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Archive for the ‘giant birds’ Category

Oklahoma Pterosaur

Posted in cryptozoology, giant birds, strange creatures, tagged , , , , on July 19, 2015|

pterosaurMaggie2

A few days ago I received the following report from an Oklahoma family. The father and his 12-year old daughter, Nu, had a daylight sighting of what they thought looked like a pterasaur, and each of them drew a sketch of what they saw. The dad wrote the following description:
 “My daughter and I saw a featherless bird without a tail on Saturday 09/27/2014 between 10 am to 10:15 am. The sighting was about 3-4 seconds. I spotted the creature first and told my daughter “hey what’s that.” She caught 3 seconds or so of it. My daughter knows birds and she can tell you about birds in good detail. She told me that the bluejays were sounding an alarm call at the time.
It was a clear beautiful day. Maybe a few fluffy clouds here and there.There was no flapping and it flew (glided) from SE to NW towards the Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge.  It looked black or dark brown. It had no tail but the feet were behind and I thought you could see toes or knuckles pointing up. If you put both of your hands like open fists straight behind your back – that would be like it.  The feet were in line with the wings from my angle.
I did not get a good look at the head and so I am not sure if it had an appendage or bump on the back but it gave me the impression it had some thing but it was not obvious.  It seemed big – between 6 – 8 ft maybe. It wasn’t a hawk or a vulture. I would say it was 2 1/2 times bigger than a adult vulture.  It was about 60 Feet away. If you look straight ahead and lift up your right arm and raise it above your vision (where you can no longer see it without moving you head)  that would be the angle.
We live near lake Overholser in Oklahoma City. We are located just west of 23rd and Council.”
Nu’s mom, Maggie, added the following:
“My daughter and husband said it was close enough to tell it had no feathers, The most surprising thing was there was no tail!  We have hawks outside and turkey vultures and they come in low sometimes and you can see the 2 tone feature patterns. Even far away the feathers are clear.This thing they said had no tail, no feathers and was structured differently from other flying animals. My daughter says it did not look like a bat as they are here as well.”
I thought they did a very good job with the descriptions, especially with the sketches, and thank them for coming forth with their sighting.

pterosaurMaggie1

This one is a shot I took of the pterosaur reconstruction at Chicago's Field Museum. There are many known varieties of the order Pterosauria, which lived during the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods.

This one is a shot I took of the pterosaur reconstruction at Chicago’s Field Museum. There are many known varieties of the order Pterosauria, which lived during the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods.

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More New Old Reports from Western WI; The Tomah Big Bird and Manwolf VS Car

Posted in cryptozoology, dogman, giant birds, monsters, Native American, strange creatures, travel, werewolves, Wisconsin history, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2015|

copyright Linda S. Godfrey all rights reserved, no use without permission

copyright Linda S. Godfrey all rights reserved, no use without permission

Sure, it has monsters. But the astounding beauty and diversity of the landscape around the west central midsection of Wisconsin is as remarkable as the wide range of unknown creatures that seem to inhabit it. My previous post focused on the hairless creature legend of Hillsboro; the two accounts I’ll highlight here are located slightly west of that area, near Tomah and Westby. Both cases are especially apropos to summer road trip time, since the creatures involved seemed to home in on the witness’s cars!

The “Big Bird of Tomah” was spotted by a now-retired, male medical worker driving south on his way from Black River Falls to Tomah one morning around 1999-2000. He was nearing the north side of Tomah on US Rte. 12 when something large and black swooped across his windshield–it was a black, feathered bird with a body he described as about six feet long, and a wing span he estimated at twelve feet. He said it was close enough that he was able to look it in the eyes as it passed him. He did not recognize the species. Luckily, the bird kept going, and so did the man. He told some co-workers but as usually happens in these cases, was disbelieved.

Just for comparison, that side of the state is also known for the sightings of a giant, stork-like bird near Hayward, the Man-Bat of La Crosse, and a flying Lizard Man seen by a state patrol officer and a group of construction workers near Medford. I also have a report of a man-sized bird seen standing on a bridge near Neillsville, on or near Ho Chunk land.

The “Westby Wolfman” report came to me just a week ago but occurred in 1990-91. The witness wrote:

“I saw a wolf figure that ran and stood on two legs, but it would have been in 1990 or 1991. It was outside of Westby, Wi on County Road P around 4:30 to 5:00 in the morning. I think it was in the spring of the year. I was on my way to work. It ran from the side of the road and charged into the driver’s side door of my car. Thankfully the window was up. I saw his face clearly. I stepped on the gas. It scared me.

“Although the whole thing happened so quickly, it was early in the morning and still dark outside. It had a wolf face. It was on two legs. It did not look like a costume. It was taller than the car I was driving. I would guess it to be maybe 6 ft tall. It had black fur, maybe dark gray. Where it came from on the side of the road, there was a bridge and a trout stream. It did not dent my car. Trust me, I looked. When it charged the car it hit hard.

“Years later I confided to one of my clients about the incident. She told me there was a book I needed to read. It was your book. When I saw the sketches in the book, I realized it was the same as I had seen that morning. I never heard of any other sightings in that area, but perhaps there were and they were too afraid to say anything either. I never reported it because I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”

There have been many other strange creatures spotted around this area of the state—kangaroos, Bigfoot, and lake serpents to name a few. It’s an extremely scenic part of the state to visit even if you only see known animals, which can be just as exciting in their own right. Summer Road Trip Rating: Five Screeches! * * * * *

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Halloween-bloganza; A List of Monster Mentions

Posted in Books, cryptozoology, giant birds, monsters, strange creatures, writing, tagged , , , on October 31, 2014|

BlogTourArt 001

Monsters of every type are spotted all year round, but they never seem to grab the limelight in April or January the way they do at Halloween. October is always my busiest time of year, but perhaps due to the recent release of American Monsters; a History of Monster Lore, Legends and Sightings in America, the past month has been extra crazy. I’ve been posting links to a welcome spate of articles, interviews and guest blogs on other social media, but thought I would gather some here just to marvel at the diversity of  Web venues that are out there these days. I sincerely thank these authors, bloggers, and writers, as well as the libraries and organizations that invited me to speak. Now: on with the tour! —

* Christine Verstraete is a horror author specializing in teenage zombies. My guest post, “My Favorite Monster,” ran on her kickin’ Girl Zombie Authors Blog Oct. 29.

* Paranormal Fantasy author Denise Agnew ran my post in which I ask whether there is such a thing as a hive mind when it comes to dreaming up book titles & other creative works on Oct. 31 at her beautiful blog.

* Parade Magazine chose American Monsters; a History of Monster Lore, Legends and Sightings in America as one of their three “Spooky Reads” picks in their Sunday, Oct. 26 insert.   http://www.timesfreepress.com/parade2/

* CNN.com’s “Why Bigfoot is Getting Nervous” tells 2 stories from American Monsters in their October 31 edition, both stories drawn from new and exclusive witness reports in my book.

* Gamers will appreciate an article explaining how my books about unknown upright canines may be used to show that the “Werewolf Dude” character is not necessarily a fantasy beast after all in the popular SurvivalCraft game

* Ian Gronau’s Oct. 16 CSI Community Shopper article asks five important questions about monsters and my unlikely occupation.

* Radio podcast of Jimmy Church FADE to BLACK  (small fee required for podcast membership) features two hours of really fun conversation on the topic of monsters.

* Magonia, a magazine that explores Fortean phenomena, posted a really great review of American Monsters that made me feel they really understood what I was trying to achieve.

There are others, and if you feel I missed one that should be included, let me know. (WordPress has a great edit feature.)

A few more things are still coming up in November; check the calendar on the About page here for those. In the meantime, Happy Halloween to all my friends and readers, who are the candles in my jack-o-lanterns.

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Does Washington’s Eagle Still Cruise the Mississippi?

Posted in cryptozoology, giant birds, strange creatures, tagged , , , , , , on September 21, 2014|

John James Audubon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Everything’s been coming up “big birds” lately, in terms of sightings reports. A few days ago I received one that, if the reported bird is what I think it is, definitely points to the flesh-and-blood, relict population side of possible explanations. The witness (name withheld for now) happens to have a doctorate in zoology, and enjoyed a prolonged daylight look at it, along with a second witness. Here’s a slightly shortened version of the original report and a follow-up response.

“I am writing to report a sighting I had, of an incredibly large, raptor-type bird back in Oct/Nov of 2006.  I had moved to Memphis, TN in July of that year to begin a new job, and was renting a house with a large, tree-lined backyard.  It was late in the afternoon, around 5:00 pm. I went into the back yard with my dogs, a German Shepherd and a Malamute, played with them for about 15-20 minutes and then sat down on my back steps.  I looked up into a tree in the SW corner of the yard.  The leaves had fallen from the tree, and the view was relatively unobstructed.  The tree was about 30 feet from where I was sitting.  In the tree, sitting on a branch approximately 15 feet off the ground, was an enormous (and I mean enormous), raptor-type bird.  The head and body (minus the tail) of the bird measured approximately 4 – 4 1/2 feet.  The bird was a homogenous, beautiful, deep red-brown, no white was present.  The beak and feet ranged from a grey-tan to black toward the tip of the beak and claws.  The eyes were a brilliant orange.  I’ve never seen a bird like this before, or after for that matter.”

I went inside to get my girlfriend, so she could see the bird too.  It was still in the tree when we came back out.  We discussed the unusual size of the bird, as it watched us watch it.  The bird seemed to be equally interested in us.  I was able to observe the bird for close to 30 minutes.  I guess I was too fascinated to even think of grabbing a camera, which I regret.  My dogs didn’t seem bothered by the presence of the bird.  The dogs did, however, get into a barking match with the neighbor’s dog, causing me to divert my attention for only a few seconds to address that behavior.  Turning back, the bird was gone.  I never heard it take off from the tree and could not locate it in the sky, so I don’t have an estimate of its wing span.  My girlfriend and I spent the evening looking at pictures of raptors that might have fit what we saw, but we didn’t find anything that was a match.  I kept an eye out for the next few days, but never saw the bird again.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see the underside of the wings.  S/he just sat on the branch looking over the neighborhood, and then looking at me.  The bird didn’t seem interested in my dogs at all.  The bird was pretty mesmerizing.  I’m not one of the ‘I’m attached to my cell phone by an umbilical cord’, so I didn’t have it with me to take a picture.  I’m not sure I would have thought of using the phone camera had I had it with me.  At first, it did cross my mind that it might be an immature bald eagle, but there wasn’t even a hint of white on this guy, and s/he was much too BIG.”

Subsequently, I went to Reelfoot Lake in NW TN, with a friend of mine, to see the bald eagles.  The backyard bird dwarfed the eagles I saw at Reelfoot.  I honestly never thought of reporting this sighting.  Partly because I never thought of it as being a possible cryptid or unidentified species, and partly because I would have had no idea where to report it.  I’m reporting it now, because I just started reading your book American Monsters.  I thought of my backyard friend, and felt you might be interested.”

***

When I read this exciting report, especially the part about the all-over, red-brown color, my mind immediately jumped to a supposedly extinct bird known as Washington’s (or the Washington) eagle.   It was documented and illustrated by John James Audubon, whose peers were very doubtful at the time that this was a separate species and not just an immature bald eagle, even though Audubon had an actual carcass that he’d shot, himself. According to Audubon, it measured over 3 1/2 feet in body length with a wingspan of 10 feet, 2 inches.

There is a great article by Scott Maruna on his Biofort blog that discusses this controversy– and the comparative descriptions of the birds — in detail. I forwarded the article link to the witness, who wrote, “The description in the link you shared is d… close. I agree that the color would be accurately described as chestnut, possibly cinnamon.”

But that historical kerfuffle wasn’t the last word on this cinnamon bird. Maruna also posted a blog about a more modern sighting of a possible Washington’s Eagle that occurred in the winter of 2004 near Stillwater, MN, which like Memphis lies along the Mississippi River. Both Stillwater and Memphis are known for their steep bluffs, a type of habitat favored by large birds of prey. Could there still be a small population of this eagle sweeping up and down the Mississippi River bluffs?

I’ve forwarded the witness’s full information and contact info (with permission) to Maruna. Perhaps between the two of us and other interested investigators, some new publicity will bring out other sightings not yet reported, and we can all learn a bit more about this rarest of raptors.

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