Purple Sandpiper?? apologies

[Phil Vreeman]

I've been given some doubt as the identification of the Purple Sandpiper at
the Grand Haven pier.  The bird I saw had bright yellow legs and a long
yellowish bill.  What really surprised me was that I *heard *it before
seeing it, and it sounded like a more musical, whistly Killdeer.  It had a
spotted white breast, and a dark horizontal pattern across the back.  Also,
the bill seemed really large.  I'd estimate between a third and a half of
the body length (which was suggested it might be a Wilson's Snipe).  I saw
posted and unsuccessfully looked for the Purple at Pere Marquette in the
past.  Any thoughts or followup?

Also, my deepest apologies for 1) not including the full bird names in my
previous post, and 2) using the WRONG 4-letter code for Northern Shrike
(it's NSHR not NOSH)

~good birding to you all!
~Phil Vreeman
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