Ruff in Stratford, CT, July 2016

Although Ruff is a rarity anywhere in New England, it is becoming more regular along the coast.  And some of these birds will stick around for a while.  For example, there were 3 Ruff sightings in CT and RI in the first half of 2016 alone –

• Weekapaug, RI - 4/28 - 5/2
• Milford Point, CT – 5/2 – 7
• Sandy Point, CT – 5/14

Although I was able to see the RI bird, both of the CT birds were far enough away that I couldn’t quite justify chasing after them.  Though in each case the multiple posts on the listserve and on eBird sure made me think about reconsidering my self-imposed driving distance limit for rarity chasing.

Then in July came yet another report of a Ruff, this one in Stratford, in a small marsh behind the animal control building.  As with the earlier birds, there were excellent details on the listserve and regular updates.  And although the driving distance to Stratford is a bit farther that I would like, this bird seemed to be very reliable, and not tide dependent.  And perhaps just as important – I had some spare time available to chase after it.  The stars had finally aligned to chase after a CT Ruff!

I left in the early morning on the 4th day of this bird’s stay, crossing my fingers that it would still be around by the time I had finally convinced myself to go for it.  As I arrived at the animal control parking lot I could see the small marsh and mudflat up ahead that the bird had been calling home for the last several days.  It wasn’t much to speak of – seemingly marginal habitat, and the most common bird on the mudflat was the many Starlings walking about.  But for whatever reason it had been appealing to the Ruff and the Yellowlegs it was typically seen with.

As I set up my scope all the Starlings took off out of the wetlands.  Although normally that might not be a bad thing, I worried that whatever chased off the Starlings might have chased the Ruff away as well.  A post from the previous day mentioned that the bird was only seen as a flyover, so it was coming and going from the site at least a little bit.  On my first quick scan the only shorebirds I found were a few Killdeer.  Then I spent some time scrutinizing the phragmites in the back of the marsh which the target bird seemed to favor – but still no Ruff and not even the Yellowlegs it was typically accompanying.  Over the next couple minutes a few Ibis and Snowy Egrets dropped in, so I thought maybe the Ruff and Yellowlegs might fly in too.  But the only additional activity I saw for the next several minutes were more Starlings milling about.

Then I went back to scanning the frags at the back of the marsh – and all of a sudden there was a Yellowlegs.  And a few seconds later I saw a bit of movement amongst the vegetation – seconds later the Ruff walked out into the open.  They must have been there the whole time, but just not visible from my vantage point.  I got these couple miserable phonescoped pictures of the bird in the distance through the heat shimmer, including one with its Yellowlegs pal.

Glad to finally check that one off my CT list so I don’t have to be frustrated by any more posts about Ruff sightings in the future.

Ruff was number 328 for me in CT, which is my 8th northeast state for this species.  Plus I can’t forget the beautiful male white Ruff I saw in breeding plumage in Barrow, AK a few years ago.

Harlequin Duck, Milford, CT, December, 2013

You would think that Harlequin Duck would be a pretty easy bird in CT.  After all, CT is a New England state with significant coastline.  Not to mention that perhaps the best place to see Harlequins in New England is in RI at Sachuest Point just a few miles from the CT state line.  But much of the CT coastline is sandy rather than rocky which is the preferred habitat for Harlequins.  Plus the CT coast is protected by Long Island, so birds heading south down the coast to winter in NJ and points south are not very likely to make stops along CT on their journey.  And a further complication is that most of the coastal sightings are of birds that don’t stay long.  As a result, this colorful duck is quite difficult in CT; in fact very difficult particularly for an out-of-state birder.  I’ve unsuccessfully chased after two different CT birds over the years – one on the coast and one long-staying bird on an inland river where I arrived the day after it departed.  And I’ve seen Harlequin in each New England state except CT – yes I’ve even seen it in inland VT.  So needless to say this is a key target for me.

Now we move forward to 2013 and Christmas Bird Count season.  As the sightings started to be posted on the listserves a post came across of a female Harlequin Duck seen on the Milford CBC at Merwin Point, first spotted in the morning and then seen again at the same spot late in the day, despite a significant ice and snow storm.  The next day, the bird was seen by several birders, though the last posted sighting of the day was a short distance to the west near Sloppy Jose’s restaurant.  My drive time to Milford is a bit more than my normal maximum distance for chasing after rarities.  But since this bird was likely to stick around, and a key target, I decided to give it a try. 

The following morning I headed out, arriving at Merwin Point a bit after 10.  This location featured a number of small rocky islands just offshore, and several man-made jetties, so quite a bit of habitat for a Harlequin.  But despite several scans, I couldn’t find the target bird.  The closest I could find was a male White-winged Scoter.  I wondered if the Harlequin could be hiding out on the back side of some of the islands, but despite looking from several locations, I couldn’t get views of the southern sides of those islands.  I was about to head to the west where it was seen late the previous day when I noticed a group of 5 small ducks at the point, diving frequently.  Unfortunately they were Greater Scaup.  But where had they been on my previous scans of the area?  Thinking that maybe the Harlequin would appear in the same way, I scanned the area again but with no luck.

My next stop was Sloppy Jose’s restaurant.  The restaurant was easy enough to find, and I parked in the restaurant's parking lot successfully avoiding the snow and ice piles.  The problem was the restaurant was a block from the water with no access or view of the Sound.  Instead, the shoreline was hidden behind numerous waterfront houses.  How would I get views of the water?  The birder that found the Harlequin from this area yesterday must have figured it out.  So I started walking along the road to look for gaps between the houses.  Eventually I found a vacant lot with a view of the water, so I set up the scope and began to scan the water and coastline.  But no luck – a few Canada Geese and some Mallards and Black Ducks were close to shore, some Long-tailed Ducks and Red-breasted Mergs were farther out, and in the distance I could see the same 5 Greater Scaup I had spotted earlier.  But no Harlequin.  Yet another scan and still no target.  What next?  Could the bird be moving to the west from its initial location?  Should I drive to west to look for additional rocky habitat?  But before I left, I tried one more scan, and there it was – amazing, right in the middle of the cove that I hadscanned at least a dozen times earlier.  The bird was diving frequently, so it’s possible but unlikely that it could have been under the water on each of my earlier scans.  Maybe it just appeared, like the Scaup earlier.  In any case, I found the bird after about an hour of searching.  I always say that the best search is one you have to spend some time working for, instead of one you just drive up to and see.  So this statebird was quite satisfying indeed.

Harlequin Duck was number #308 for me in CT, New England statebird #1954, and #223 for me in all 6 New England states.  I’ve now seen Harlequins in each Atlantic coast state south to VA, all 4 Pacific coast states, as well as in WI and VT as inland states (see my statebird map below).