Since I know a lot of people came from Maryland to see the Yellow-Billed Loon last May in Harrisburg, PA, I'd thought I would share this with you.
 
Hello everyone!  I'm not sure if you know this, but I currently have my own column in the American Birding Association's "A Bird's Eye View" newsletter.  My column is entitled "CJ's Must Have Birds-(then the name of my rare bird for that month)".  My first article was about the Yellow-Billed Loon last May in Harrisburg found by Cameron Rutt.  I thought I would share the article with you.  The photo that goes along with is can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbohinski/565425608/in/set-72157600829622509/
Here it is:
 
    It was the night of May 4 (Friday), when the quest to the loon began. I had just finished my homework and decided to check the Pennsylvania Birding List before I went to bed, to see if there were any interesting posts. I scanned through them and came across one in bold letters. It read, “YELLOW-BILLED LOON IN HARRISBURG.” I was curious about the post, so I read it. I had never even heard about or saw a photo of a Yellow-Billed Loon (for all I know, they could have been making the bird up). It talked about how there was a rare loon on the Susquehanna River right by Harrisburg. After I finished reading that post and a couple of others, I went to bed. It was very late. 
    The next morning (Saturday) when I awoke, I checked the birding list again to see if there were any updates on the loon. I found out that it was the first Pennsylvania record of this bird and one of the few records east of the Mississippi River. I then started to get excited and really wanted to see this bird in person. Ever since I was a young child, I always liked to have that rare trading card, hoped to meet a super-famous celebrity, or find that unique fossil. 
    I mentioned the loon to my mother, Barbara, and she quickly busted the fantasy bubble with reality. My father, Stanley, and I were in the middle of fixing our pool deck and they really wanted it done that weekend. I also had 2 tests on Monday. I agreed with my mother and went outside to cut some of the deck planks with my father. The whole time I was out there, I couldn’t stop thinking about the loon. 
That night, I checked the computer again. The whole List Serve was filled up with posts about the Yellow-Billed Loon. I read them all, some even twice. Having a super-rare bird in the state you live in, was fascinating to me. I went to bed that night filled with thoughts about seeing the Yellow-Billed Loon.
    The next morning (Sunday), I woke up very early. I don’t know why, but I did. It was about 7:30 AM (this is early for me, especially because it was a weekend). Once again, I checked the birding list right when I awoke. One of the posts read, “The Loon Is Still Being Seen”. After reading the new posts from the night before and that morning, I went downstairs to eat breakfast. While eating with my mother, I mentioned the loon again. This time when I told her, she responded with, “I’m fine with going if your father agrees.” WOW! The first ray of light in seeing the super-rare bird. I quickly called my father (he was working at the time) and asked him. He said, as long as you are prepared for your tests and promise to help me with the deck during the week, we can go. This was the start of my Yellow-Billed Loon quest!
    While waiting for my father to come home from the hospital (my father is a doctor and only had to see three patients in the hospital that day), I printed out directions to Harrisburg. I also got my digital camera and movie camera ready. When he arrived home, we got into the car and started to drive towards Harrisburg in hopes of seeing the loon. We pulled out of the driveway and I suddenly screamed, “Oh my gosh, I forgot my binoculars!” I rushed back into the house and ran upstairs to get them (I think it was the fastest I ever ran in my life). While in the house, I tripped and fell running up the steps. I was in pain, but the loon was more important than my injury. Overall, I was in the house for about two minutes. When I got back into the car, I started reading the directions and we were finally on our way. We started on the one hour and a half trip to Harrisburg, PA. 
    Right before I left my house, I had emailed a couple of people from the list that had seen the loon. I asked them to please call me and give me specifics on its location. While driving there, I got a phone call. It was from the person who initially found the loon. He told me that the best place to see the loon is from the West Fairview Boat Launch or just up the road after the boat launch. He also mentioned the M. Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge (which is about a mile away from the boat launch). He added that you can sometimes see it from there, but it is very far downstream and usually it is too far that you can‘t even make it out. He said if you pass that, you went too far. After that call, I began to study for my tests. 
    When we arrived in Wormleysburg (the actually town right next to Harrisburg where the loon was spotted), we all had to go the bathroom. I begged my parents to hold it in until we got to the loon spot. I told them, “Every minute counts!” About a mile away from the spot where the loon was most frequently being seen, there was major road work being done (just my luck). We were in stand-still traffic for about 20 minutes. Those were the longest 20 minutes of my life. I felt like getting out of the car and running to see the loon! Finally, we arrived at the spot. It was about 12:30 P.M.. There were about 30-40 people their with there spotting scopes, binoculars, cameras and even a professional TV crew. I felt like we were the only people there without a spotting scope and a four foot long camera. After we got out of the car, we had to cross over the guardrail. When on the other side, I asked one of the birders if they had seen the loon in the past
 half hour, he said yes. He told me that it was in sight for about an hour and a half and just about two minutes ago. It drifted upstream and nobody had seen it since. I was so worried. I had a flashback from earlier in the day. It was when I went back into my house for my binoculars. I thought going back into the house for them, because I was so forgetful, was going to cost us the sighting of the Yellow-Billed Loon. We had traveled all this way and weren’t going to see the loon. After about ten minutes there, I got excited because I saw a duck in the distance. I shouted to the crowd, “There it is!” After I got the whole crowd excited, my hope was shattered by another birder. He told me it was a red-breasted merganser. I was so embarrassed. A great duck, but not the one we came to see. 
    About ten minutes after that, I spotted another duck. This time I said “It has to be it!” And to my surprise, it was the Yellow-Billed Loon! I was so happy and enthralled at seeing the loon. The checkerboard design on its back, the grace it portrayed while drifting down the river, and its huge yellow beak positioned upwards toward the sky made it seem like it had not a care in the world. Between getting great looks through our binoculars, I was taking photos and my father was videotaping it. We saw it for about five minutes, at about one hundred and fifty yards away, and then it drifted away again. We then walked down the road a little and relocated it. Now it was even closer and we got better looks, photos, and video of it. I was so happy that I got to experience this with my parents. My mother then brought reality back once again and reminded me about my tests. We then jumped back into the car and headed home. About 2 minutes after leaving, I
 shouted, “STOP!” I noticed that the Yellow-Billed Loon was next to a Common Loon. I thought this would be a great photo. When my father pulled over to the side of the road, I was able to photograph them side be side. While stopped, my father spotted a stairway to the walking/pedestrian side of a bridge. We all got out and walked out onto the bridge. There was no other birders on the bridge. They were still on the side of the road about 600-700 yards upriver. While they were not seeing the loon, we were. While there, we got to see the Yellow-Billed Loon dive for food and swim with the other loon. I took more photos and my father took more video. We were very satisfied with our trip results (especially considering it was our first “bird chase”) and we all agreed on going home, for good this time. We were walking (still on the bridge) to the direction of the car and I decided to look one more time. This time, the loon was right below us (I mean
 right below us, we couldn‘t have been closer)! We were all able to see it amazingly close! It seemed to have followed us in our footsteps. We now got to see its characteristic red eye, orange/yellow webbed feet, and the actual water drops dripping off of its neck from a recent dive. I quickly turned my camera back on and was able to take one picture of it. I was actually shaking in excitement wile taking the photo. It was either hit or miss, with the photo. I snapped it and almost immediately after I did, it dove under and reemerged about 150 yards away, to the original spot where we were seeing it from the bridge. I was so excited about seeing it and capturing it in my lens so close, it felt like I could touch it. It was phenomenal, magical, exciting, unexpected, and awesome! I actually could go on and on but the list would take up a whole page (and probably more). 
     We all looked once again while walking down the steps off the bridge and it was out of sight. We got back into the car and headed to the nearest bathroom. While in the restaurant waiting for my parents, I looked at the map of Harrisburg that I printed out earlier. I wanted to see where we actually witnessed this super-mega rarity. It was the M. Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge. I couldn’t believe it, especially because of the things that were told to me earlier. Also, out of all the posts I read during those past three days and the ones posted after we saw the loon, none of the people witnessed the loon from the M. Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge. It seemed like us stopping for the picture of both loons together and then realizing the steps to the bridge was meant to be. I truly believe that we got the greatest looks at the loon. As soon as we got home, I printed out the pictures and stared at them for hours. I couldn’t believe that I took them. The
 next day (Monday), I read a post and it read, “Yellow-Billed Loon-We Think It Is Gone For Good.” The loon had not been spotted all of Monday and for the coming days either. Eventually the posts stopped and the Yellow-Billed Loon was a thing of the past. The loon put on a show for four days to hundreds of people coming from afar just to see it.
     I know I will never forgot the Yellow-Billed Loon quest and the experience I shared with my parents that day! That one loon photo that I was able to take when it was so close to us, is actually featured on the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology website and was published in the August issue of Birder’s World. I guess the future only knows what else this photo may bring me and any other ones I may take during my lifetime. And for those of you wondering about the deck, we got that finished in the coming days and I got all A’s on my tests! I couldn’t have asked for a better week!
    About me: Christopher James Bohinski currently resides in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania with his parents (Dr. Stanley and Barbara), sister (Chesla), and brother (Timothy). He has been birding for about 2 years. He photographs every new species of bird he sees and has about everyone of his life birds in a photo. He is involved in football, track, chorus, and theatre arts. Chris is always willing to meet new people to go birding with and share stories and photos. You can contact Chris at 
 
    Thanks for reading!  You're the best!  I also saw a junco today that has a weird marking on its chest.  Does anybody know what this is?  There is also a photo of a house finch, that tried to be a crossbill!  Also, what are the differences between house finches and pine siskens?  I feel photos that I look at of them, only show bill length and subtle color variations as differences.   The photos can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbohinski/
 
 
Christopher James Bohinski
Wilkes-Barre Twp., PA
Luzerne County