strange bird

[bullet maker]

Once when I was a little boy of about 8 years old, I was with two of my cousins, and we had been jumping out of a hay loft, onto a pile of loose hay. We had been playing for hours in the old barn, when mom had rung the cow bell for us to come to the house for lunch. As we were leaving the old barn, I noticed a hugh bird about 100 yard away, flying out of an old cotton wood tree. I hollered at my cousins to look. The huge bird looked like a Teradaxle. I noticed that its wing span, was almost as wide as the tall cotton wood tree it had been sitting in. It was not condor, or turkey vulture, or hawk or anyknow bird we had ever seen before in our young lives. Lucky for us, it was flying in the opposite direction, that we were going. It scared us so bad, that we ran trembling to the house, and told mom, which she didnt believe us of course. Never saw the bird again, but occasionaly have read of people, to have claimed to have seen such bird or birds, in different regions of North America.

bullet maker

[Loader 3009]

That's interesting, Bullet Maker.  Not interesting that there was a giant bird-like critter, but interesting that you saw it.  I am beginning to see a pattern here.

Tell me this, have you ever had any close up encounters with owls?  Or any dreams of owls?  Especially large owls.  I am not asking this to be funny.

How about any "missing time" or periods of time you can't account for?  Maybe dozed off in your deer stand and woke up about dark?

Any strange dreams?

I ask these questions because I think you may have a rare ability to see things that others may not.  I'm not poking fun at you: I am just trying to better understand.

How about any of you other guys?

[bullet maker]

Hi Loader 3009
   
    No, never had any lapse of time, except when my wife ask me to take out the trash :-D  :-D , now if you ask her, I have a lapse in time, all the time :-D . But , my cousins saw the hugh teradaxle also, so I knew it just wasnt me.
   Out here in th boondocks where I live, there are a million owls, both the screech owl, and them big barn owls, but nothing unusuall about them.
    I did once see a part of my guardian angel one time however, which was a good thing cause he kept me from drowning. I think I will post a new thread about it, cause there might be other people with similar experiences

bullet maker

[quickdtoo]

More than likely it was a great blue heron, they nest in cottonwoods but in immense rookeries with lots of other herons, so it would not be uncommon for one to be in a cottonwood. They do have a similar appearance to a pteradactyl and they are large. Most people associate them with water only, but they roost in trees and use trees for tree stand hunting and ambush. :-)


 http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5960/bheron.html

[myronman3]

put me down as a skeptic.  that being said....
    i saw a discovery channel show once about strange animal sighitngs.  on topic they covered was giant birds.   one story had some migrant workers in a area they were picking and they lived out of a shack on the property while they were there.   anyhow,  the kids were out and saw a giant bird in the field.  they hauled @$$ back to pops, who came out saw it, retrieved his 30-30 and reportedly shot it (or at it) and it flew away.  another story was about the indians in a region that were convinced that a mountain nearby was inhabited by giant birds that would take people.  they called them thunderbirds.  also many indian tribes use this symbol all over the nation.   it has been speculated that they would cruise with storms and use the powerful gusts to support their flight.   there was another story of one trying to take a kid (now a grown man) and his mom came out and grabbed him as it was starting to lift off with him.  mom said it had enough power to lift her off slightly but she said she fought and it released the boy.  what sticks out in my head about this was that the lady was an old woman and the boy was now full grown and both swore that it had happened and they did seem uncomfortable talking about it.    
   all in all i wouldnt say it is impossible.

[Loader 3009]

There have been reports of eagles carrying off lambs, babies, etc.  All have proven to be false.  Tests show that an eagle can lift only three or four pounds and carry it for any distance.  Urban rumors. old wive's tales, folk tales, campfire tales, etc.  Usually told to kids to keep them in line. i.e. "If you don't stop that, you'll go blind."

[bullet maker]

That's interesting, Bullet Maker.  Not interesting that there was a giant bird-like critter, but interesting that you saw it.  I am beginning to see a pattern here.

Tell me this, have you ever had any close up encounters with owls?  Or any dreams of owls?  Especially large owls.  I am not asking this to be funny.

How about any "missing time" or periods of time you can't account for?  Maybe dozed off in your deer stand and woke up about dark?

Any strange dreams?

I ask these questions because I think you may have a rare ability to see things that others may not.  I'm not poking fun at you: I am just trying to better understand.

How about any of you other guys?

Hi Loader 3009

   I posted the story of the (Guardian Angel) on the Inspirational messages and thoughts, on this board. Go to it and read it. It will explain what I meant when I said that I saw part of my guardian angel. Also give you some better insight about me.

bullet maker

[urrlord]

actually eagles can lift quite a bit.i saw video footage of a norweigian gold eagle picking up and flying off with a bear cub.the cub was bawling quite pitifully and all mama could do was stand there and watch.

[leverman45/70]

saw a picture on discovery channel some time back about a civil war unit having there picture taken with a Teradactile they had killed --  people / hunters go in the woods every year and never come out or any sign is ever found. you never know what happened to them,were they hunted? taken by surprise?  or what there last minutes were like? if they do survived they might not say anything due to being not believed. Bigfoot in my opinion do not hunt the hunter but seem to scare them off or let them know they are not alone in a certain area, if they come to close to there family/ with young, not all things in the woods are hunter friendly.

[Brock Samson]

Leverman,  I was fascinated by your description of this picture, and found commentary on it (but not the picture) at:http://forum.bodybuilding.com/archive/index.php?t-692704.html.  Here's the commentary: 

The civil war picture is interesting. I had never seen it before, and being a civil war buff who has watched numerous documentaries, read books and even taken college classes on the civil war, you would think that this picture would be found in some major historical book. But it isn't. This picture would be an amazing find if it were true. But it is a fake. I found an article about it from the Skepitcal Inquirer, but you have to pay to download it. I went ahead and paid for the article, since this stuff interests me. If anyone else wants to pay for the article, you can find it here (http://goliath.ecnext.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2750&item_id=0199-1671676&words=Pterodactyl_Civil_War). But here is the part of the article about the civil war pterodactyl.


In the spring of 2000 a new Web site (www.freakylinks.com) appeared and published a sensational photograph, here reproduced, showing a group of what appeared to be Union soldiers before the carcass of a massive pterodactyl! The editor of the site, Derek Barnes, claimed that the photo was found in July of 1998 "squeezed between the pages of a 70's cheesy paranormal book bought at a thrift store." The photograph, sepia tinted, scratched, bent, and torn on the edges, appeared to be very impressive and, apparently, its authenticity was verified by various experts. One historian had identified the men's uniforms as "typical of Union Volunteers around 1861-1862." Another expert, an "M. Nance Darbrow, professor of paleontology from the University of Florida," asserted that no one at that time could have known about pterodactyls, as the first fossils were not discovered in North America until 1871. "This photograph," commented Barnes in his Web pages, "is either going to be the biggest paranormal news scoop of the ce ntury or it's going to make me the biggest fool on the planet. Or perhaps both."

Was, then, the holy grail of cryptozoology located at last? Alright, it did not have the cowboys standing before the bird but civil war soldiers instead. Was it perhaps a different pterodactyl? Fortean Times ran a very skeptical article about this photo in its May 2000 issue, concluding with these words: "We believe he's a hoaxer but a clever and well-informed one as the site is full of excellent fortean jokes--e.g., the rather disgusting photo of a toilet bowl thoughtfully snapped after some unfortunate had just vomited frogs."

Further doubts soon emerged after the magazine's article was published. Various readers wrote to pinpoint several details in the photo that led to the conclusion that the photo was a fake. First of all, the men pictured were obviously reenactors, "given the undue proportion of over-age and overweight members in their ranks--the average Civil War soldier was a scrawny youth of nineteen." Such groups of re-enactors are quite common in the States and, among them "there is a much higher proportion of older and fatter members than in the original armies." The clean and neat uniforms "also mark them out as re-enactors rather than the real thing." Their poses, also, are "too naturalistic for an 1860s photograph"; if you've ever looked at photos from that period "you can see there are a dozen subtle differences in the way they stood, the way they held their heads, the looks on their faces, and what they did with their arms and hands while they were being photographed."

Finally, all doubts were confirmed when it was discovered that the site was connected to the creators of The Blair Witch Project. FreakyLinks was in fact the title of an upcoming TV series, and the site was designed to promote interest in it. The show star was actor Ethan Embry and his character was named "Derek Barnes, Editor of an Internet Web site that investigates the paranormal." As expected, the experts quoted in the site were imaginary, just as the pterodactyl that was only a stage prop courtesy of Fox.

The cryptozoologists' hope of having finally found real proof of a living pterodactyl in the modern era, then, returned to the world of dreams. But if somewhere an unknown magazine or book truly contains an old picture of a mysterious bird, it will hopefully be found some day.

I'm not trying to laugh at you or anyone who believes this, since I once did too. It just makes me mad that sites and books exist like this that use evidence that has been proven to be fake or outright hoaxes to get their views expressed as fact. I really wish a live dinosaur would be found. It would be an awesome find that would radically shake up zoology. But so far the only evidence for dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles living with humans are uncomfirmed stories, photos of things that may or may not be real creatures, and hoaxes and mistakes. Hopefully someday a real live dinosaur will be found, it would be neat to have one as a pet.



Too bad; I was excited, and wanted to see that photo! 

Just because there's no picture doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  Humans existed for a long, long time, before the first picture was taken of them! 

[UMD]

Don't have much to say about the taradactyl, but I can attest to the fact that a mature bald eagle has no trouble flying with a big, late-season mallard in it's talons.  Happened twice to me this fall - both on the same day.  Body shots allowed the ducks to fly away, 300 yards out on the river they drop stone dead.  Eagle swoops in and grabs them.  This happened in Duluth, MN on the St Louis River, mid-November.  Much of the backwaters were frozen - lots of eagles following the freeze line down - hunting out of a ground blind, also had our boat blow away as the wind came up - had to call a friend to rescue us.  That's the way the 2007 season ended for me.  Big whup.

[jamesrus]

LOADER 3009

there is an eagle in western russia and northern china known as the steppe eagle which has been seen killing newborn deer and carrying them away. I have seen this bird on the discovery channel and it is huge.

JAMESRUS

[Travis Morgan]

There have been reports of eagles carrying off lambs, babies, etc.  All have proven to be false.

B.S. It happens, and has been happening for hundreds of years. Idiots on computers don't see it happen because they're typically indoors kinda people, but ranchers and sheepherders who are outdoors around animals, have seen it countless times.  Just because you haven't seen it on the internet, don't mean it's not true. Look it up on Youtube. I know of at least three videos of it there.

[Blackhawker]

I am in full agreement with Tim.  The bird you saw was more than likely a Great Blue Heron. 

I worked with raptors for many years and I cannot tell you how many adults would tell me stories of hawks or owls that they saw in their backyard or wherever and they swore it was "this big".  ("This big" being about three and a half feet tall and two feet wide while perched)...and that was their description of a red tailed hawk.  Obviously, where we encounter something new that is scary or awe inspiring, our minds see it differently than it really appears.  (Think of the first roller coaster you may have rode as a kid....I bet you swear it was 350 ft tall and went 200 mph!)  Bulletmaker, being that you were only 8 years old, I'm certain that you were seeing things in an exaggerated form.  Let's face it, a great blue heron has a larger wingspan than most 8 year old's are tall.  Add to it that the heron flies with slow, dramatic wing beats and you've got a look of an authentic prehistoric bird/reptile.

I vote for great blue heron as described by an 8-yr-old's memory.

[scootrd]

I am in full agreement with Tim.  The bird you saw was more than likely a Great Blue Heron. 

I worked with raptors for many years and I cannot tell you how many adults would tell me stories of hawks or owls that they saw in their backyard or wherever and they swore it was "this big".  ("This big" being about three and a half feet tall and two feet wide while perched)...and that was their description of a red tailed hawk.  Obviously, where we encounter something new that is scary or awe inspiring, our minds see it differently than it really appears.  (Think of the first roller coaster you may have rode as a kid....I bet you swear it was 350 ft tall and went 200 mph!)  Bulletmaker, being that you were only 8 years old, I'm certain that you were seeing things in an exaggerated form.  Let's face it, a great blue heron has a larger wingspan than most 8 year old's are tall.  Add to it that the heron flies with slow, dramatic wing beats and you've got a look of an authentic prehistoric bird/reptile.

I vote for great blue heron as described by an 8-yr-old's memory.

X3  - Great Blue Heron..
Here is one I snapped last year while out in the Canoe in Vermont.
Did it look like this?




Here is his rare(much smaller) little cousin  - The green Heron . was able to snap pic of him on same trip.



Is it just me or  ----- When you were a kid didn't new sneakers make you feel like you could run faster!!!!

[Hodr]

Hello to Loader 3009
3 items
I have seen mathmatical and engeering studies proving that bumbelbees are inherently incapable of flight,  it is fortunate for bumbelbees they have never seen these studies.

I have seen a golden eagle drop a salmon hit by a ski boat.  The bird had it in the air and I don't know why he dropped it but it weighed over 7lbs on dad's fish scale.  Guess eagles can't read either.

My background, all sides of my family came from Peculiar, Mo.  This was founded on ground set aside by Carrie Nation (the Prohibition Carrre) for a Spiritualist Community.  Original settlers were people that had been run out of other places for seeing things that weren't there.  The family learned a long time ago that talking about such experiences was a great way to be locked into an institution for life.  I have histories and tales, many verified, that will not be released until after I am dead, or supposed to be.

blindhari

[quickdtoo]

Loader 3009 hasn't been here in over 4yrs.

Tim

[Graybeard]

And Bullet Maker was banned years ago for misconduct.

[Hodr]

My apology for not reading all detail in prior posts, I will read time chops more carefully in the future.  My statements still stand on thier own weight however.
I find it curious that I seem to have unknowingly stepped into a one way time machine into the past with my last post.  If I went to prison for twenty years, stayed in solitary for twenty years, would I be stepping out of a one way time machine and looking into the future?
Maybe it should be a new forum, how to react to the past as if it were happening right now, how to ignore right now and stand in awe when we look at the future.
Graybeard, HG Wells had nothing on you, he dreamed a time machine, you have created one and I appear to be sitting in it.
Totally discomboobilated for the first time in years, I think I need a cup of coffee.

blindhari

[Graybeard]

Folks dredge up old threads like this one from time to time. Some times all parties are still here and active and at other times many of them have moved on for one reason or another. BM just didn't know how to behave in mixed company. He got grossly out of line and began making comments (very nasty comments I might add) about my wife and other family members whom he had never even met, seen or spoken with.

He is anything but a nice guy and clearly NOT the sort we want here at GBO. He has been banned from most sites he has posted at I think.

It is kinda interesting some times tho to have such old threads brought back up and a fresh look taken at them.

[1911crazy]

There was a story about them on the history channel and one was killed in the late 1800's i believe.  Another story was about a young lad who was picked up by one in the midwest and his mother fought it off and it dropped the kid.

I believe there is a new story about them on some iland or in south america somewhere.  It was on the history channel too.  These were said to light up the area infront of them at night.  They think they may have something like the lightening bugs that makes light.

This is no joke another thing i read about is they travel on the front edge of the jet streams were the wind is at its highest force.  It seems they glide more than fly.

Bulletmaker maybe on something here of interest.   There's lots of info to back up his story.

We need to listen and we just may understand whats going on sooner or later.

[Blackhawker]

Wow, I didn't even look at the date of the original post.  How did this come up?  I probably wouldn't have replied if I had noticed that most of the thread was from 2004. 

Weird!

Greybeard, how large of a backlog is there?  How do you manage this whole thing?  I always wonder how owners/moderators etc manage to look at all the posts for a day and somehow manage to read and reply to a lot of them.  That's gotta be a full-time and over-time job here.  I can't imagine how many posts are made on this site a day.
Well, thanks to you and the moderators.  There's a lot of good info passed here.  ....lots of bull too but we have to take the good with doses of bad sometimes. 

Blackhawker

[Graybeard]

If ya ever wanna know such things as how many posts are made per day (it varies day to day) that data is readily available to you by scrolling down near the bottom of the Forums Index. Just click on the link titled MORE STATS. I just did and the URL seems to be: http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?action=stats

As of right now with the month winding down to an end there have been 2059804 page views so far. We've added 873 new members not counting another thousand or so spammers myself and Tim have deleted. A total of 2026 new threads have been started and 16,792 posts have been made so far.

There are lots of other interesting stats available at that link.

I'm not sure what you mean by "back log". 

I use the "what's new since last visit" option. It gives me a list of all new posts since I was last here. I scan them and read only those that interest me or which look like I might need to take some action on them. What each Moderator does is up to them.

[Mikey]

Ah yes, the Great Blue Heron, the bane of my fish pond.  I started my pond about 15 years ago in preparation for the Y2K societal failures with a eye (didn't say which one) to having a readily available food source.  Herons, unfortunately, must have thought the same and they do not stop shopping at the pond for dinner.  My hope is that I am here when they stop by and then I can dissuade them. 

I have learned they are federally protected and it is illegal to kill them.  It is not illegal to chase them off. Here in nys the EnCon folk were concerned the DDT they used along the shore lines of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers might soften their egg shells and deplete the population.  No such luck.  They multipled like crazy.  You can find them at the same parks where you find Ducks and Geese and in those places they have no fear of humans and take food thrown on the water for the Ducks and Geese; away from the parks however, they are just wild birds but they are protected.

And yes, they look and sound like Pteridoctyls (sp?).  They have a very pre-historic looks to them and they make a 'gronking' sound that sounds pre-historic.  But, they know enough to take the hint when you send a slug their way.  Nothing like the 'whiz-pop' of a bullet streakin' past your beak and the 'slap-smack' of that slug in the water a few feet from your noggin to get them moving on and guys lemme tellya, they 'gronk' like mad when they take off after that and sound really whizzed. 

I purchased some Fathead Minnows from a fish hatchery downstate, fairly near the Hudson River and the hatchery owner told me he had to cover his fish tanks with netting to keep them out of his tanks.  He said that he came out to his hatchery one morning to find the Herons (aboput half a dozen) perching on the edge of his tanks or walking around in them starting to have a fine meal of Koi, Goldfish, Grass Carp and Bass.  Fortunately his losses were not too great but he started protecting his tanks after that.  And he felt there was nothing friendly about those birds - they were aggressive and territorial and not at all afraid of him until he picked up a stick - then they got afraid.........

However, anecdotes aside, whenever you see them flying (most likely cruising) overhead, their profile and wingspan make them look quite pre-historic.  When their shadow passes by you as they fly overhead it always makes you look up.....jmtcw.

[Blackhawker]

Ah yes, the Great Blue Heron, the bane of my fish pond.  I started my pond about 15 years ago in preparation for the Y2K societal failures with a eye (didn't say which one) to having a readily available food source.  Herons, unfortunately, must have thought the same and they do not stop shopping at the pond for dinner.  My hope is that I am here when they stop by and then I can dissuade them. 

I have learned they are federally protected and it is illegal to kill them.  It is not illegal to chase them off. Here in nys the EnCon folk were concerned the DDT they used along the shore lines of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers might soften their egg shells and deplete the population.  No such luck.  They multipled like crazy.  You can find them at the same parks where you find Ducks and Geese and in those places they have no fear of humans and take food thrown on the water for the Ducks and Geese; away from the parks however, they are just wild birds but they are protected.

And yes, they look and sound like Pteridoctyls (sp?).  They have a very pre-historic looks to them and they make a 'gronking' sound that sounds pre-historic.  But, they know enough to take the hint when you send a slug their way.  Nothing like the 'whiz-pop' of a bullet streakin' past your beak and the 'slap-smack' of that slug in the water a few feet from your noggin to get them moving on and guys lemme tellya, they 'gronk' like mad when they take off after that and sound really whizzed. 

I purchased some Fathead Minnows from a fish hatchery downstate, fairly near the Hudson River and the hatchery owner told me he had to cover his fish tanks with netting to keep them out of his tanks.  He said that he came out to his hatchery one morning to find the Herons (aboput half a dozen) perching on the edge of his tanks or walking around in them starting to have a fine meal of Koi, Goldfish, Grass Carp and Bass.  Fortunately his losses were not too great but he started protecting his tanks after that.  And he felt there was nothing friendly about those birds - they were aggressive and territorial and not at all afraid of him until he picked up a stick - then they got afraid.........

However, anecdotes aside, whenever you see them flying (most likely cruising) overhead, their profile and wingspan make them look quite pre-historic.  When their shadow passes by you as they fly overhead it always makes you look up.....jmtcw.

You might want to be wary of shooting into the water with lead bullets.  It is illegal to hunt waterfowl with lead shot these days because the ducks and geese can ingest the lead pellets.  I would imagine that a small bullet would do the same.  Although it's highly unlikely that a bird would actually find one bullet as opposed to a whole spray of shot, I'm sure that if a game warden saw you shooting at a heron he or she would probably come have a talk with you.

A friend of mine has a little pond in the back of his house that he has stocked with Koi and he too had a problem of herons eating his fish.  Believe it or not, he managed to stop the problem by placing a heron decoy in the pond.  Of course, anyone who has worked with decoys knows that decoys only work if you keep moving them around from day to day.  So, he has to get out there and move the heron decoy around periodically.

[myronman3]

being protected doesnt make them bulletproof.   just ask the wolves.  lmao

[tornado]

I am in full agreement with Tim.  The bird you saw was more than likely a Great Blue Heron. 

I worked with raptors for many years and I cannot tell you how many adults would tell me stories of hawks or owls that they saw in their backyard or wherever and they swore it was "this big".  ("This big" being about three and a half feet tall and two feet wide while perched)...and that was their description of a red tailed hawk.  Obviously, where we encounter something new that is scary or awe inspiring, our minds see it differently than it really appears.  (Think of the first roller coaster you may have rode as a kid....I bet you swear it was 350 ft tall and went 200 mph!)  Bulletmaker, being that you were only 8 years old, I'm certain that you were seeing things in an exaggerated form.  Let's face it, a great blue heron has a larger wingspan than most 8 year old's are tall.  Add to it that the heron flies with slow, dramatic wing beats and you've got a look of an authentic prehistoric bird/reptile.

I vote for great blue heron as described by an 8-yr-old's memory.

Nope it was a hugh flying terda however you spell that long name. LOOL The hugh bird, was almost the full with of the mid poiint of the cotton wood tree.

[Mikey]

Decoys?  Nope Blackhawker, they don't work for me.  The Herons just come in, take a look at it and start fishin'.  Sometimes they go over to it and peck but that's all.  I had a Bald Eagle attack it once - the Eagle came in from behind on a death dive and probably would have broken the decoy in half if the post it stands on had not flexed.  Whizzed off the Eagle as he had to drag himself out of the pond but then he flew up and bammed the thing again but when he saw there was no reaction he decided to leave.  Beautiful bird the Eagle.

And thanks for the advice.  Mikey.

[Travis Morgan]

Dang, people! LEARN TO SPELL! If you actually think you're gonna convince people that you saw one, LEARN to spell! It goes a long way towards credibility. Well, maybe not if you're actually stupid enough to believe your own lies.

    Anyways, here's how ya spell it: pter⋅o⋅dac⋅tyl

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pterodactyl

For future reference, when you know  you're not even getting any of the letters right, click here: www.dictionary.com

    I know, I'm a jerk. But if this post offends you, you're an idiot. My condition is a choice.

[tornado]

Dang, people! LEARN TO SPELL! If you actually think you're gonna convince people that you saw one, LEARN to spell! It goes a long way towards credibility. Well, maybe not if you're actually stupid enough to believe your own lies.

    Anyways, here's how ya spell it: pter⋅o⋅dac⋅tyl

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Pterodactyl

For future reference, when you know  you're not even getting any of the letters right, click here: www.dictionary.com

    I know, I'm a jerk. But if this post offends you, you're an idiot. My condition is a choice.

OK, thanks Travis, but I wasnt trying to convince anyone, I just told my story, it was an interesting story, when I told the story 4 years ago, (we didnt have alot of critical people trying to correct our spelling back then).  You didnt offend me, I`ll still make mistakes, and if you dont believe me, because of my spelling, then just enjoy the story for what it is.