redshank but you can't work out what it is - its a ruff! but....the red legs even aren't always evident!

the head and neck shape are quite distinctive though once you have your eye in...

[Wild-Woman]

So you made a Ruff guess and got it right Dave. Well done.