Dowitcher

[Skipickos]

This was taken March 1 at the Okaloosa Holding Ponds in Ft. Walton Beach FL.

There was a lot of discussion between Long and short billed Dowitcher and the submissions were mixed - I unfortunately did not hear a call.

Figured I would get some opinions here... Thanks! 

[AlexHenry]

I like Long-billed Dowitcher here

Notice how chunky the bird looks in profile in the first photo, Short-billed is more slender than this

Also notice the bill shape in the second photo, very straight and “tubular”, Short-billed has a deeper base to the bill and a flatter tip with a very slight droop to the tip

[Nivalis]

agree

[AlexHenry]

Compare bill shape (long, straight, tubular) to this Short-billed (deep at base, flat at tip, slight drop):

there is overlap in Bill length but the differences in shape are pretty robust

[Jefferson Shank]

Absolutely a Long-billed Dowitcher.

[Tony Leukering]

The fact that it's in a holding pond, which implies fresh water, is a useful ID feature, though far less certain during migration than in winter.

[Skipickos]

20 hours ago, AlexHenry said:

Compare bill shape (long, straight, tubular) to this Short-billed (deep at base, flat at tip, slight drop):

there is overlap in Bill length but the differences in shape are pretty robust

Thank you for the explanation and Picture @AlexHenry. Much better understanding of what i'm looking for now. You can easily see the difference if you know what your're looking for. Cheers!