my mom's huge bird encounter

This is a story from my mother who is 64 years old (and has been blind for the past 2 years). She has never been one to lie or make up stories, least not to her children. And unfortunately as this event is more than 30 years old she can’t remember all the details. I asked her today about the story and tried to include as many important details as possible. This is the first time anyone has documented her story. Here is her story as best as she can remember it, told to me.

This story takes place in what she thinks was the year 1983, somewhere in Colorado, she says either in the towns of La Mar, La junta, Wallsenberg or Holli. She was driving from Ulysses, Kansas up to her hometown of Monti Vista, Colorado and was passing along those towns. Along those towns it was pretty desolate and sparse, not much but open areas on both sides of the road, few vegetation, she said there were no mountains. She was driving a Ford F150 which was either a model year 80 or 81, in it was my 1-2 year old brother and my 10- 11 year old sister (both of them were asleep and did not witness the event). My mom doesn’t remember the time of year only that it wasn’t winter since there was no snow on the ground. She thinks it might have been in the summer, maybe July and she was going to her hometown for the 4th of July, she says all she remembers is she was going back to her hometown for a holiday. The actual time of day she doesn’t remember either only that it was night time. She remembers it being very well lit, so it was either a full moon or close to a full moon. The F150 was equipped with spot lights atop the roof of the car. She said it was pretty common to have trucks equipped with those spot lights since it snows heavily and if you crashed off an embankment the hope was that those lights could be seen and possibly save your life. As she was driving she had all the headlights on even those spot lights, and as she was driving she noticed a shadow pass across the road some distance ahead of her, like when you can see the shadow of an airplane. She thought that was odd since it was night and things don’t usually cast a shadow at night. Then she said she saw this shadow land some distance ahead. When she finally came up to this shadow she realized it was a giant bird.

She stopped in front of it but the bid approached the truck until it was no more than a foot away, and was standing in the center of the pickup. It was so tall that she had to hunch forward and look up out a top the windshield to see its head. Its body width was about my size, I have a 34” waist and am proportionate throughout my body, but the bird had huge “shoulders” where its wings extended out of its torso about a foot in either direction and that when it extended its wings they went past the full width of the F150. She can’t recall the exact color of the body, she says it was mostly black but other feathers were colored, red, white, blue, some green, some yellow. She says the head was bald, very vulture like and about the size of a basketball its neck was about 4” long and around my size neck so 14”. Doesn’t recall the beak color but it was pointed and curved like an eagle. She can’t recall the eye color, thinks they might have been black or brown but says they were huge, about 1.5 times the size of a human, and they were almond shape, on the side of its head, a little behind the beak. She never saw the feet.

She said after the shock of seeing such a sight she tried to go forward to scare it away but the bird jumped/flew back a little and was still in her way. She says the bird looked pissed off at that point. So she tried to back up and the bird followed her, she went forward again and the bird just kept getting in her way. She was now terrified and stopped and grabbed her rosary and began praying to god to get this bird out of there. When she opened her eyes after some time she says the bird was still there. She again closed her eyes and prayed again, after she opened her eyes this time it was gone and my mom says she high tailed it out of there. Never caring to stop to get physical evidence, or even see where that thing went. Later she told everyone what happened and if they had any similar experience and they all said no. I asked why she didn’t run it over and she said that after the initial shock she just froze and wasn’t thinking about trying to kill it, only get away from it.

Questions are welcomed and I will be happy to ask my mom them, to this day she wonders what she saw and has wondered if anyone has seen something similar, when she had her sight she said it kind of looked like a thunder bird but that its head was completely bald and it had color in its feathers

I have read of similar encounters of giant birds, one which took place in the Texas panhandle. Fascinating. I enjoyed reading your post. I devoured every word! I love stuff like this. I don't know what book of mine I read the Texas bird story in, and will probably spend way too much time today up in the attic looking for it, so thanks for that...

a reply to: jgarc028

Sounds like the elusive "Thunderbird" there are stories of. Out in Colorado there would be plenty of places for a creature like that to hide- vast expanses of mountainous and desert land. Very cool story - had a bald head and some diff. colored feathers. So intriguing, at least we know it isn't a Zapdos

a reply to: jgarc028

Anyone who hasn't been up close to a raptor is always amazed how big they are. Wing spans on eagles are up 7.5 feet across, they stand three feet tall.

The biggest North American bird is the California Condor, wing span of three meters tip to tip.

Thats over nine feet for you rebel muthas.

Not saying your mums encounter was anything else without considering this first.

Maybeee… she encountered a captive bred released bird that thought the truck was associated with its human captive release project manager and approached, focusing on the truck, looking for food or whatnot.

Otherwise it was mothra, maybe.

I would've said it was a sandhill crane, since they migrate through that area, but they don't get anywhere near that size. They're large, some over 4 foot tall with wingspans near 8 feet.

The area she was in is part of the San Luis Valley, a reputed "high-strangeness" hotspot.

a reply to: jgarc028
There is much information of a supposed humanoid Avian species. Perhaps this is what your Mom witnessed.

My mom always believed she seen a pterodactyl when she was a kid sometime in the late 60's or early 70's. I can't remember any of the details. But she swore when she was a kid her and her sister seen a giant bird big enough to block out the sun as it flew overhead that looked more like a reptile than a bird. Sadly that's all I can remember about the story other than that she was adamant it was like nothing she'd ever seen before or after. I can't even remember if this would have been in BC or Montreal but it would have been one of the two. Probably BC.

a reply to: intrptr

A California Condor

Birds are pretty smart. Maybe it caused a car crash before and got a free meal picking away at the bones.

originally posted by: PhoenixOD
a reply to: intrptr

A California Condor

I don't think their range extends this far north. Though a stray condor would explain a sighting like that. We do have eagles and Great Blue Herons though. None of those are big enough to cover the sun though.

a reply to: dug88

None of those are big enough to cover the sun though.

I thought it happened at night?

originally posted by: PhoenixOD
a reply to: dug88

None of those are big enough to cover the sun though.

I thought it happened at night?

Lol what?? Idk i was sharing a different story to the OP. Maybe read the correct post?

sorry double post

Interesting story. Fictional bird or not, I wouldn't like to run into one of these.

a reply to: dug88

lol my mistake

a reply to: LostThePlot

This is the real bad boy on the block when it comes to dangerous birds. Its the most dangerous in the world.

Your mom isn't of Mexican decent is she?

I've heard a story 3 different times from 3 different old Mexican ladies that all sounded like that. Like a devil bird.

originally posted by: PhoenixOD
a reply to: LostThePlot

This is the real bad boy on the block when it comes to dangerous birds. Its the most dangerous in the world.

Not likely. You've clearly never met my girlfriend.

Sounds close to the argentavis. Which is a prehistoric condor that some claim to be the "Thunderbird". The black feathers, as she had noted, could have been blue. Not sure about the rest of the colorful plumage unless it they appeared that way but really resembled close to the colors in the image of the brown feathers, and the head.

No really story relevant, but the turkey vulture, and the California condor aren't classified as "birds of prey" any more since they do not have grasping talons. They were re-classified into the stork family.

That shoebill probably wouldn't be all that interested in you unless you were (a) dead, or (b) a lizard/frog...