Ruff at Delta Lake, 3/26/26

During the past week area birders have been reporting some interesting stuff from Delta Lake County Park about twenty miles north of Weslaco.  Nothing great but the continuing drought has dropped water levels at this irrigation water storage impoundment exposing a large mud flat.  Birds uncommon for Hidalgo County like Dunlin and Reddish Egret have been seen and with spring migration ramping up, I thought it was time for a visit.

I arrived about 10 AM and found the water to be about as low as I have ever seen.  After scrambling down the bank from the north parking area I started walking the flats.  Hundreds of shorebirds!  Mostly Least Sandpipers, Stilt Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers.

A flock of a hundred White Pelicans were taking a break on their northward journey to the pot holes of the Great Plains.

Checking out the egrets, I found one of my targets.  Small with a black bill and yellow face is Snowy Egret and big with a yellow bill is Great Egret.  Who's that medium sized guy with a black bill?  It's our coastal white morph Reddish Egret and uncommon inland in Hidalgo County.

Scoping through the many shorebirds I managed to find my other quarry, Dunlins.  Like the Reddish Egret they are much more common along the coast.

Fly by Stilt Sandpipers.

I saw some distant American Golden Plovers and later manaed to find a couple of closer ones.

Nature observation has many appeals.  The amazing diversity of beautiful creatures with their engaging behaviour is a spiritual refuge for many.  I certainly find solace in birding or searching for butterflies.  But for for a few dedicated birders there is something else.  It's the endorphins baby!  Like sitting at the slot machine, pulling the arm and hoping Lady Luck comes your way.  Scanning a flock of shorebirrds and hoping for a rarity is the same thing.  And similarly if you won every time there would be no rush.  Vegas wise guys understand human psychology and program the payouts accordingly.  For Birders in the know, it's even more random, chaotic and glorious!

So as usual I'm scoping through the hundreds of shorebirds hoping to find something good.  Then back behind the pelicans I glimpsed something.  About the size of a Stilt Sandpiper, a pale brown thing with a body shaped like a football with a fairly long neck and a head that seemed too small with a medium length bill... and a pale whitish face around the bill.  Looks like a Ruff!  So I fired some shots at the distant shorebird while keeping it in scope view.  Eventually it wandered into the open and though distant, there was no doubt.  I had found a Ruff.

I've only seen three of this Eurasian shorebird species through the years.  Ruff is well know for the variable color of breeding males and their elaborate courship rituals.  This Ruff is in basic plumage.  I'm not sure if it's a female or a male that hasn't colored up yet.  But it's the first I have found on my own in fifty years of birding and species #417 for my Hidalo Couty list.  Everytime I'm on the mud flats looking at shorebirds I have this species in mind.  This one is certainly in my top ten list of self found birds.  Possibly #6 or 7?  That would make a good self indulgent blog post.