Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Feeling a bit Ruff!

My previous post (which I have now removed) showed photographs of a bird that I thought to be that of a Pectoral Sandpiper. It has kindly been brought to my attention by a couple of far better and more experienced birders than myself that they are photographs of a Ruff, or more accurately a juvenile Reeve (the name for a female Ruff)! Thankyou to Mike Weedon and Will Bowell for their kind and constructive help.

This has been an invaluable lesson for myself to not get carried away taking photographs and actually look at the bird properly! Also, it shows how easy it is to be swayed on an i.d. when you have a group of birders all wanting to see a particular bird, seeing something similar and all agreeing that the i.d. is correct. There was one voice amongst the group who bravely said that he thought it could be a Ruff, but was out voted. I will next time listen and then maybe not look like such an idiot on a public forum!

Below are a couple of photographs of a Pectoral Sandpiper that Mike and Chris Orders have kindly let me use to illustrate what a Pec Sand looks like.

Lesson learnt, humility is supposed to be a virtue.

Copyright Mike Weedon
Copyright Chris Orders

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10 comments:

  1. grammie g9 August 2011 at 22:30

    Hi John ..who among us hasn't had a large piece of humble pie : }} Let he cast the first stone!!lol
    Grace

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike Randall Bird Photography9 August 2011 at 22:47

    Happened to me on Blog John, and Birdguides put me right on my claimed Goshawk which was in fact a Sparrowhawk, now that is inexperience!
    Mike

    ReplyDelete
  3. Roy10 August 2011 at 12:09

    Hi John, Mike has to put me straight occasionally as well.
    I have a problem with all waders at the best of times and Ruffs vary so much as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alan Pavey10 August 2011 at 15:55

    Hi John, I'm sorry I didn't pick that up for you, I've seen loads of Pec Sands over the years so I am eating my fair share of humple pie to for not being more observant!! Still wonderful pics nonetheless :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. John10 August 2011 at 20:56

    Hi Grace,
    I know, but I don`t like the taste very much! ;)
    J

    ReplyDelete
  6. John10 August 2011 at 20:57

    Hi Mike,
    Goshawk and Sparrowhawk are the two birds that are most often mis-identified, I have done this as well! Maybe I should give up birding!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  7. John10 August 2011 at 20:58

    Hi Roy,
    I know, but I should have let my head rule my heart really, then I may, just may have not called it!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  8. John10 August 2011 at 21:00

    Hi Alan,
    Don`t be daft! Humble pie isn`t my most favourite of desserts! ;)
    Thanks for still saying that you liked the photo`s
    J

    ReplyDelete
  9. Susan Scheid18 August 2011 at 03:22

    I can't tell you how many times I've worried I've got even the commonest of birds wrong. It's actually reassuring that it happens to someone so much more versed!

    ReplyDelete
  10. John18 August 2011 at 16:22

    Hi Susan,
    It seems so easy when you see it in a book, `That is easy to identify` you cry and then when you see a small brown wader weaving in and out of reeds it seems a bit trickier!
    J

    ReplyDelete

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