Ruff around the edges

Last night I heard that Dea found a Ruff (Calidris pugnax) near the entrance pond at Doran Beach.  Ruffs are rare migrants in Sonoma County.  They typically breed in northern Eurasia and winter mainly in Africa.  So when I went to the post office today (25 August 2020), I swung by to see if it was still around.  Luckily, it was!

Here's a series of photos.  This juvenile Ruff spent most of its time feeding in shallow salt marsh pools, but it paused a few times to preen and rest.

Check out the beautiful buffy edges to the feathers:

 

 

Sometimes Ruffs walk in a very upright position:

 

 

Although it was feeding in the pools a lot (probing in the water), it also spent some time in the pickleweed along the edges of the pools:

 

 

I didn't get a great photo of the Ruff in flight, but when it was preening you could see hints of the white U-shaped band on the rump (at the base of the tail feathers):

 

There were quite a few Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) feeding in the same pools, so here's one shot with the Ruff and a phalarope in the background:

 

 

I think I first wrote about Ruffs in 2012, so to learn more about them check out the post called "Ruff day at the beach" from 30 April 2012.

Many thanks to Dea for spotting this bird and spreading the word!