Weird Bird in Pennsylvania

Yes, I saw a large bird today. It was in Catasauqua Pennsylvania. I looked up in the sky, as saw this really large looking bird. It looked very much like a miniature pterodactyl. No, I am not claiming that, it could very well have been a vulture, or something.


www.toyarchive.com...

It resembled this, except the beak portion was shorter, and the claws seemed to extend quite a long way behind it.

I didn't see any colors or details to it, it was pretty bright. All I saw was it's body, more or less a silhouette of it. You may ask how large was it? Perhaps the size of a large eagle? I don't want to give an estimate because I could easily be mistaken, and I don't want that to throw off an identification. If someone could offer any ideas as to what it was, I'd be thankful.

Maybe an egret?


or a herron?


Those are the first two that come to mind.

reply to post by beaverg


Those both have a VERY VERY similar shape to what I saw. So, either one could well possibly have been what I saw. The posture of the legs in flight and length in particular stand out as being similar.

The feathers look exceptionally noticable in these pictures, but the similarities are really strong, at least shape wise. Thanks!

What is this? Rational thought? kudos to participants!

Likely a Turkey Vulture. They are commonly misidentified and often appear to be much larger than they are. There are also lots of them in PA forests.

reply to post by jbondo


Thanks for the reply. I thought maybe it was a turkey vulture. But after I got online and checked out some pictures, I think that the wings are far too broad, shoulder to tail. I am still open to it being some sort of vulture, however. At least in shape, I do believe the wings of the previous suggestions are more similar to what I saw.

However, for anyone else reading, for arguments sake, are there birds with a similar shape to an egret that are of a darker coloration? Maybe a type of culture?

The Great Grey Heron isvery large and can be very dark in color. They are migratory and you are in the flyzone on they're way to northern Canada. This very well might be what you saw!

Zindo

As with most giant birds sighting its always tough to judge their size when they are flying. Thats why I don't give to much credit eye witness accounts, but there has been some recent reports of large flying animals in Pennsylavania very recently.

While pumping the gas, he heard a scratching sound which appeared to be coming from the roof of a nearby building. The man observed a dark shadow which he described as a being which stood from 3 to 4 feet tall, in a hunched position. He was able to observe that it had wings, but no feathers. The wings were above the creatures head. The witness felt that the creature was observing him, and from what he could see from the shape, it didn’t appear to be that of a bird.

The witness left the location for a brief time, and when he returned, he heard a whooshing sound and wings flapping, and could see that the creature had flown over to another nearby structure. The man had to be somewhere, and he left the area, still wondering about what he saw. When Rick interviewed the witness, he was certain that this was not a bird, owl, or anything he was familiar with.

Rick Fisher also received another giant flying creature report, which occurred about 8 miles outside of Harrisburg, in a very rural area. This sighting is believed to have taken place during the early morning hours of February 23, 2008. The driver said that he was driving about 35-40 miles per hour, when a huge bird like thing appeared from above the trees, came down and seemed to hover above his vehicle. The witness made Rick aware that he is an active hunter and angler, and had never seen anything like this before. He stated that the thing was huge, but wasn’t sure that he could call it a bird. The shadow of the creature covered his entire truck.

and

Another more recent sighting of a giant winged something, just came to my attention. Jim Brown, an experienced paranormal researcher from Fayette County, provided me with details about this case which he is currently investigating. Jim has a very interesting web site:
www.jimsdestinations.com.

This incident occurred on May 20, 2008, at about 2 P.M. in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
The weather was in the 50s, and partly sunny at the time. The location of the sighting was about two miles north of US Route 40, from the southbound lanes of PA Route 43. The roadway is a four lane divided highway, two north and two south, with a grass median between them. The witness who Jim interviewed, was traveling south on the four lane roadway, about two miles from the Route 40 interchange. The communities of Brownsville and California were off to his left, across from the Monongahela River.

Source form Paranormal news.

I am wondering if greyswordsman encounter was close to these sightings?

More details:

Location: Catasauqua, PA it's a smallish town, next to Allentown, PA. About 60-90 minutes from Philly depending on what route you take.

Weather: Sunny, very bright. That kind of white-sky bright, as opposed to blue sky.

Size Estimation: As I said before, I think it was similar in size to an eagle. It was absolutely massive compared to the gulls flying around.

Shape: Egret shape.

Color: I didn't see any details like that. All I saw was this large looking bird, the only color I saw was black, but I am willing to admit that it is possible that it had a lighter, potentially much lighter color that I couldn't see due to lighting conditions.

Duration of sighting: Nearly a minute. I saw a bunch of gulls scatter, and then a moment or two later I saw this large bird. It was flying overhead. As I walked and turned the corner, I watched it for a bit longer, hoping it would fly closer, but then it went over some trees and out of my sight.

Time of day: 3pm.

Temperature: 90ish, humid.

Comments: The person that was with me said the bird would be a danger for small dogs. She then said even her husky pup which is around 55 pounds now. I immeditaley corrected her saying "It's no where near that big. Do you have any idea how big it would have to be, then?" She retracted her statement, but stood firm that 15 pound dogs could still be in trouble of being taken.

Again, I am not saying this is some 20 foot monster. Nothing of the sort. I am saying that it's probably eagle size. It flew around at varying heights that I won't attempt to guess at, for almost a minute.

That's about all the detail I can give you without making things up. Thanks for the help everyone.

Originally posted by TheGreySwordsman
but stood firm that 15 pound dogs could still be in trouble of being taken.

There is no Eagle that could fly off with a 15lb dog. I think your friend needs to do some research so as not to be spooked every time she sees a large bird.

I'm from Catasauqua -- though I currently live down in Pottstown -- and I've never seen anything like what you have described up there. However, I have seen a large crane-like bird down here in Pottstown, and close-up -- it was eating fish out of my pond. LOL.

And the thing is, I thought we didn't get these things around here...?

reply to post by TheGreySwordsman


i saw an about 10 - 13 foot black bird fly over the car in front of us. my brother and little cousin were in the car with my grndpa. the bird screeched extremely loud and swoped about 10 inches over the car. it was black. were in the woods in pennsylvania. i swear this is true.