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The UK Bird Atlas

Ruff (Calidris pugnax)Where and when to see it in the UK

Passage migrant · reporting peaks August to September · Sandpipers and Allies · BOU category AF

Records to 2026-08-16 · build 2026-08-31

Ruff (Calidris pugnax)
Tokumi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Peak months
Ruff: relative reporting rate by 10 km square, September

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (grid squares, place names from OS Open Names). Northern Ireland place names: OSNI Open Data, OGL v3.0. County and country boundaries: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Coastline: Natural Earth. Bird records from the data partners listed here.

Ruff has been recorded in 776 of the 2,971 10 km squares covering UK land (26%) in records to 2026. Passage migrant in the UK. Its strongest squares are in England, Scotland and Wales. Reporting peaks in August to September.

Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN Red List, LC)
View on the IUCN Red List
Relative to this species' best squares (how classes are calculated)
Very high
22% or more of visits
High
5% to 22%
Moderate
2% to 5%
Low
under 2%
Surveyed, not recorded
at least 20 qualifying visits, no record
Insufficient records
too few visits to say
Lighter fill
Few visits, lower confidence
Small dot
Occasional: a single record, or out of season

Seasonality

Reporting rate by month, relative to the peak month
MonthRelative to peakShare of visitsTypical class
January 21%2%Low
February 22%2%Low
March 24%2%Low
April 30%2%Low
May 15%1%Low
June 8%<1%Low
July 44%3%Very high
August 89%6%Very high
September 100%7%Very high
October 49%4%Moderate
November 21%2%Moderate
December 15%1%Low

Squares with the highest reporting rate in August

SquareWhereShare of visitsClass
HU39Shetland Islands, Scotland100%Very high
HY22Orkney Islands, Scotland100%Very high
J16Lisburn and Castlereagh, Northern Ireland100%Very high
NB24Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NB43Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NC02Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NF09Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NF83Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland100%Very high
NG81Highland, Scotland100%Very high
NJ56Aberdeenshire, Scotland100%Very high

Spotted an error in a square? Report it and it goes into the review queue. Read the methodology for how classes, flags and sensitive-species rules work. Data to 2026.