Well said! Nick Komar and I searched extensively for the bird yesterday late afternoon into the evening without luck. I would strongly urge other birders who are able, to pursue refinding this bird, however! (There are two Sanderlings, lots of Stilt Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper, and four Black Terns as well out there.) Thank you for your great finds and contributions to the Colorado birding community, Josh!
*The birds are happy, and so am I,* *~Caleb Alons, Larimer County* On Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 10:34:28 PM UTC-6 Josh Bruening wrote: > All, > > First, let me report a Red Knot at Fossil Creek Reservoir that I found at > noon today. Luckily this bird was seen by many people. Better photos were > taken than the ones I included on my Ebird checklist. > > Second, there is some question to the veracity of my report of a Ruff > earlier this morning at Timnath Reservoir. I would like to put out there > first that I am more than willing to go to school on my identification of a > Ruff vs. Buff-Breasted Sandpiper. Therefore, I would love to defer to the > experts. However, several things were brought up that questioned the > sighting. Mainly, the tertial feathers. Also, the bill was called into > question. Before I mount my defense, I would like to acknowledge that I > have exactly one experience each with both of these specie. > > The reason that I called this a Ruff was the crazy dark head feathers and > thick bill. Also, the bill was thick at the base and bi-colored from what > I could see. The bill was also longer than what I would expect from a > Buff-breasted. Buff-breasted bills are short and dainty. Beyond the the > bill and the head feathers was the fact that it was larger than the > Killdeer and Lesser Yellowlegs nearby. I'm not sure how just the tertials > is a good enough indicator to species at that point. A Buff-breasted > should be far smaller. Again, in a time of molt, I'm not clear as to why > the tertials are the determining factor here. I don't usually "defend" a > sighting but am at odds with this one. Further, if this was "just" a bird > that got beat up or stained by the storm. I don't get it. This bird > looked like a Muppet. If that storm was equivalent to a 15 round bout with > Mike Tyson, I get it. But it didn't look like it to me. > > I truly hope this bird stuck around and can be refound. Truthfully, I > don't care what it is. I think it's a Ruff. Either way, it's a great bird > for Larimer County in the fall. > > Bird is the word! > > Josh Bruening > Fort Collins > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/e0c88d1e-c306-4b93-b23e-4b748b21676an%40googlegroups.com.
