Comments on: Lawndale’s Big Birds

By: sheena

sheena — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 04:19:27 +0000

i have seen a thunderbird. can you post a sighting somewhere here?

By: Blank_Face

Blank_Face — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:31:10 +0000

I found an article that contains some sightings around Pennsylvania and other areas. The Wingspan claimed by witnesses was usually 15 feet. You can read the article here.

“@Jayman,

Some people think wingspan means the length of one wing, rather than wingtip to wingtip. So perhaps it was actually a 12-footer?”

If these people are thinking wingspan means the length of one wing…wow..maybe it could carry a child..

By: ahandzus

ahandzus — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 02:35:20 +0000

Im in the Mattoon area about 10 minutes from lake Shelbyville IL. A friend of mine and his brother went down to a secluded pond to fish when they were younger and saw one. They thought at the time it was a Teridactile (prob spelled wrong) but later in life conluded it was a thunderbird and havent braged about it since.

Im a big fisherman / hunter and I know 9 out of 10 guys that see “weird stuff” will not talk about it. Im sure if these things do exist the best way to get close to them is with a conoe or kayak prpbably on a lake or pond. Ive been 10 ft away from golden eagles on the banks of the yellowstone river while in a Kayak and cant get within 100 yards on land. Ill have to do some yaking on shelbyville early in the morning this fall. Ill try to get better footage than that lol…who knows maybe a feather.

Also I think there are some new sighting out there people around here all talk about them at Shlbyville lake its a huge lake with lots of wooded coves. Then you have the Shawnee National Forest thats a quarter million acers a hour or so south.

By: crypto_randz

crypto_randz — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:35:24 +0000

It also could be a stork like creature because their wing spans can be pretty large. I wouldnt mind it being a pterosaurs though would love to see alive one.

By: Ken Gerhard

Ken Gerhard — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:23:56 +0000

In response to Robert, Thanks for the YouTube suggestion, but since I don’t own the rights to the footage, I probably shouldn’t be posting it anywhere. I got it from the recent “Flying Things” Animal X… the season with the really bad Shakespearean actor.

By: Sky King

Sky King — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:26:59 +0000

The still looks very, very much like a bald eagle’s profile. Also, the outline of the bird has a different quality from the outline of the trees - almost as if it were cut and pasted.

I’m not going to cry “hoax”, but that’s pretty close to what I think. Unless that 10-year old boy was a runt, it’d take a truly HUGE bird to carry him along, something roughly the size of a Piper Cub.

By: harleyb

harleyb — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 02:51:12 +0000

I gotta check that video out if I can find it.

By: shumway10973

shumway10973 — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:33:41 +0000

I’ve read some of the accounts and I do believe that thunderbirds are very much alive today. One account said that the bird swooped down right in front of his car and the sound of the wind blowing thru its wings (I believe it’s the wind interacting with the individual feathers) sounds like a jet. No wonder the natives called them thunderbirds.

By: ZenBug

ZenBug — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 23:50:47 +0000

@Jayman,

Some people think wingspan means the length of one wing, rather than wingtip to wingtip. So perhaps it was actually a 12-footer?

By: shovethenos

shovethenos — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:26:29 +0000

Regarding classification the Thunderbird does seem to be some kind of raptor or close relative since it seems to pursue live prey. Although from descriptions the beak seems to be longer than other raptors, maybe it has some physiological adaptations (in addition to being big) or is something different altogether.