Shorebirds

.
In my last post, I commented that I still have problems with identifying shorebirds. This became clear again on Thursday, when I popped in at Paul Rushing Chain-of-Lakes Park on the Katy prairie on my way to work.

The first shorebirds I spotted were American Golden Plovers, too far away for photos but easy to ID through binoculars.

The next birds up were even easier to identify: Nothing else looks even vaguely like a Black-necked Stilt!




I felt fairly secure, too, in identifying these birds as Greater Yellowlegs.



Then the problems started. I spotted a host of Long-billed Dowitchers. Or were they Short-billed Dowitchers? They were quiet when feeding, which Sibley says is a feature of Short-billed Dowitchers. On the other hand, these birds were on grass and Sibley says Short-billed favor beaches rather than grassy areas. Also, the secondary wing feathers looked too dark to be Short-billed. So they must be Long-billed, right? But the tail on these birds looked too pale for Long-billed.



As I often do when stumped by birds, I've now posted photos on Birdforum and asked for help. I'll let you know what people think.
.
P.S.
Most people on BirdForum seemed to think the Dowitchers were Short-billed. However, some people weren't so sure!
.