Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2016-32
| Common name: |
Ruff |
| Scientific name: | Calidris pugnax |
| Date: | 9-16-2016 |
| Time: | 1800 |
| Length of time observed: | 27 minutes |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | juvenile |
| Sex: | unknown |
| Location: | Farmington Bay WMA |
| County: | Davis |
| Latilong: | |
| Elevation: | |
| Distance to bird: | 50 meters |
| Optical equipment: | Swarovski 60x spotting scope and 420mm DSLR camera lens |
| Weather: | Sunny, clear, warm |
| Light Conditions: | Good |
| Description: Size of bird: | Lesser Yellowlegs |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | similar to LEYE |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | Buffy |
| (Description:) Bill Type: | Short, black bill with hint of yellow at base |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
From my field notebook at the time of sighting: - Same size as surrounding Lesser Yellowlegs - Black bill with hint of yellow at base, much shorter than Stilt Sandpiper (which I had seen only an hour earlier), and fairly stout at base - Color buffy overall - Few breast markings - Legs yellow in color (see photos) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | |
| Behavior: | Actively foraging except when flushed by Peregrine Falcon and took flight with other shorebirds. Foraging method more like Yellowlegs than Stilt Sandpiper, which forages like a Dowitcher by probing bill deep into the substrate and sticking rump into air. |
| Habitat: | Wetland. Shallow pond near emergent vegetation. |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Pectoral Sandpiper: eliminated by larger size as many Pectoral were seen
immediately next to bird in question. Also breast was unmarked. Stilt Sandpiper: eliminated by warm buffy tones overall, shorter bill with pale base, and foraging style more like yellowlegs than dowitcher (STSA). Lesser Yellowlegs: eliminated by general shape (bulkier), warm buffy tones overall, slightly shorter, decurved bill, and white "U" on rump when photographed in flight. |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
No experience with Ruff, but extensive experience with Yellowlegs and Pectoral
Sandpiper, and some experience with Stilt Sandpiper (two previous sightings). |
| References consulted: | The Sibley Guide to Birds: second edition |
| Description from: | Notes taken at the time of the sighting |
| Observer: | Neil Paprocki |
| Observer's address: | 777 East 1st Ave #2, Salt Lake City, Utah 84103 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | |
| Date prepared: | 9-16-2016 |
| Additional material: | Photos |
| Additional comments: | Have a number of photos of this bird foraging and also in flight. |