Crazy looking birds

This would be the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax).  Now there's a name. You guessed it, pugnax is Latin for pugnacious, combative, fond of fighting, aggressive.

  

I found the bird above on my free day while wandering around the hotel before the trip.  Seconds after taking this somewhat distant photo, the Ruff took off running - yes, running!  It certainly appeared pugnacious while running.  

Above and two below:  These photos were taken at a roadside stop where another (presumably) photography birding group with gigantic lenses, tripods - the works - had encroached very closely on two or three male Ruffs, probably on their lek.  Eventually the Ruffs ran off and the photographers were called back to their van.  We were left on our own to take our photos.  I did not encroach too closely.  

The Ruff doesn't look pugnacious just standing around and displaying.

On our last day, and long drive back to Ivalo, we stopped at a lovely park in Vadsø located on the southern shore of the Varanger Peninsula along the Varanger Fjord.  There were many other visitors here; people walking their dogs, school kids on an outing, other birders.  We saw many birds here including, amongst others, another Red-throated Pipit, an Arctic Skua chasing birds, many more Red-necked Phalaropes on a smallish pond and the Ruffs shown in the photos below.  This was a beautiful spot with grassy trails, views of the fjord, the weather was good and I would have been happy wondering around for a lot longer.

Alas, it was a relatively brief stop.

  

I'm 100% sure that all of the photos below are unnecessary, but I include them anyway.  Not all,  but most are of two Ruffs fighting in the presence of Reeves.  This is unlikely to be something I'll ever see again.  I was happy to see that I do have photos of the Reeve; had forgotten about these. 

  Above:  Being pretty pugnacious, two Ruffs and a Reeve.

Reeve.  Perhaps my favorite of the photos included here.

Back at it!

Above and two below:  Reeve

The photos below are of birds on a lek across the pond from where the photos above were taken.  The Ruffs below were closer.

Above and three photos below:  Ruffs on lek.  Male Ruffs really do have a variety of color combinations and appearances.

We were leaving and one of the guides called me away from taking the above photos saying the birds were on their lek.  I wasn't too close but I was inching forward.  I could write more about this, but won't.  It's a story and a tangent that would seem and read like quibbling about inequities that are possible. and even likely, on a birding trip.  Not worth it. 

 

I was surprised to find this along one of the paths.  If this had been found in the states it would have been picked up and carried off by someone.  By now, maybe someone has decided to do that in Norway, too.   Both Anttu and Nigel suggested that it was a moose skull.  I thought that it could also be reindeer skull.  

Later in the day, arriving closer in Ivalo, we stopped at a somewhat untidy area to look for a moose.  We found fresh moose droppings (I'm surprised I didn't take a picture) - but no moose.

It was also on this day, quite close to arriving back in Ivalo, that we stopped along the road and called out - for those lucky enough to see it - a Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonsasia).  It flew across the road, kind of like how we had seen the male Capercaillie.  It reminded me of how our Ruffed Grouse (genus Bonasa) looks when flushed.   Similar body formation and dark band along the terminal edge of the tail. This was in the same location we had looked for Hazel Grouse three days earlier and where we scared off the Smews who were in good light and close.