STUART — Joe Tobiasz isn't an avid bird watcher, but he knew the one that landed in the mulberry tree in his backyard on Aug. 14 was a once-in-a-lifetime spotting.
It looked like a big dove at first, Tobiasz said, but closer examination proved him wrong.
The bird was almost completely white, but its belly and wings had some darker feathers. Its beak had a purple tint, and its eyes were black.
Tobiasz was stumped.
So, he snapped some pictures and a video and sought help from experts.
Turns out Tobiasz had seen a rare, Leucistic blue jay — a bird that has an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation. It lost its coloring and turned white in some areas of its body.
It was a true National Geographic moment, he said.