Dull ? I think not.

I visited Martin Mere today. It was freezing cold, but I enjoyed the walk, and watching the birds - and the people who had come to watch them.

I popped into the Observation hide and chatted to the young warden about the birds outside, commenting that there were some unusually white ruffs (ruffs being medium sized waders, a bit on the portly side, easily overlooked in winter. The males at their breeding grounds in summer sport spectacular head and chest plumage). He proceeded to give me some fascinating facts about male ruffs, which I record here for my own interest.

There are three types of male, the type being genetically determined:
* 86% are competitive/territorial males, that have and defend leks to attract females.
* 13% are satellite males - these are the whiter ones. They are not territorial but enter the leks of the territorial males, are tolerated by them, and mate with receptive females.
* 1% plus are mimic males. They sport female plumage in summer, so no exotic plumage, going under the radar to mate with females (and indeed being mounted by other males, and vice versa). They apparently have larger internal testes than the other two types.
All three types winter together.

They are not as dull as they look. It’s a mixed up world out there. In the extra, two very different males, one a satellite male.