Shorebirds ID help - Toronto (1 Viewer)

[ajayr]

Please help IDing the attached shorebirds seen in Toronto today (14th August). Sorry about the poor quality of the pics. The harsh light and that the birds were far off didn't help.

1 and 1a - Pectoral sandpiper? Checking as the legs looked dark. Just the lighting/some possible mud? (Not sure if they are the same bird.)
2 and 2a - Same bird. The very short legs (much shorter than the tail) makes me want to check.
3 - Small shorebird with a long-ish beak. The beak size makes me want to double-check.
4 - The one behind the yellowlegs. The rufous/brownish underparts and wings is what's throwing me off.
5 - Baird's sandpiper? - Longish bill, dark legs and wings longer than the tail.

Thanks
Ajay

 

[Butty]

1. Possibly semipalmated sandpiper but I suspect it's least sandpiper. I think slight downturn in bill-tip is disguised by background - and it looks a similar bird to 1a. Chest-pattern wrong for pectoral sandpiper in 1 and 1a.
1a. Probably least sandpiper. Bill shape, leg colour.
2-2a. I'd say lesser yellowlegs (bill shape/length, rump- and tail-pattern) but for the weirdly short legs - can they be tucked away like that briefly??
4 (left-hand bird). Maybe another lesser yellowlegs. It's barely visible. Colour maybe caused by it being sunlit while the central bird is in shade.
5. Semipalmated sandpiper or least sandpiper. Wings probably not long enough and upperpart pattern wrong for Baird's sandpiper.

 

[tom baxter]

I totally forgot about this until now, but I have seen Lesser Yellowlegs look short legged in flight like that once before and I went around the same circle you are doing now. In photo 2 you can see the tail pattern of a Lesser Yellowlegs

 

[ajayr]

Thanks a lot, Butty and Tom!