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Posted by Trey Mitchell on 16:07:22 08/17/10
Today about 3:30pm I was eating my lunch watching the birds over Cutler Wetland on the north side. There wasn't much to see then something must have frightened the birds and shorebirds began to move around.
I saw a shorebird in flight that stood out for me... It had a narrow band of white on the trailing edge of the wing. It wasn't a peep, due to the size, wasn't a dowitcher no broad white band down the back and the bill wasn't that long and the bird seemed a little bigger than a dowitcher.
I looked in my book and decided it must be something good so I began to look for it in the wet grassy area in the northeast quadrant of cutler wetland since that is where I lost the bird while in flight.
I went to the area and scoped and thought I didn't see anything, till I got home and saw that the Yellow-legs I saw with the really heavy looking bill was probably a Ruff. I haven't ever seen one. But while scanning the grass I saw what I at first glance looked like it could have been a Willet, but the bill was too short and it looked like a yellow-legs. So, having never seen a Ruff, and not paying more attention I kept looking and called the bird a yellowlegs. I was expecting some rusty color on the bird if it were going to be a Ruff...
When I got home I check one of my better guides and the internet and was shocked that I apparently over looked the Ruff as something else.... Duh...... I would have stayed longer and spent more time studying the situation, but I had to be somewhere instead of spending more time at Cutler Wetland.
I'm going to go back if I can this evening an look again and bring my camera with me this time.
I believe it was a Ruff, even though I miss-IDed the bird in the field. Hope someone else is able to see the bird and confirm the sighting. Maybe it will be me!
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