I fired off photos Saturday on our windy canoe trip at the Oregon Shorebird Festival without having a clue what I was taking pictures of, since I was, at the same time, trying to keep the canoe from zooming upstream with the tide and wind. I heard what our canoe leader Tom was saying was there and I did manage to catch a glimpse of a Black Turnstone (and a zillion peeps). However, once I put the photos on the computer, I could see, in the photo above, a zillion Western Sandpipers, 3 Black Turnstones, at least 3 Red-necked Phalaropes and one mystery bird. Another photo shows a Yellowlegs and those were the only species I remember Tom mentioning (he had a scope mounted on the front of his kayak). He did say he did not see any Least Sandpipers. So... what is my mystery bird? It is on the right side of the photo with its back to the camera and appears brown instead of gray.
Thanks to all who offered opinions. Most called it a Least Sandpiper. Judy Meredith gave the most complete explanation: "Leasts have yellow legs.They are smaller than Westerns and Phalaropes.The juv Leasts have those diagonal lines down their backs/folded wings. Can't see the bill but if you could, a Least would have a slight droop with a proportionately shorter bill than a Western. To me it looks like a Least from your photo."
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