Bird of the Week – Ruddy Turnstone

WC was in Peru earlier this month, and saw a Ruddy Turnstone there, 13° south of the equator. The bird quite possibly had flown south from Alaska. The comparatively small shorebird has a very long migration. (Actually, this bird if a bit of a puzzle. Photographed in late May, it should have been in more gaudy breeding plumage. Maybe it didn’t get the memo?) (You can see how much snappier these fellows look) Pluages issues aside, this is a tough little bird, one of the most northerly breeding species, with an epic migration. It’s holarctic, meaning it occurs in the…