The over-simplified way to distinguish the Western Willet (T. s. inornata) from Eastern Willet (T. s. semipalmata) is that Westerns tend to be larger, lankier, and paler (in juvenile/non-breeding plumage). There is a great article from the May/June 2006 issue of "Birding" by Michael O'Brien on telling these two apart, available here: https://www.aba.org/birding/v38n3p40.pdf
Tim Fennell has a nice photo of these two side-by-side from 3 September 2016 at Jones Creek. This can be seen in his eBird checklist from that day: https://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S31397657
Birders may want to pay attention to these subspecies because research published this year in "The Auk: Ornithological Advances" stated that: "Genetic, morphological, ecological and behavioral differences suggest that the 2 Willet subspecies may merit treatment as separate species." That article is available at: http://www.mharvey.org/docs/Oswaldetal2016.pdf
Hope this helps,
Doug Hitchcox
On Oct 14, 2016, at 3:33 PM, Bill Blauvelt <bil.blauvelt@gmail.com> wrote:I saw the Western Willet that has been reported to be at Pine Point, Scarborough for several days. I am curious what characteristic(s) distinguish this from the Eastern Willet?Bill BlauveltPortland, ME--
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