I've been a lurker up to now, but had to share this with you. At about
11:15AM this morning (1 Sep), I approached the northeast end of the pond
at Montlake where the loosestrife has been pulled out.
I saw a large brown colored shorebird barely in the water and a Spotted
Sandpiper in the bare dirt at that end. The brown bird was at least 2 to
3 times as large as the Spotted, had long yellowish legs, a medium length
straight dark bill. Both birds quickly flew away from me and the large
one had a U-shaped white rump band. Knew I had something new for me.
I moved to the east side of the pond and continued observing both birds
for about 45 minutes. I'm 99 percent certain I was looking at a juvenile
Ruff. It came within about 50 feet of me at one time. The bill was
approx. 1.25 to 1.5 times the length of the head and was tapered and
straight. The side of the face, side of the neck, throat and breast were
a very light brown. The underparts were completely white. The mantle,
coverts, and primaries were all buffy fringed. The centers of the
feathers appeared dark brown and had no patterns within them. When the
back was turned to me and in the sunlight, it appeared reddish brown.
The crown was the same color as the back, and the eye had no
distinquishing features, (no eye ring, eye stripe). When it flew several
more times, the sides were white and I think the axillaries were white.
At one point I saw it and a Greater Yellowlegs on the west side of the
pond in the same binocular view and within a foot or two of one another.
The Ruff(?) was approx. the same height as the G. Yellowlegs. When it
extended the neck, it was long and thin and the head appeared small.
Shame on me; I left to go back home to get my scope and Paulson's
Shorebirds book and call a friend to come take a look. When I returned
at about 1 PM, it was not there. Several of us looked until about 2:30
PM. The Spotted Sandpiper and the G. Yellowlegs were there until spooked
by a Northern Harrier and a cat, respectively. If this was a Ruff, it
would be my first sighting of this species.

Rose Stogsdill
363-9614
Seattle, WA 98125