MamaBirdie
New member
I am not an expert but also not ignorant about native wild birds. (I was a bird watcher in high school and do rescue/rehab of doves, pigeons, and occasional other species. And I am a native Texan, spending 33 of my 35 years in Corpus Christi and central Texas.
From 12/2007 to 10/2012 we lived on native Texas brushland, operating an off-grid natural & humane poultry & dairy goat farm in Bastrop County (east of Austin). On that farm, all 3 of us residing there (myself, my husband, and our daughter [6-11 years old] encountered an unidentified flying animal/bird on multiple occasions. I had one encounter (my husband & daughter had zero) during the following 2 years after we moved to a different, more cleared property still in the same area, about 15 miles from our origional farm.
Who: All members of our household, both adults & a child, had numerous encounters. All of the encounters were pretty much the same.
When: Always in the dead of night, with no or poor moonlight, usually as I did a round of the fenceline or checked on the poultry & goats before finally going to bed. Probably between 11pm & 2am.
Frequency: Several encounters a year among the three of us.
Where: Central Texas, SE Bastrop County (an hour's drive southeast of Austin). 20 acres (not big--approx 1,000 ft x 1,000 ft) of native Texas brushland, unimproved. We were also surrounded by larger unimproved properties where cattle grazed & folks hunted. Lots of mesquite & hackberry trees, some oak, native grasses, lots of greenbriar & prickly pear. We experienced HIGH predator pressure, mostly from coyotes but also lynx, bobcat, feral cats, foxes, skunks, opossums, and raptors until we brought on a FANTASTIC team of livestock guardian dogs. The dogs kept predators at bay (including hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls--all raptor) and the wild doves & songbird populations really took off. Even the owls learned where our fenceline was--we'd hear them at night but never on our side so they either stayed off or learned to be silent to not alert the dogs.
The encounters with the mystery bird took place in various locations, from the back corner of the fenceline to right around our little wanna-be cabin & the sheds where our animals slept.
We never saw the bird. It would be on the ground (rarely a wooden fence post) and We didn't hear or see any hint that it was there until we were within about 10 feet or so. Then we would hear a sudden whirring of wings as the bird took flight. Strangely, we never saw a sillouette against the starry sky and clicking on the flashlight was no help either. With so many encounters, there was not a single visible clue as to what this bird was. So we dubbed it our "pet invisible pterosaur" and we're quite fond of our unknown visitor. The bird never seemed to harm anything--even though it would sometimes be loitering around our cabin and animal sheds. The dogs seemed unaware of it's presence or, more likely, did not consider it a threat. (I suspect the later because, given the whirring noise it made on take-off, it wasn't exactly a silent flyer like an owl.)
There were never any vocalizations when we approached the bird & it took off. The only noise was a whirring noise of the wings as it took off & flew away.
Even though we could hear it flying so knew what direction it was in, no quick turn of the flashlight showed anything. I've heard nighthawks eyes will shine back but we never saw eyes reflect any light. Based on the wing sound (not slapping, but whirring), our impression is that it is a large species, at least the size of a very large raptor. Though we obviously can't confirm that.
I'm sure there is a logical explaination (though must admit that considering it the family's "invisible pet pterosaur" has been fun). I've been wondering what that bird could have been ever since our first encounter but have found nothing online that fits. This mystery has been bothering me for years!
What could it be? What large, nocturnal, central Texas bird spends time on the ground between 11pm & 2am, doesn't fly until a person is so close, makes a whirring wing noise, doesn't make any vocalizations (that I know of)? And why could we never catch any glimpse of it? Could it be small but just sound ginormous? (it sounded HUGE & powerful--hence us calling it our pet pterasaur). Other than owls (which hang out in the trees, are more vocal, & are silent flyers), what could it be? We had bats but they are small, make sonar chirping sound, can't take off from the ground, and have quiet wings. So it's gotta be a bird of some sort. Only feathers, as far as I know, could make the whirring sound. And if it were Pegasus there would have been hoof-prints *;-)
o
From 12/2007 to 10/2012 we lived on native Texas brushland, operating an off-grid natural & humane poultry & dairy goat farm in Bastrop County (east of Austin). On that farm, all 3 of us residing there (myself, my husband, and our daughter [6-11 years old] encountered an unidentified flying animal/bird on multiple occasions. I had one encounter (my husband & daughter had zero) during the following 2 years after we moved to a different, more cleared property still in the same area, about 15 miles from our origional farm.
Who: All members of our household, both adults & a child, had numerous encounters. All of the encounters were pretty much the same.
When: Always in the dead of night, with no or poor moonlight, usually as I did a round of the fenceline or checked on the poultry & goats before finally going to bed. Probably between 11pm & 2am.
Frequency: Several encounters a year among the three of us.
Where: Central Texas, SE Bastrop County (an hour's drive southeast of Austin). 20 acres (not big--approx 1,000 ft x 1,000 ft) of native Texas brushland, unimproved. We were also surrounded by larger unimproved properties where cattle grazed & folks hunted. Lots of mesquite & hackberry trees, some oak, native grasses, lots of greenbriar & prickly pear. We experienced HIGH predator pressure, mostly from coyotes but also lynx, bobcat, feral cats, foxes, skunks, opossums, and raptors until we brought on a FANTASTIC team of livestock guardian dogs. The dogs kept predators at bay (including hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls--all raptor) and the wild doves & songbird populations really took off. Even the owls learned where our fenceline was--we'd hear them at night but never on our side so they either stayed off or learned to be silent to not alert the dogs.
The encounters with the mystery bird took place in various locations, from the back corner of the fenceline to right around our little wanna-be cabin & the sheds where our animals slept.
We never saw the bird. It would be on the ground (rarely a wooden fence post) and We didn't hear or see any hint that it was there until we were within about 10 feet or so. Then we would hear a sudden whirring of wings as the bird took flight. Strangely, we never saw a sillouette against the starry sky and clicking on the flashlight was no help either. With so many encounters, there was not a single visible clue as to what this bird was. So we dubbed it our "pet invisible pterosaur" and we're quite fond of our unknown visitor. The bird never seemed to harm anything--even though it would sometimes be loitering around our cabin and animal sheds. The dogs seemed unaware of it's presence or, more likely, did not consider it a threat. (I suspect the later because, given the whirring noise it made on take-off, it wasn't exactly a silent flyer like an owl.)
There were never any vocalizations when we approached the bird & it took off. The only noise was a whirring noise of the wings as it took off & flew away.
Even though we could hear it flying so knew what direction it was in, no quick turn of the flashlight showed anything. I've heard nighthawks eyes will shine back but we never saw eyes reflect any light. Based on the wing sound (not slapping, but whirring), our impression is that it is a large species, at least the size of a very large raptor. Though we obviously can't confirm that.
I'm sure there is a logical explaination (though must admit that considering it the family's "invisible pet pterosaur" has been fun). I've been wondering what that bird could have been ever since our first encounter but have found nothing online that fits. This mystery has been bothering me for years!
What could it be? What large, nocturnal, central Texas bird spends time on the ground between 11pm & 2am, doesn't fly until a person is so close, makes a whirring wing noise, doesn't make any vocalizations (that I know of)? And why could we never catch any glimpse of it? Could it be small but just sound ginormous? (it sounded HUGE & powerful--hence us calling it our pet pterasaur). Other than owls (which hang out in the trees, are more vocal, & are silent flyers), what could it be? We had bats but they are small, make sonar chirping sound, can't take off from the ground, and have quiet wings. So it's gotta be a bird of some sort. Only feathers, as far as I know, could make the whirring sound. And if it were Pegasus there would have been hoof-prints *;-)
o
