Mega Pipit but Scoter no show

A tricky few days at work prompted me to dash east for a Northumberland overnighter. We set off soon after breakfast on the 2nd to track down a long-staying rarity. I knew this would be something of a long trek; the Ross Back Sands Walk was a familiar one. Anyway, after some false leads and dead ends through the dune system, we found a track heading the right direction and after about an hour, arrived at Guile Point (where the two beacons are) at the northernmost point of the beach, overlooking Holy Island. It was a lovely walk and there was the odd wader and Brent Goose flock on the way to keep us interested. But we didn’t pay these much attention as my focus was on reaching the end point and the ultimate goal. The fact that there were one or two other birders heading in the same direction up ahead was a good omen, and I joined the two ahead as we rounded the corner. I assumed we’d have to search for the rarity in question, but two other birders were there already photographing the thing – down to a few feet! This was going to be a cinch. Indeed, within seconds I was enjoying crippling views of my first ever American (Buff-Bellied) Pipit - currently “Buff-bellied” but likely to be split into American Pipit and Siberian Pipit; this was the former apparently. At face value, it looked like a Water Pipit but with buffy underparts (hence the name); I was also struck by the dark rump and tail, pale lores (unlike the dark ones of Water Pipit) and the heavy spotting on the breast. Anyway, I spent the next 40 minutes or so taking over 1000 images (!) and ended up with over 80 keepers, of which the seven here are the pick of the bunch. The sun was out, and I was in good company with like-minded amateur photographers. The bird performed brilliantly and despite being on the move almost constantly, it paused and posed regularly for its photo to be taken. This was clearly a showy, almost tame individual, and it had been well photographed already by numerous other birders, but I was delighted with these and they may make it into some hall of fame – maybe! Sadly, the reported Black Scoter nearby proved impossible to pick out amongst the very distant Common Scoter.