Brig 6/28--Ruff (& Reeve)

Ruff

I was kicking around Double Trouble this morning, not finding anything new or particularly interesting when I saw that for the 3rd day, a pair of Ruffs were at Brig. Since the Parkway is only a minute away from DT, I cut short my walk and drove down there, figuring my chances were pretty good. The attraction, for me, was that the male Ruff was still pretty much in breeding plumage, which meant it actually had a ruff. Had it been in basic plumage, or just the female (Reeve), I might not have made the trip, but only once have I seen a Ruff decked out and that was years ago, up in the Meadowlands. 

The birds were reported at Goose Marker 14, which is about 2/3 of the way around the Wildlife Drive at the dogleg. I had no intention of stopping along the way to look at the egrets, terns, sandpipers, sparrows, etc.; I can see those birds anytime. Instead, I steadily drove along just a bit over the speed limit until I got to the right spot, where a number of cars were parked. Naturally, the Ruff was not showing. The view of the pool that it was in was partially blocked by a stand of very high phragmites, and some of the folks who had already seen it said that it was out of sight beneath those reeds. All I saw was a trio of Greater Yellowlegs. I asked if the Reeve was in sight, but the birder next to me didn't really know what a Reeve was. A couple of guys I know showed up, so we just waited, not what I like to do.

Reeve

The birder who didn't know what a Reeve was came by a few minutes later and showed up photos of a bird in the other pool that was, sure enough, the female. We walked over there and found it pretty it easily with a few dowitchers. I was thinking that it was kind of a consolation prize, another checkmark on the year list, but not what I wanted to see. 

We walked back and took up our positions at the other pool when one of the guys found the bird, sort of in the open, if being in the open meant that you caught a glimpse of it through the waving phragmites. It was with an ibis and a yellowlegs. It was black bird with a white ruff. Ruffs are highly variable (part of their attraction) and with the wind, the ruff of the Ruff was all fluffed out. There was no way to get a picture though. 

The advantage of the breeze was that there were no greenhead flies around, so I decided to finish my walking for the day by going up to Jen's Trail and back. I was banking on better looks when I got back instead of waiting impatiently for the bird to come out in the open. Everything was fine until I got to Jen's Trail where, despite all the repellent I had applied, the deer flies were swarming. That's how it goes: greenheads on the road, deer flies in the woods. I killed about 20 as I walked the horseshoe trail. 

With dowitchers and yellowlegs

As I was walking back to the Ruff spot, one of the guys I'd been hanging with told me that it had moved to where the Reeve had been and was out in the open. We'd been speculating about whether it would walk through the reeds from one pool to the next (they apparently don't connect), but he could have flown there too. In any event, it was out in the clear with dowitchers and yellowlegs, much bigger than the Reeve, and though it was molting, a pretty magnificent bird. I managed distant photos. 

By the time I finished my driving and walking I had 47 species on the refuge, not bad considering I blew through 2/3 of the place without really looking. 

Canada Goose  50
Mute Swan  16
Mallard  4
Mourning Dove  6
Clapper Rail  1     Heard
American Oystercatcher  4
Ruff  2     Reeve Orange legs white face short black bill. Male black with white ruff.
Short-billed Dowitcher  3
Greater Yellowlegs  5
Willet  1
Laughing Gull  40
Herring Gull  25
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Common Tern  1
Forster's Tern  15
Black Skimmer  10
Double-crested Cormorant  20
Great Blue Heron  2
Great Egret  6
Snowy Egret  3
Glossy Ibis  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey  5
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Willow Flycatcher  1     Overlook
Great Crested Flycatcher  2     Jen's Trail
White-eyed Vireo  1     Jen's Trail
Red-eyed Vireo  1     Heard Jen’s Trail
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  2
Purple Martin  10
Tree Swallow  20
Marsh Wren  2
Carolina Wren  1
European Starling  15
Gray Catbird  12
American Robin  10
House Finch  6
Field Sparrow  1
Seaside Sparrow  2
Yellow-breasted Chat  2     Heard, one on each side of overlook
Red-winged Blackbird  100
Brown-headed Cowbird  10
Common Yellowthroat  8
Yellow Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  1