Ironic that someone should mention selfish misbehavior about the ruff
now being seen at Hoover, because like the flycatcher in England this
one is a species that 'belongs' on the other side of the Atlantic.
        True, the ruff as a shorebird is far more able to stray way off course
successfully than a tiny Empidonax flycatcher. We are used to a few good
reports of ruffs every year in Ohio. And others may be overlooked, since
females and young and molted adults are far less striking versus a cock
in breeding plumage.
        So many ruffs are seen in North America year after year that observers
have long thought they can't all be strays, and that some might be
breeding here beyond a single freak nest verified in Alaska long ago,
maybe somewhere in remote areas of Canada; see for example
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v077n03/p0294-p0296.pdf
  . But proof is elusive. If they're up there, maybe it's best to keep
it a secret so they are unknown to photographers!
Bill Whan

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