I'm also a bit confused by a type of bird that I've seen a few times now but cannot identify. This one is a seabird that regularly visits Deal pier in Kent, UK. Occasionally there are a few of them, hanging around the pier fishermen no doubt hoping for scraps of bait. They are about the size of a large thrush and brown and white with longish red legs and a longish beak. No doubt they are waders, but not very big ones. The nearest I can get online is either a turnstone or the semi-palmated plover, but neither of these is exactly the same as the birds I see. I've seen them fly off the pier and land in the sea where they bob around like small brown and white ducks. Any ideas? Next time I'm on the pier I'll try and get a photo but they are pretty quick movers!