Sometimes things come together to form a blessing for all. Sometimes there’s just that perfect mix that captures the imagination. It unfolds in a way that surprises everyone, and the sheer excitement of it becomes contagious. And for a short time a group is brought together and a common emotion is felt. Never in my lifetime of birding have I seen such excitement over a Georgia bird. From all over the southeastern United States, birders have come to Lake Horton to see a visitor from the high Artic. It has lit a fire in the psyche of birders and shown that almost any bird is possible in Georgia.

Lake Horton, a little-known reservoir in Fayette County, GA, became a grand stage. Over the last couple of months, Michael Beohm and I birded Lake Horton regularly. The lake was good to us with nine Ross’s Geese, Snow Geese, Pacific Loon, four Mute Swans appearing wild, two Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Redhead, Canvasbacks, Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, American Black Duck, Dunlin, Greater Yellowlegs, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Forster’s Tern, Bonaparte’s Gulls, and Herring Gulls. I felt I had covered the lake fairly well lately and with the new year coming I would take a break from birding. For some reason though I wanted to check the lake one more time.

On December 29, 2003, I was coming home from work, and the day was almost over. I stopped at the lake as it was starting to get dark outside and quickly scanned what I could. I saw two loons. One was a Common, but one looked odd. I had made a special effort that week to check for any strange loons, thinking that another Pacific might show up, but I had only seen Commons on the lake. Consequently, this new arrival quickly had my full attention. My viewing conditions were far from ideal, but I felt that the loon bore a strong resemblance to a Yellow-billed Loon. I took some photos among darkening skies and went home. I checked my photos and saw that I had nothing, save a fuzzy Loch Ness monster. Oh well, I had already decided to go back the next morning. The next day I got there early and set out to find my loon. It was in the same spot, this time with a Common Loon beside it. I had good light and could clearly tell that it was a Yellow-billed Loon. Wow! After studying the bird and snapping a number of photos, I immediately headed off to let others know. Michael, Richard, and Rose Beohm were the first on the scene and agreed it was a Yellow-billed. Others came, and the rest is history.

Will there be other Yellow-billed Loons in Georgia? Probably. This one may even come back to Georgia someday (assuming it ever leaves). Each year more and more birders enter the field equipped with the latest field guides and the newest super optics. Add cell phones, online libraries, and e-mail, and the possibilities are endless. There will be birds found that seem incredible, but with this bird, there was an intersection of time, space, condition, expectation, excitement, and wonder that may never be repeated. As I said, what a blessing!

Description

• Larger than Common Loon with a thicker-neck
• Large, pale-yellow bill
• Pale neck and head
• Light barring on back
• Dark spot behind eye
• Top of bill fairly straight with outer half pale
• Bill and head appeared to be slightly upturned at times
• Apparent 1st winter plumage

Significance

• First State Record
• Very rare for the lower 48 states
• Farthest record from natural range
• One of only a few records for the Southeastern United States