This summer Florida's rarest bird may well be this 1-in-a-million leucistic (almost all white) Sandhill Crane that is roosting in the huge Lake Theresa rookery in Deltona, Florida.
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Leucism is a genetic mutation causing partial loss of pigmentation, so leucistic cranes have some gray or brown feathers, a red crest and pink bill and legs.
Still, this white Sandhill Crane stands out in the group of several hundred that gather every evening on Lake Theresa's western shoreline to roost. This bird is very white compared to the few examples of leucistic sandhill cranes found on the internet.
The leucistic crane is slightly smaller than the average Sandhill Crane in the rookery. It travels in a group of five, which is large for the Deltona cranes—usually seen in groups of 3s or 4s. Often the leucistic crane is leading the group which makes me suspect it may be a male.
Deltona's sandhill cranes are often too tame, approaching humans looking for handouts. They casually wade up to my kayak as I photograph them.
He might be mistaken for the endangered Whooping Crane, were it not for his red crest and lack of black wingtip markings.
In Nebraska's Central Platte Valley where hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes gather each spring to rest on their migration from the American South to Canada and Siberia, sanctuary rangers report seeing a leucistic crane only every-other-year (or so), making them extremely rare.
How rare are they? They've been described as 1% of 1% of the worldwide Sandhill Crane population.
While you'd expect birders from all around Central Florida to be flocking to Lake Theresa for a glimpse of this exceptional bird, most days the lake is quiet and there are only one or two human gawkers amongst the hundreds of sandhills.
There is no public access to Deltona's lakes, making it difficult to find or see these birds.
The lack of public access may be what is helping this non-migrating flock of sandhill cranes to thrive in Deltona.
The water levels in Lake Theresa are rising rapidly pushing the rookery onshore. Sandhill Cranes only like the water deep enough to cover their feet (not up to their knees), so we suspect this rookery will move in coming days. Today there were about 100 regular cranes (and one leucistic crane) crowding the shallows of the rookery.
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