Ruff
Carlyle Lake, Fayette Co, 18 April 2012. Found by Mark Seiffert, Mike Baum and Kevin Richmond in the morning. Relocated at 2:30pm that day by Mark Seiffert, Sandy Britt and Keith McMullen. Photographed by Mark Seiffert (two photos).
Comments by Keith McMullen posted at 6:45am on 19 April 2012 to the Illinois Birders' Forum:
The bird is very obvious and it is the closest to breeding plumage I've ever noted in a Ruff before. Of course, I've only seen 4 others in my lifetime, all fall birds. This bird appears to be a male. Very blackish, speckling chest. At quick glance, it almost looked entirely black-chested until you looked again, zoomed in, and noted it was very splotchy, but definitely blackish. The head was almost white at some angles. Mark even mentioned it looked golden at some angles. It was hanging mostly with Lesser Yellowlegs and was noticeable taller and more chunky, even more chunky than a dowitcher and Greater Yellowlegs. One interesting behavior we noted. The bird would appear to "bow" and then rapidly move toward the Lessers and a couple of times towards a Pectoral Sandpiper in what we believe to be more of a mating ritual than a feeding territorial behavior. Mark witnessed the bird try to mount a Yellowlegs at one point. This behavior reminded me of a prairie chicken when they bow their heads and "face off". The bird was aggressive and again, we didn't feel this was a territorial foraging behavior.
Photo #1, by Mark Seiffert on 18 April 2012.
Photo #2, by Mark Seiffert on 18 April 2012.
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