Well, I think every photographer dreams of the outdoor- scenery in the green wet meadows where rival males ruffs can be captured during the photo shoot. It is said that there are not two alike males of the species and their breeding plumage and courtship supposedly make a unique, colorful spectacle. Supposedly, because I had no opportunity to observe ruffs on my own yet, but the pictures and the descriptions that you can find on the network are really convincing. I know that in Poland there are very few representatives of this species. The bigger surprise it was to me, when I was laying on the beach at sunrise, camouflaged with a net, and suddenly two birds of this species appeared. They were much more skittish than sandpipers, but the next day at about 9 am the ruff did not run away, keeping a safe distance of about 10 meters from walkers. Ruffs’ weight reaches a quarter of a kilo and a wingspan up to 60 cm. So probably the birds I have seen spent the breeding season in northern Europe and made a break on their way home to the equatorial and southern Africa, their winter grounds.
Last minute news - 08/2016
The gallery with pictures taken randomly over two years has been reconstructed. The ruffs once appeared when I was taking pictures of the common greenshank, another time when common snipes were my target, yet another time when I was photographing herons. This time the pectoral sandpiper was meant to be taken. Unfortunately it had already departed, but a few pictures of ruffs inspired me to rebuild the gallery.
Last minute news - 04/2018
Previous photos of ruffs were taken in autumn when the birds were migrating, hence their regular coloration. Till now there was no opportunity to change it. And finally, at the end of April I received a phone call with information that a small flock of ruffs had been observed in the shallows of the drained fish pond. Thanks to Jan and Jurek for the information. The birds are passing so there is no time to wait, because at any moment they can disappear as they appeared. It took three hours to get there. But there was a disappointment on the spot, no birds at all. But one who does not try cannot have photos taken. Well, a karimat, a camouflage net and waiting was what we could do. After a few hours the birds begin to appear. The closer to sunset the more they were. After all, it was possible to observe more than 100 ruffs in the company of wood sandpipers, common greenshanks, disabled spotted redshank, little ringed plovers, lapwings and of course black-headed gulls. At the very end, black-tailed godwit appeared in the distance. It was an interesting afternoon, unfortunately the birds were quite a large distance away, and despite the converter it was necessary to crop photos considerably. Of course, this was at the expense of the quality of the photos. Nevertheless, there is no trace of the old gallery content. New photos do not create a very good gallery yet, but it is no longer a documentary one. Finally, it was possible to capture the spring colored plumage of these birds, although probably not yet in full bloom. I failed to observe their mating behavior or record a voice. All in all the rebuilt ruffs gallery goes to the news.
Last minute news - 05/2022
Last minute news - 09/2022
Last minute news-11/2022- Zambia
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