The hunt for big birds

Before I start this isn't brought to you by the letters, S,M,C and the number four.

In the final episode in my cyrptid trilogy, i will be not be looking at cyrptids on land or by sea, but this one goes by air. Now many of us know that there are big birds out there; the wandering albatross and the condor for instance however their are many stories of flying creatures of incredible size, including this one.

According to several eyewitness reports, a bird with a wingspan nearly the width of Mendenhall Loop Road has been spotted in the Mendenhall Valley.

The cryptozoological curiosity stems from a post in the popular Facebook page “Juneau Community Collective,” brought to the attention of the Empire by several readers. The Empire couldn’t track down a clear explanation of what the bird was, but we did talk to some bird experts and did a little digging on similar sightings from around Alaska.

“Attn; I was just driving by the movie theater in the Valley and there was a huge black bird flying above the road. The wingspan had to be at-least 20 feet, it was almost as wide as the road. I have lived here all my life and have never seen anything like that, it freaked me out. It was not a raven or an eagle. This isn’t a joke. This thing was HUGE, almost the size of a small airplane. Did anyone else see it?”

The sighting was backed up by several others in a long comment thread on the post. Some were poking fun at the idea of a thunderbird or pterodactyl in the valley, but others weren’t so skeptical.

Now one would admit that a single sighting would be anecdotal, however this was witnessed by several others, leaning to the fact that something was seen, whatever it was. However there was one word in the story that piqued my interest, post. No wait- pterodactyl. Now many of us would accept the fact that pterosaurs are extinct, however this witness might disagree

Cynthia Lee, who has been studying to become a veterinary technician, reported to Whitcomb an apparent pterosaur that she saw on Thursday, January 4, in Raleigh. She was sure that the flying creature had no feathers, but it did have a long tail with a “diamond shaped bulb at the end of the tail.” It also had a head crest.

She also spotted the creature last week following Wednesday’s snow. Lee was taking an Uber ride to work when she saw the same crested creature out the window. The driver did not see it.



Her recent sightings in Raleigh weren’t the first occasions someone in Cynthia’s family had seen an apparent pterosaur. She told Whitcomb about a sighting many years earlier: “My mother and uncle saw one too while they were playing outside of my grandma’s house when they were really little. They told grandma but she didn’t believe it. I thought they were extinct . . .” Since she has seen for herself, however, Cynthia no longer believes that they are all extinct.

Now I always think of misidentification first, but many people reporting the same creature spotted at the same time is worth looking at, as i've mentioned before we are finding 'living fossils' all the time such as the coelacanth and various other species. Now some may bet there is no way a avian can grow so big and manage to fly, however quetzlquatlus might take that bet, as shown in the size comparison.



The thing is bigfoot or nessie can't fly (or can they) but if these creatures are real they have the ability to evade humans, or given their enormous size, bring attention to themselves. I'll leave the verdict up to you, but if you see this big bird, call the authorities as he is wanted for indecent exposure to minors



Cake out.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

There have been many report's and even a few claimed sightings caught on video of giant birds all around the world though the US and south America seem to be the most common locality's of these sighting's.

There are still huge bird's that are alive and well today if in many cased endangered species, there are the great eagles we all know of and the condor and of course many other's but what of bird's that just might still be alive somewhere or at least prove that bird's could indeed become behemoth in size.




Of course many flightless bird's got even bigger - at least in term's of there body weight and there are still a few giant's around today such as the Emu and the Ostrich though they do not even come close to the biggest that have ever bean.

So could a bird species still exist that is much larger - and perhaps also much more intelligent given how smart even small bird's can be?.

Possibly and it actually put's me in mind of a science fiction species from Star Trek the Avian's.
memory-alpha.fandom.com...

Though it would be very difficult for even the smartest bird to hide from humanity indefinitely if it was so large even with that intelligence so very unlikely but possibly window's in time, door's to parallel reality's and cross over event's occurring randomly in a manner something like Fortean time's event's allowing people to sometimes see creatures from other earth's or other time's.


As for Sesame street, well, we had far more dubious material with Bungle and George.

Mountain Monsters apparently hunted one...

a reply to: LABTECH767

I did think of mentioning the terror bird but I chose not to go there, I focused on those who had the ability of flight.

There are reports of them, but no conclusive evidence has been found, reports of megafauna have been popping up but your guess is as good as mine.

Wow, talk about synchronicity....

Yesterday I was out in the desert on a location scout for a western TV series and I looked up in the sky and there was a huge flying something, very high, riding the thermals, no flapping wings. I watched it thru my 10X50 binoculars for about a min. until it took off west. I don't think we have condors in the Rio Grande valley.

Last year while fishing on the San Juan, a yuge bird with a wingspan of at least 10ft flew in front of me heading down stream. There are reports of all kinds of cyrptids in the 4 corners area. Skinwalkers?

For some reason, I get the feel that the veil is lifting between dimensions and evil is walking the land.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

How about this bad boy...

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I've often wondered if the big birds reported were born as a result of a genetic 'throwback'.

We're pretty much conditioned to think of evolution as a forward only thing, but i wonder if in the mix there is a mechanism which can send us - very rarely - de-evolving.

Up shot is, maybe a chicken or and eagle laid a pterodactyl egg.

a reply to: Doxanoxa

An interesting thought.

You know since the end of the age of dinosaurs supposedly sixty five million years ago there have supposedly been many mammal species that have supposedly evolved, died out then evolved all over again such as large predator's as there were many big cat and wolf like species found in what is believed to be strata dating back that far that are both nearly identical but also very different and so regarded as unrelated species.

The same with some mega fauna such rhino's that appear now on earth but there are gap's in the geological record that seem to show they are young and before that earlier almost identical animal's existed but went extinct then re-evolved all over again.

A good parallel of something similar in a species that is still hanging on - or rather one niche remnant of a once larger array of bear like creatures that are in fact marsupials but once occupied the same niche as the black, brown and maybe even arctic white bears do today is the Great Panda, it still look's like a bear but broke away from it's carnivorous/omnivorous relatives supposedly million's of years ago specializing in eating bamboo, it still has the size and shape of a bear but is not actually a bear any longer, in fact even when it's ancestors lived almost exactly like modern bears they were in fact NOT bears at all.

But I have an even more mysterious tale that has sat at the back of my mind and well this was a story of a different kind, back in the 1800's especially toward the turn of the century there were no shortage of British explorers wandering to far off India, Tibet and Nepal often inspired by there age of spiritualism, one of these explorer's was in the company of an elderly Lama when the old man stopped near to a rock fall which had recently happened, despite his usual look of calmness the old monk's face then took on a look of anger or angry concern and taking his staff he struck with all his might a large boulder that had been displaced by the rock fall, it split open only to reveal a winged creature inside it that moved weakly, it had leathery wing's something like a giant bat and a long horny crest on the back of it's head while instead of a beak it had a long snout with small sharp teeth in it sounding very much like a pterodactyl, it died almost immediately having been released from it's rocky prison and the Lama began a prayer over it chanting, to the explorers surprise as if this creature was not enough from the creature a strange rainbow colored mist rose and then seemed to shoot up into the sky before the lama finished his prayer presumably releasing a soul that had been trapped for quite some time and kept form it's natural cycle according to there belief (now I am a Christian so do not believe this story AND these adventurous soul's were on occasion known to imbibe substances that are best not named BUT?).

It may seem unrelated and is probably a tool used for a romantic tale rather than fact but it does make you wonder just a tiny bit what if it was real.

Either way there have been some pretty strange sighting's of real giant birds and even video of them has surfaced over the years.

Wow!! I have never told anyone this publicly but I swear I have seen an enormous flying creature that I believe resembled a pterosaur with my own two eyes. It was about 10 years ago, middle of the night in a secluded, rural area so very dark. Couldn't make out many details but I specifically remember thinking to myself that it looked prehistoric and at that time I had done little to no research into cryptozoology and knew nothing about the Thunderbird or any other flying cryptic. I have no photos or anything of substance to add other than my word, but I felt compelled to share my experience.

originally posted by: LABTECH767
Either way there have been some pretty strange sighting's of real giant birds and even video of them has surfaced over the years.

First time I saw an American Eagle grab one of our goats and fly off like it was unencumbered: 😯

Used to dive. Saw schools of sharks (in the middle of nowhere) cruising. Biggest fish (30 footers) I've ever seen ... every one of them. No scientific documentation of anything like it. Always wondered what was on their menu way out there.

I'd say climate has a lot to do with 'relative' size. The farther North ya go ... the bigger the mammals get ... so it seems. Have no observations specific to birds. No reptiles up there to speak of.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

I've heard before about these giant birds, being seen mostly in the American continent, there was even a thread here on ATS about such sighting of this bird, not too long ago.

It's possible that these big cryptid birds are the offspring of the fandors, the giant birds of the ancient times. These were passenger birds that ancient humans used to use for their long journeys, until they (the birds) became extinct.

Also the legends, that the movies that depict humans flying on the back of these big birds, were based upon, could have been based on real stories. Below are some quotes regarding these big flying birds (fandors), from a book that deals with the earth history.

52:1.5 (590.1) [...] But early in this era mortals learn to kindle and maintain fire, and with the increase of inventive imagination and the improvement in tools, evolving man soon vanquishes the larger and more unwieldy animals. The early races also make extensive use of the larger flying animals. These enormous birds are able to carry one or two average-sized men for a nonstop flight of over five hundred miles. On some planets these birds are of great service since they possess a high order of intelligence, often being able to speak many words of the languages of the realm. These birds are most intelligent, very obedient, and unbelievably affectionate. Such passenger birds have been long extinct on Urantia, but your early ancestors enjoyed their services.

66:5.6 (746.4) It was in these days that carrier pigeons were first used, being taken on long journeys for the purpose of sending messages or calls for help. Bon’s group were successful in training the great fandors as passenger birds, but they became extinct more than thirty thousand years ago.

74:3.4 (831.1) The third day was devoted to an inspection of the Garden. From the large passenger birds — the fandors — Adam and Eve looked down upon the vast stretches of the Garden while being carried through the air over this, the most beautiful spot on earth. This day of inspection ended with an enormous banquet in honor of all who had labored to create this garden of Edenic beauty and grandeur. And again, late into the night of their third day, the Son and his mate walked in the Garden and talked about the immensity of their problems.

What surprises me, it's that the science hasn't studied/spoken about these birds, as if they are a forbidden subject.

a reply to: miri2019

Urantia was a book that only appeared in the US sometime after or during the 1920's, it is widely regarded as the musings of an imaginative person.
en.wikipedia.org...


But long before this probably MODERN fraud OR New Age Belief there was of course the legend of Pegasus and if we go even further back there are story's about flying chariot's that may allude more to a lost age of technology than a species of Roc type birds that could be ridden.

While it is unlikely that any species of bird would ALLOW a human to ride on there back OR could be tamed and trained to do so it is a fact that some bird species as recently as just about five to seven hundred years ago COULD carry a human being though in there talon's as lunch, those bird's were of course the Haasts eagle, a species of very large eagle that was native to New Zealand and favored two legged flightless giant birds such as the Moa as it's prey, when the Maori first got there regardless of whether they were the first humans or Not -
(and I believe - and there own legend's claim - NOT - there were other people there already whom they either wiped out or conquered and there are several sites which are under a government cover up there as Maori Land right's, government treatise with the Maori leadership etc would or could be put into serious legal dispute if it is proven the Maori are not the first human's in new Zealand and indeed that descendants of earlier peoples may still be alive there to this day wrongly classified as Maori - partially because this would give them huge power in the courts and effectively strip the Maori of most of there legal claim's in those same court's)
- the Maori then had there own unpleasant encounter with these huge predators to which the Maori were just another two legged meal, this led to the Maori waging a war against these bird's and wiping them out along with many other animal's such as the great Moa or elephant bird that the Maori found all too easy to catch and eat, the Moa was like a giant vegetarian flightless Emo or Ostrich but much more heavy set.

So I personally find it far more likely that previous civilizations that had mastered artificial flight existed than the claim's of some imaginative spiritualist and possible imbiber of unknown substances in 1920's Chicago would like to have claimed in his or her fictitious work.

But you are not along in believing that book though as I say I would choose not to.

Also what about ancient airport's, bird's would have no use for them.
earth-chronicles.com...
There are similar sites in Turkey also built over by a modern air port development that completely reused the old site for it's modern runway and was also not built by Europeans, Germans or the Turk's since it is swampy ground, in India and there are claims' of other's in Asia and elsewhere.
So while it would be cool it is also less likely than the possibility that somewhere in a lost epoch of humanity's REAL history there may have been a previous technological civilization.

Be careful of Urantia it does not offer answers, not every light in the marsh is leading you to safe ground.

a reply to: LABTECH767

But long before this probably MODERN fraud OR New Age Belief there was of course the legend of Pegasus and if we go even further back there are story's about flying chariot's that may allude more to a lost age of technology than a species of Roc type birds that could be ridden.

Fair enough, it's likely that an advanced ancient tech existed long time ago that for some reason got lost. Never the less those legends speak specifically of people riding real big birds on their backs, not some "metal birds". Legends have some basis on reality for their existence. This bird riding could seem strange at first, but no stranger than the riding of horses, camels, donkeys, all the time and these animals don't seem to object. It's just that we're not used to the fact of bird riding. Sounds strange I know...

Be careful of Urantia it does not offer answers, not every light in the marsh is leading you to safe ground.

While you have your opinion on Urantia Book, I have mine and I consider it (the book) at the same level or more informational than the Bible. In any case, I'd prefer not to turn this discussion into the legitimacy and the value of UB. Let's agree to disagree.

a reply to: miri2019

Anything is possible in the absence of proof against so it is possible, just not what I personally believe but my belief should in no way deter you from your own quest for knowledge and you could be onto something.
Just because someone else say's there is not anything there does not mean they are correct.

And we will agree to disagree on that book, I once got taken in by the Vimanika Shastra a book that was supposedly channeled by an Indian Yogi sometime in either the very late 1800's or the early 1900's whom received the information in a state of trance from ancient sources, many still believe this to be a lie and that the book is actually far older but other's have convinced me to take it with a shovel full of salt and it was only translated into english in the 1950's or 60's - that said I still think that it could have drawn on very real source material and may contain some nuggets of truth.
www.holybooks.com...
But there are also other sources.



www.facebook.com...
Not a CIA file but a book that has been around since at least the 1960's but still worthy of thought.









And for those people that were REALLY there in NZ before the Maori arrived, and lived with huge eagles big enough to pray upon human's, site's like this are ruled off limits by the NZ government and often placed under Maori tribal authority which also stop's archaeologists from researching them.

a reply to: LABTECH767

I dislike the so-called "debunkers" opinion, their initial perspective is that of trashing the subject, not approaching it with an open mind and they have a "take it all or leave it" attitude. So I prefer to draw my own conclusions and I always give something new, the benefit of the doubt, and there's many nuggets of truth in that book as some untruths as well. But I'm not the kind of person to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Thanks for the videos!

When I was a young kid about 7-8 years old, I was hunting fossils in a creek bed in Indiana. I saw the largest bird I ever saw swoop by, never flapped its wings, just glided by at a very high speed and fairly low to the ground as it swooped under an overpass bridge. I was young, but to this day, I cannot explain the size of bird that I remember seeing. Much larger than a blue crane or vulture, something that I remember to this day, it was so large, I was stunned. I was very into dinosaurs and fossils and at the time (hence I was fossil hunting in the creek), it appeared to me to be pterodactyl like. I know it sounds ridicules, but that's what I remember thinking at the time.

The area was close to Marott Park, Williams Creek that fed into the White River on the North side of Indianapolis, IN.

This is an areal view of the overpass bridge.
files.abovetopsecret.com...