First off, thank you Fred for changing my afternoon plans.  I will
bird my yard tomorrow instead... ; )

And I'm very sorry to hear about your camera.  I hope it is somehow fixable.

The bird, as I mentioned in an earlier email, was foraging on some
mudflats across the river from Jackson Landing.  With Declan asleep in
the car (he doesn't get to count this one), Isla and I rushed to the
picnic table on the bluff overlooking the river (thanks to Jim Stasz
and Ed Boyd for pointing!).  I set up the scope and enjoyed first a
Pectoral Sandpiper and very soon after, the RUFF.  I picked up Isla
and she looked through the scope to enjoy the bird as well.  I doubt
that at 2 years old she'll remember her first RUFF, but you never
know...

Soon the Lutmerdings arrived and got quick views of the bird.  But
sadly, for no other reason than a flyover TV, most all of the birds
took to the skies.  Mikey had the RUFF flying away in his bins and was
doing some superb play-by-play (or maybe flap-by-flap) commentary
about where the bird was headed.  Who knows where it might wind up?
Swan Creek?  The Oxbow?  Swan Harbor?  With the lack of rain, there
are precious few good shorebird spots.  I do hear there is the
possibility of substantial rain in the forecast.

Lastly, after my meeting in Rock Hall today, I made a very quick trip
to the causeway to Eastern Neck.  A Dunlin, four Greater Yellowlegs
and four Laughing Gulls kept company with dozens of Forster's Terns
and a minimum of 15 LEAST TERNS.

I posted some documentation photos of Fred's RUFF here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nervousbird/

Good Birding,

Dan Haas
St. Margaret's, MD
nervousbirdsatgmail.com

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