Wednesday, January 7, 2004
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Wednesday, January 7, 2004 |
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‘Lifer’: This one's for the birds By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE It’s a first ever for Fayette County, a first documented in the state of Georgia, and probably the first in the Southeast. A yellow-billed loon appears to be spending the winter on Lake Horton in southeastern Fayette County, and birders from all over the country are flocking to see it. Cars with license plates from New Jersey, Ohio, and the Midwest are making their way down Antioch Road to where it ends at water’s edge. Brock Hutchins of Fayetteville is regarded as Fayette County’s birding guru, and has traveled several continents to add birds to his life list. He never thought he’d add a “lifer” right here in his home county. “The [yellow-billed] loon winters on the south coast of Alaska and in British Columbia,” Hutchins said. “At least that’s where he’s supposed to be.” There might be a touch of romance here. “He’s with a common loon,” Hutchins said. In their winter plumage, sorting one gender from the other makes it hard to get the pronouns right, but Hutchins is confident that the yellow-billed visitor is a male, the common a female. Common loons, while not very common here, spend their winters in the Southeast and are often seen in coastal bays and large lakes. Because they seldom utter their characteristic melancholy yodel, and because their fine summer plumage dulls to brown, common loons are easily overlooked in winter. But the yellow-billed loon? Gavia adamsii? A glance at the maps in any bird guide shows its breeding ground roughly bisected by the Arctic Circle, on the north slope of Alaska and the area west of Hudson Bay. How this one chose Fayette County, Georgia this winter is anyone’s guess, but Hutchins thinks he “may stay awhile.” For the record, a single common loon has appeared on the local Christmas Bird Count list (coordinated by Hutchins) about three times in the past 20 years. None was seen in the 2003 census. Nor was the yellow-billed. Who first sighted the rare bird? An e-mail to The Citizen claims first dibs. Eric Beohm of Griffin writes that he sighted the rare visitor and called the Georgia Rare Bird Alert hotline Dec. 29. He says he photographed it that day and the following day. “The bird has been reliably found at the south end of the lake near the dam,” Beohm writes. “Many birds can be one-day wonders, so it is a real treat to have a bird of this magnitude hanging out for all to see,” Beohm says. “Birders from the surrounding states have come to add this bird to their life lists and have not left disappointed. Over a lifetime of birdwatching in Georgia, I’ve never seen so many energized birders flocking to one spot. It’s been fun for everybody!” Eric and Michael Beohm have birded Lake Horton extensively over the last couple of months and “have found several rare birds for Georgia including Surf Scoter, Pacific Loon, Snow Geese, and an amazing nine Ross’s Geese. It is a great place to view ducks that are considered uncommon to rare for Georgia.” To view photos of the bird, go on the Internet at http://www.georgia-birding.com/yblo.htm. Want to see this rare bird? Beohm writes: “Many birdwatchers, also called birders, try to find rare or unusual birds in their area. Many report their sightings to a rare bird alert which can be online or via the phone. All birders use binoculars to be able to see birds clearly. Many use spotting scopes (which is like a small telescope) in order to see ducks and loons out on lakes. Binoculars are necessary to see any detail on this loon. A spotting scope would work even better. There have been birders at the lake over the last few days who have spotting scopes which they would likely share.” Beohm describes loons as “a small and ancient group of birds. They are specialized fish eaters with dagger-like bills that spend most of their time in water. They have lobed feet set so far back on the body that they are very clumsy on land. All five species are restricted to the northern hemisphere and all are migratory, spending the winter in coastal harbors and bays in temperate climates. During the winter they sport a plain looking non-breeding dress, but all species molt into a striking alternate plumage before departing for the northern breeding grounds in spring.” Beohm continues: “The Yellow-billed Loon is similar in appearance to Common Loons which are found in Georgia. Both are longer-bodied than ducks and have a different type of bill. Loons dive underwater in search of fish. The Yellow-billed Loon is slightly larger than a Common Loon. It has a paler head and bill. The bill is larger than a Common Loon’s bill and appears yellow at close range.”
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