The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Whilst watching Curlew and Ruff on Chowder Ness recently I have noticed obvious aggression directed against Ruff by Curlews, particualrly where they come into relatively close proximity. It isn't something i'd particualrly thought much about and I presume this is largely an issue of resource competition, with the larger Curlew driving Ruff from its feeding areas. I wondered if anyone else had noted tensions between these two species before and what thoughts they might have as to the reasons behind it? It just surprised me in that in many cases the harassment was quite perisitent and typically maintained until the Ruff moved to another area.

Cheers

Joe