Science truly is all around us. The secret lies in being a Noticer — a term I’ve referenced before in this blog. And it’s collaborative by nature, too. (By the way, there’s an intended pun there. Read on to see. Oops, I did it again — ha!)

OK, enough with the cheesy humor and on with the real story. This past Saturday, Country Star Bed and Breakfast owners Cher and Doug McHan were shocked by an amazing sight at one of their property’s bird feeders — a white hummingbird. Albinism, a genetic condition that results in a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair, scales or feathers of an animal, has been documented in many different species throughout the animal kingdom. When it comes to hummingbirds, most people have seen the more common jeweled-green and ruby-throated varieties, but this guy (or gal) — who’s more specifically a leucistic hummingbird, versus the extremely rare albino version characterized by pink eyes and feet — is novel by any standard, especially here in Aggieland.

Armed with her trusty sidekick — the Canon Rebel T4i camera she regularly uses to document the establishment’s most loyal visitors (deer) and other happenings for the B&B’s Facebook page and website — Cher snapped a few quick shots and posted them on social media. She also reported it to a white hummingbird banding website she found.

(Credit: Cher McHan.)

Saturday close-up. (Credit: Cher McHan.)

In short order, Cher’s Facebook friend David Harkins (a 1984 Texas A&M wildlife and fisheries sciences graduate) advised her to alert iNaturalist.org and the Birds of Texas Facebook group. He also put her in touch with his own friend, photographer Bill Morris, who visited the Country Star Monday to document the exceptional find. Meanwhile, Cher’s cousin, Doreen White, gave it a name: Angel.

(Credit: Bill Morris.)

(Credit: Bill Morris.)

(Credit: Bill Morris.)

Say what you will about social media’s intrusion into society, but so often it uses its powers for good. In this case, it helped put the exclamation point on that extraordinary in the everyday we talk about in our boilerplate. Good bull, er, hummingbird!

See additional images courtesy of Waco photographer Dr. Spencer Moore here.

(Credit: Cher McHan.)