Oregon shorebird

[Rick Baumhauer]

http://gallery.me.com/rickbaumhauer/100123/4075_100_154831/web.jpg

OK, this should be the last of my "mystery birds" for the foreseeable future :)

Saw this very brave wader back in September in Cannon Beach, OR, poking around in the sand for food. Can't quite match it up with anything in my Sibley's.

[Paul Lagasi]

When trying to ID these birds a side view is best, so you can see bill shape and droop. Having said that, this to me looks like:

Bairds Sandpiper juvenile bird, black legs and scaled look on back...wings extend past tail by 1/2 inch

[Wayne Richardson]

Hi Rick

I have disagree with Paul on the ID. ;)

This a juvenile Ruff. It has the unique jizz of that species, i.e. plump body, small head & long legs. Individuals are quite variable in plumage details/leg colour, so understand why you had difficulty matching this to the illustration in Sibley's guide. Difficult to sex this bird from your image, but females are similar in size to Lesser Yellowlegs & males as big as Greater Yellowlegs.

Although Ruff are an Old World species, they are regular rare visitors along both coasts of N America & have bred once in Alaska. I suggest you notify your local birding/rarity committee of this occurance.

Cheers: Wayne

[Rick Baumhauer]

Wayne - that is hilarious! I don't know if it's still in the EXIF for the image, but I had labeled it "Ruff?" after my attempts to ID it met with no good matches. It was a very brave bird - the picture was taken with a Canon 40D and 70-200 F4 IS lens at 185mm.

This wasn't a local bird for me, unfortunately - I saw it while on vacation in Oregon last year (I live in Connecticut). Any idea who I might contact there?

Thanks for taking a look, in any case.

[Wayne Richardson]

It was a very brave bird.

This wasn't a local bird for me, unfortunately - I saw it while on vacation in Oregon last year (I live in Connecticut). Any idea who I might contact there?

Thanks for taking a look, in any case.

Hi Rick

Ruff can be very tame. I recall seeing images of UK birds taking items from fishermens' baitboxes while they were holding them in their hands!! :eek:

Try here (http://www.birding.com/wheretobird/oregon.asp) for reporting your find.

Cheers: Wayne

[Paul Lagasi]

Sorry, still disagree with Ruff bill is too long and thick at base, legs don't look green, yellow or orange, top of head is dark not pale.... this is according to Peterson's new field guide.

But hey I am no expert...as a matter of fact a Ruff is still on my want list

Then I looked in Sibley's and Wayne seems to be closer with juvenile Ruff..

A side view of this bird would help a lot..Rick how tall was this bird?

Paul

[Rick Baumhauer]

Paul - here are a couple more shots, more from the side:

http://gallery.me.com/rickbaumhauer/100123/4069_100_154815/large.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/rickbaumhauer/100123/4073_100_154828/large.jpg

I honestly don't remember exactly how big the bird was, and don't have any shots that can give a scale. Going by Sibley, I think the bird was bigger than a Baird's, and was probably about right for a Ruff, but this was five months ago :)

[Paul Lagasi]

Rick, thanks for posting the other pics...the photo below shows two birds a Pectoral (8.75") and a Bairds (7.5"). The Pectoral would have been my first choice except for the leg color...look at the legs on the Baird's almost the same color as on your bird..and pattern about the same on back but for me its the bill thats a match..
I could still be wrong, would not be first time..sometimes shorebirds can be real tough..Paul

[john jackson]

Ruff is a regular bird here in England, and this is a Ruff. It's a classic species for confusion as it is a highly variable bird: the male and female are different sizes; and plumage varies between seasons, sexes, ages and individuals. Field guides struggle to reflect this variability. The thick bill is typical. Juveniles (as here) remind me of a huge gawky Buff-breasted Sandpiper.

[Paul Lagasi]

Thanks John...won't be the last time I was wrong.....Paul