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Thunderbird Sighting 5.17.13 in Derry Township, PA?

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Same here Ufology, these things fascinate me.

I did a little more research on large bird sightings in general and to my surprise there have been reports of pterosaur like birds sighted all over the US. I'm surprised someone didn't call me out on it. The percentage seems to be higher out west though, at least on the pterosaur sightings. Notice I said "seems" ;) . That word has covered my backside on more than one occasion.

The very title of the article is misleading if it isn't in fact a " Thunderbird". The term itself might be misused, kind of an adopted term for any large flying bird.

I found this on pterosaurs also called ropens and sighted in Papua New Guinea Ropens

Maybe some ties to ufo sightings because some of these things(ropens/pterosaurs) apparently have a glow at night. Since the Ropen is nocturnal from most accounts maybe it uses this glow in its belly or chest to attract food at night. Just a guess. Might also be a tie to some mothman sightings.

I have a difficult time believing that they breed and regularly fly in the lower 49 under almost everyone's radar. I don't find it as difficult to believe that maybe one or two occasionally blow in from somewhere else, possibly the result of a storm that caused the displacement. I find it easier to believe that a place like Alaska might harbor large birds. The US still has remote areas that are largely unexplored but these things fly and as a result are many times more likely to be sighted.
 
"May 17, 2013-Afternoon
Loyalhanna, Derry Township, Westmoreland, County, PA
On May 17, 2013, the witness decided to do some fishing at Loyalhanna Lake in Derry Township. It was between 4 and 5 PM that afternoon that the man had packed up and was riding his motorcycle down the country road heading toward New Derry. He estimates that he was moving down the road at a speed of about 40 mph.
He was about 3-4 miles from the lake when his attention was drawn to a huge bird that crossed his path from left to right about 50 feet ahead of him. The huge flying creature was only about 8-10 feet above the road. The man, who was only able to observe it for several seconds, described it as very dark brown or black in color. The neck was short, and he didn’t get a good look at its head, but the body itself was very large and he noticed a huge tail.
What did catch his eye were the wings, and he stated to me, “the wingspan was gigantic.” He saw the bird flap its monstrous wings twice as it moved steadily toward a thickly wooded area to his right. The witness, who only saw the huge bird from a side view, estimated that the wingspan was about twenty feet or more in length.
The witness could not hear any sound due to the noise of his motorcycle engine. The witness is quite familiar with the common large birds of Pennsylvania. He said that he has never seen anything like this and is quite amazed at what he saw. The man reached the location where the bird had flown into the heavily wooded area in a matter of seconds, but he could not see the large flying creature at that point."


The words Bird and Flying creature, are both used in the same sentance, however the word Bird is used 2x more in the report.
I am of the opinion that most people would describe a "giant bird" as a bird, and a "pterosaur" as a flying creature, the fact that both terms are used is confusing.
The reason I thought it might be a "lost Condor" was because the witness described: a huge dark brown or black "bird" with a massive wingspan. Upon reflection I think that without a more detailed and definate description we are left with very little to go on.
 
OK I might as well take this in another direction. Maybe there is a connection here.

Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I guess this had something to do with catching one bird instead of seeing two.

One thing is for sure...ok almost for sure. It must have had to do with a bird. Places here have some very strange names. They didn't call the place " Large Bird-In-Hand" so maybe there is no connection.
 
starise said:
OK I might as well take this in another direction. Maybe there is a connection here.

Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I guess this had something to do with catching one bird instead of seeing two.

One thing is for sure...ok almost for sure. It must have had to do with a bird. Places here have some very strange names. They didn't call the place " Large Bird-In-Hand" so maybe there is no connection.
Click to expand...

The legend of the naming of Bird-in-Hand concerns the time when the Old Philadelphia Pike was surveyed between Lancaster and Philadelphia. According to legend two road surveyors discussed whether they should stay at their present location or go on to the town of Lancaster. One of them supposedly said, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," which means it is preferable to have a small but certain advantage than the mere potential of a greater one; and so they stayed. By 1734, road surveyors were making McNabb’s hotel their headquarters rather than returning to Lancaster every day. The sign in front of the inn is known to have once "portrayed a man with a bird in his hand and a bush nearby, in which two birds were perched," and was known as the Bird-in-Hand Inn. Variations of this sign appear throughout the town today.[4]
 
Thanks Harry! I had more vague notion of the meaning. Now I know. I could literally be there in less than 15 minutes and never knew exactly why they called it that. It is a nice quaint place to visit.
 
I'm sorry Han. I got your name wrong. My apologies.

Tom- Wow man. I had better give the sky a good look before I throw any more hamburgers on the grill.
 
I live the next town over and I heard about it on the local oldies station. I also heard several locals discussing the siting the next morning at a local gas station. I have not spoken to the witness; however I did ask Stan Gordon about it at the Kecksburg UFO Festival. We don't have anything larger than a turkey or a blue herring in this area. We do have many acres of dense forest here that could be hiding just about anything.
 
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