Thunderbird the bird

[RKDinOKC]

Was watching one of those show where they are hunting for evidence of Bigfoot. Remember when I saw a huge bird fly by that lore would describe as a Thunderbird.
Don't know what the wingspan was, but from nose to tail it was as long as a car.

Has anyone on Pelican seen a really huge bird like that, ever?

[DanielDudley]

The only really big birds in NA would be the California Condor. Eagles and Turkey Vultures are all we have here, and while they are big, they are not Huge.

[RKDinOKC]

Nobody has ever believed me.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

Was watching one of those show where they are hunting for evidence of Bigfoot. Remember when I saw a huge bird fly by that lore would describe as a Thunderbird.
Don't know what the wingspan was, but from nose to tail it was as long as a car.

Has anyone on Pelican seen a really huge bird like that, ever?

I once saw the oldest, largest, and ugliest turkey vulture ever witnessed by a human being in non-prehistoric times (my opinion).

I looked up the size of what one of these is supposed to get to, this one was about 50% larger.

Every now and then a report gets published of a certain species of fish 50% to 200% larger than previously recorded so I guess it would be possible for birds.

Seriously this turkey vulture in Michigan was about the size of a California Condor according to information I researched. The experts at U of M told me I was wrong, they were very sure of themselves.

Old thread on it from back in 2009.
ID this large bird

Along this same stretch of road are some very large raven/crow, much larger than anywhere else I've seen. There might be some experimental super food crops being grown by the university, but that's just a guess. If mice eat the special grain and scavengers eat the mice, anything is possible - right?

I also saw via my headlights in Milford MI, a large dog sized animal (all black) walking in a very cat-like manner. It was going into a mobile home park, perhaps seeking digestible pets - easy prey. Rumors of a black panther in Michigan abound, but I hesitate claiming to be one of the witnesses. I just didn't get that good of a look.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

Nobody has ever believed me.

The thing is that excitement can distort perception.

When I look at the photos I took of a disgustingly vulgar looking old turkey vulture sitting atop a barn, the scale does not relate to memory.

This was back in 2009 and I still remember the look in this birds eye as it looked at me with disdain, it freaking had a consciousness or at least my mind attributed one to it. It did take off when I got too close, so it at least it knew I was there.

Here is an example of scale from memory being inaccurate.

Go back and visit one of your old grade schools, they always seem smaller now than as you remembered as a child.

The human mind is not a scientific instrument, but then again there are new discoveries in science every day, even in the natural sciences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(cryptozoology)

Some cryptozoologists have theorized the ancient Thunderbird myth to be based on sightings of a real animal with a mistaken assessment of its apparent size. Cryptozoologists also posit that the Thunderbird was associated with storms because they followed the drafts to stay in flight, not unlike the way a modern eagle rides mountain up currents. John A. Keel claimed to have mapped several Thunderbird sightings and found that they corresponded chronologically and geographically with storms moving across the United States.

Recent sightings in Pennsylvania in article below, and I thought the T-bird was a SW USA thing.

http://paranormal.about.com/od/thunderbirds/fl/The-Giant-Thunderbird-Returns.htm

Centuries-Old Legend

The legend of the Thunderbird reaches back hundreds of years as part of the mythology of several Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region. And the legend might have remained strictly a part of those cultures had not the great winged creature been seen countless times by the "white man" over the centuries.

[GH85Carrera]

There was a resident of our neighborhood convinced she had seen a black panther near sunset just west of our house. She was adamant it was a full size black mountain lion or panther. A few day later I saw it in full sun. It was indeed a large black house cat but I have seen larger house cats. She was convinced it was a huge deadly cat.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

There was a resident of our neighborhood convinced she had seen a black panther near sunset just west of our house. She was adamant it was a full size black mountain lion or panther. A few day later I saw it in full sun. It was indeed a large black house cat but I have seen larger house cats. She was convinced it was a huge deadly cat.

One of my oddest travel stories comes from Czech Republic, early 1990's.

I went for a early morning walk, walked for hours. Walked from small village to small town in upper Czech near the Polish border.

1. A cluster of trees (deciduous)/small woods with closely space trees. They were about three inches in diameter/caliper, but over 100 foot tall. Sort of like a bamboo forest.

2. I saw a large hare stand up on it's hind legs and look at me from about 80 feet away. It's ears were almost 1/3 of it's height and it stood up about five foot tall - HUGE.

3. The deer I saw was smaller than the rabbit/hare. Very spindly looking just like the trees, not a fawn, looked fully grown but it's back was only about 26-inches high. Beautiful markings (spots/stripes), look like an art project by the forest goddess.

Strange planet this place called Earth.

[rusnak]

I think the Polish men dress up like rabbits in a fur suit. It's their way of attracting a Czech female. You're lucky that you didn't look like a day of fun, apparently.

[HardDrive]

I've seen some wild things. Mostly after eating mushrooms.

[Crowbob]

The experts at UoM are always quite sure of themselves, kach. Especially when they're wrong.

BTW, I think that bird on the barn in your other thread is an Arctic Raven. A 60' wingspan, though outside typical, is not unusual. My immediate impulse when I looked at your pics was 'Crow', of course.

[GH85Carrera]

One thing for sure, Thunderbird the wine is bad stuff.

I worked with an old black man back at my first job. He drank Thunderbird after payday and whenever he had any money. When he was almost out of money he drank what he called green lizard. It was the stuff barbers used on customers that asked for a shave. It was mostly alcohol with a stinky scent. It was super cheap since it had no booze taxes. He said it tasted terrible but it got him drunk.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

The experts at UoM are always quite sure of themselves, kach. Especially when they're wrong.

BTW, I think that bird on the barn in your other thread is an Arctic Raven. A 60' wingspan, though outside typical, is not unusual. My immediate impulse when I looked at your pics was 'Crow', of course.

Is the Common Raven same as the Arctic Raven?

Similar Species
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Raven/id

Common Ravens are considerably larger than American and Northwestern crows, although this difference can be hard to judge on its own if you don't look at size and shape. Look for the Common Raven's heftier bill, shaggy throat feathers, more slender, pointed wings, and longer, wedge-shaped tail.

Well, that answers the giant crow mystery. Yes, they had 4-5 foot wingspans - scary at first as you drive towards them right on the side of the road - close.

The other bird on the barn roof was older than time, something ugly in the vulture family.

I've seen 100's of turkey vultures over the years, and up close too. This thing was like the grand daddy of them all, in it's own class.

Perhaps it got a hold of some growth steroids in some farmer's feed back when it unregulated and the young bird was in it's growth period. This could be a man-made freak never to be duplicated in the Northern Hemisphere.

I can see this bird pushing cows aside to eat their feed. I can also imagine it clearing out an entire chicken coop for a hearty meal.

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

One thing for sure, Thunderbird the wine is bad stuff.

https://youtu.be/iS45gE5Mlf8

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

https://youtu.be/iS45gE5Mlf8

From the era when doctors recommended cigarettes as good for your throat.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by kach22i

One of my oddest travel stories comes from Czech Republic, early 1990's.

I went for a early morning walk, walked for hours. Walked from small village to small town in upper Czech near the Polish border.

1. A cluster of trees (deciduous)/small woods with closely space trees. They were about three inches in diameter/caliper, but over 100 foot tall. Sort of like a bamboo forest.

2. I saw a large hare stand up on it's hind legs and look at me from about 80 feet away. It's ears were almost 1/3 of it's height and it stood up about five foot tall - HUGE.

3. The deer I saw was smaller than the rabbit/hare. Very spindly looking just like the trees, not a fawn, looked fully grown but it's back was only about 26-inches high. Beautiful markings (spots/stripes), look like an art project by the forest goddess.

Strange planet this place called Earth.

Flemish giant?

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

Flemish giant?

No, plus that a domestic creation.

More like this:

European hare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hare

It is among the largest hare species..........

It stood up and totally amazed me, thought I was hallucinating.

I don't see in that link where they list the maximum size, but this was a healthy one.

EDIT.....found this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hare

This hare is one of the largest of the lagomorphs. Its head and body length can range from 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) with a tail length of 7.2 to 11 cm (2.8 to 4.3 in). The body mass is typically between 3 and 5 kg (6.6 and 11.0 lb).[20] The hare's elongated ears range from 9.4 to 11.0 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) from the notch to tip. It also has long hind feet that have a length of between 14 and 16 cm (5.5 and 6.3 in).[21] The skull has nasal bones that are short, but broad and heavy. The supraorbital ridge has well-developed anterior and posterior lobes and the lacrimal bone projects prominently from the anterior wall of the orbit.[20]

[sc_rufctr]

One time I saw a rat as big as a medium sized dog. It was in a jungle in North Queensland, Australia.

[RKDinOKC]

I was 3 1/2 when I saw the big bird.
We had a dairy 2 blocks from our house.
When i saw it I wasn't frighted, I just thought that was a big bird.
It looked like an eagle but was a dark grey.
Right after it went by I ran inside to tell my mom about it.
It was flying about 10-15 feet above the utility lines at the other end of the block.
It was farther from the lines to the ground than from the lines to the bird.
Flew directly over a parked car on the cross street. Our street did not go thru.
Was almost as long nose to tail as that parked car it flew over.
Went by fairly slow making one slow downward stroke of flapping its wings all the way across the end of the block headed towards the dairy.
Never looked anywhere but straight ahead.
Could not see legs or feet.

You might be like everyone else and dismiss it because I was only 3 1/2.
I have flashes of memory from as far back as being just over 1 years old.
Can describe the train layout my brother and his friend next door put in the next door neighbors attic.
They took me up to let me watch. It was the toy train with 3 rails.
Had to stay in the one place they put me to watch.
Can also describe my brother's go cart they built from wood and used the lawn mower engine to power.
You steered by pulling on a rope on each side. I was sat in it and grabbed the ropes. Got mad when they wouldn't make it go for me.
We moved from that rent house when I was 2 years old.
Told me the memories are very accurate when I describe them to those that were there.
When I saw the bird my Mom was inside with in my brother's bed room painting my brother's desk.
The desk was on newspapers in the middle of the room.
He was getting a new bed so there was nothing in the room but the desk and she had already re-painted the walls.
I have that desk as my home office desk today.

The across the street neighbor, a Marine recruiter tried to make it look like his son had shot and killed the big bird. They showed me some fresh dug dirt with a trash can lid and a brick on it. They told me the lid and brick was so it couldn't get out. Asked them to dig it up and show it to me. They said they couldn't or it would get away. Told them the grave wasn't big enough. The lid and brick were silly if it was really dead. And a BB gun was not big enough to kill it.

It was a couple of weeks before I started playing outside by myself again.

[Crowbob]

I remember hiding under the basement staircase when a gorilla came down the steps and lifted up the ratty old couch with one hand looking for me.

To this very day I don't go under no couches.

[kach22i]

https://bayphotosbydonna.com/2013/07/23/osprey-eagle-interaction/

To get an idea on the size comparison of the Osprey to the Eagle, here’s a chart alongside a male human. (Sorry for the different language, I had this chart in English but couldn’t locate it.) Their size in comparison to us humans is really amazing!

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

Was watching one of those show where they are hunting for evidence of Bigfoot. Remember when I saw a huge bird fly by that lore would describe as a Thunderbird.
Don't know what the wingspan was, but from nose to tail it was as long as a car.

Has anyone on Pelican seen a really huge bird like that, ever?

The problems I have with the description provided:

1. No build up story, such stories are useful for the author as a recall mechanism in flushing out details. Something you saw on TV may have been the trigger, but no memory of where, when and why as support or context. (EDIT: see next post, gets resolved)

2. Birds in flight are recorded/remembered by wingspan. When on a branch or roof a bird is most often measured/compared by torso dimensions or over all height head to tail. (EDIT: see next post, was seen as side view in flight)

For example the first time I saw a bald eagle was in Washington DC zoo at age 10, it was in captivity, a large netted area, it was sitting on a tree branch motionless. It looked like a stump of wood until it moved, then the size of it clicked in, almost as tall as me, and wider (I was a skinny kid). When it eventually spread it's wings to stretch I recalled thinking it would fill up the small bedroom I slept in at home (9-feet wide).