Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

 

Birds of a feather do flock together, however this particular bird was oblivious to her obvious uniqueness.  I discovered this beautiful goose recently and learned she’s not only rare but probably new to the northern Myrtle Beach area as to date, unreported.  And while the rest of her species appeared to be accepting her, her coloration was completely different. 

This Leucistic Canada is a Prime Example Why We Should Never Let Anything - Especially Our Appearance, Deter Us From Pursuing Our Dreams and What We Feel Destined to Be and Do in Life

I felt fortunate that I was able to get her to pause briefly, and she appeared to be coyly posing for her 5 seconds of blog fame. In this case it was important to get the shots perfect to be able to present her true and unique coloration. I also included a few of her flock very close by so you can see the similarities and the unique and rare differences.

After some research I identified her as a Leucistic Canada Goose, a species which is hated by some and adored by others.  Currently, there's quite a controversy in Surfside Beach, SC over whether they are a nuisance or just more wildlife to live around and enjoy, basically.   I dubbed her Lucy Bob for her genetics and for her curious behavior – and since I don’t know positively if she’s male or female yet. Read on. 

As you can see, except for the lack of a few genes that tell her Melanin to provide which pigments where, she appears as normal as the rest of the Canada Geese. I ultimately realized that Lucy's actually a little more adventurous, confident, and perhaps a little smarter - in some ways I learned as I observed her over the week she was here.

I learned too that she’s not what's categorized as an Albino Canada because primarily, she does have the normal black, vs pink eyes indicative of albinism.  Notice that her beak is mottled, and her legs and feet are a pale orange not black, like the rest of her species.  While her body has small patches of light beige and grey, her head however is completely white in stark contrast to Canadas' typical dark black heads.

I reached out to nearby bird clubs and the news and no one had noticed her so perhaps she’s new to the area because she's just migrating through.  I for one however, would love to see her stay and share some Leucistic offspring with the many avid birders here.

She appeared to be normal, well fed, and had the same behaviors as the rest of the normally colored Canadas.   Unlike other species, all the "normal" Canadas in this flock appeared to have accepted her and let her graze, feed, sleep, swim and even fly off to roost at dusk with them.  

 There's another species of Canada that's a bit lighter in coloration, so it was important that I get a shot of her with the rest of her flock for comparison and also that she be observed with her neck outstretched to garner its length and girth to correctly identify her.  Or him.  The only thing I noticed that might be awry with Lucy, was what I thought was a tic, as she stretched her neck, then bobbed through the field, whereas the rest of the flock was focused on keeping their heads staunchly on the ground, feeding as they normally do. 

 

I took a photo too, to get a better view of her beak and so we could see if she had normal coloration inside of her mouth.  And boy was I surprised. 

When I zoomed into this photo, I realized she didn't have a tic at all, but was merely stretching her long neck to nip the tender tops off the tall grasses that were going to seed. It gave her the appearance of bob-bing, when instead she was going persnickety-like, from one tender top to the other, vs eating the older and dryer fare on the ground like the rest. 

We're all too familiar with how nonplussed the Canadas are by traffic, but Lucy has gone above and beyond as far as venturing onto a 4 lane at rush hour.  So much so, that the rest of the flock stayed back, while some went on high alert and even honked at her.  Presumably a couple were alerting her to come back, out of danger. 

Lucy wasn’t to be dissuaded however and I cringed as I watched cars speed close to her as she kept pursuing that dream we all have for the greener grass on the other side.  In Lucy's case that was across the road. Literally.

People in the area love and appreciate the wildlife as a general rule, so thankfully some drivers stopped, gestured and shouted loudly to try to scare her off the road and back to the grass.  But Lucy B wasn’t to be dissuaded, even though the rest of the flock didn’t follow. 

Finally, one Canada took matters into his own wings, as it were, and took to the air instead, alerting the rest of his little flock to follow.  Luckily, Lucy Bob eased into the formation as well and lived to see another day.

Remember, the experts tell us that it's never a good idea to feed wildlife.  Taken by Lucys uniqueness and lack of fear of humans, some well-meaning people were feeding the little group pizza so they had no qualms about approaching my car.   No matter how charming they are or how hard they tug at your heart strings, they're always better off finding and eating the food that's natural for them, vs becoming dependent on humans to feed them.  In some extreme cases, if they do need human intervention just be sure you're feeding them what's good for their particular species.  And never ever feed them bread.  As tempting as it is, it's one of the worst things for them and can lead to severe health problems. 

I’ve posted some photos here as I don’t know if Lucy Bob’s a permanent resident now or how long she’ll be here, so enjoy this beautiful and rare sight and keep your eyes to the sky in hopes you spot this bird of a different feather or her offspring in your area.