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Expedition X - Season 11 - Episode 08: Thunderbird
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00:01Oh, did you hear that?
00:08What the hell's that?
00:10On this episode of Expedition X...
00:13Here we go!
00:17Heather and Phil take to the air...
00:21...investigating frightening reports of a legendary avian monster known as the Thunderbird.
00:27There's hardly anything on the face of this earth that scares me.
00:32But that did.
00:34He had his eye on you.
00:35Yes, I'm prey.
00:37The team will scale great heights...
00:40I got you.
00:42...uncovering remarkable evidence...
00:44This isn't huge.
00:45What?
00:46...as they hunt for the terror of the skies.
00:50You see anything?
01:06So you guys know I'm all about the creatures.
01:08We know, Phil.
01:09Yeah.
01:10Try being stuck in a car with him for eight hours.
01:12Let me tell you about Spain's lesser spotted fire lizard.
01:15Heather, how many times did I tell you on that drive?
01:17It is a fire salamander, not a lizard.
01:19Oh, boy.
01:20She never listens.
01:21Oh, boy.
01:22But I got something that you definitely are going to want to listen to now.
01:25Because I came across some very interesting new audio evidence...
01:30Okay.
01:30...that some people are linking to an ancient Native American myth.
01:34Thanks.
01:35So this is recorded on this woman's porch cam.
01:37And you're going to hear some normal bird songs.
01:40But what you want to pay attention to is this strange low-pitched sound...
01:44...combined with this descending whistle at the end of the clip.
01:47You're also going to hear the homeowner react...
01:49...because she's never heard anything like this before.
01:53Okay.
01:56So that's a cardinal.
01:58But that...
01:59Hmm.
02:00That low sound.
02:01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
02:02Look at her.
02:02She's looking around, trying to figure out what it is.
02:09Dude, that's like not kids messing around.
02:12What is that?
02:14That's like working the dogs around.
02:16And then...
02:18Whoa.
02:21What is that?
02:22I got to say, I've never heard a bird call like this before.
02:25Now, this particular recording was captured in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania.
02:31And in this region, over the last few years, there's been a spate of sightings of a very large, unidentified
02:38bird of prey...
02:39...that's led many people in the region to suspect, including this woman, that it could be a thunderbird.
02:44You mean the giant bird from Native American folklore?
02:47That's the one.
02:49It supposedly has a 30-foot wingspan, resembles a giant eagle, and can command the storms.
02:56It is a potent mythical being.
02:58I am very familiar with this story.
02:59I actually went looking for the thunderbird many years ago in Alaska, because there had been a whole raft of
03:06sightings there as well.
03:07And I've always associated this creature with that region, in the Pacific Northwest in general.
03:13But this clip and these other encounters you mentioned are coming out of a different region entirely.
03:18And so it seems that the thunderbird may be kicking up a storm over the skies of Pennsylvania.
03:26For thousands of years, generations of Native Americans have shared stories of a massive winged creature known as the thunderbird.
03:34The specifics vary, but some of its supernatural aspects are universal.
03:40It's said to create thunder with the flapping of its wings and casts lightning from its eyes.
03:48Some indigenous people see the powerful thunderbird as a protective spirit that can divert a storm or heal sickness.
03:56Others say the creature is an omen of war and danger.
04:01But for some, the thunderbird is much more than a myth.
04:05It's a real-life monster.
04:10In 1890, an article in Arizona's Tombstone Epitaph describes two ranchers shooting and killing a mysterious bird in the Sonoran
04:19Desert.
04:19The beast is described as having a wingspan of 160 feet.
04:26Illinois, July 25th, 1977.
04:30Ten-year-old Marlon Lowe is playing with friends when something casts a giant shadow over his backyard.
04:38Within seconds, a massive bird snatches Marlon in its talons, carrying the boy 35 feet through the air.
04:46As it attempts to fly off, the boy's mother, Ruth, wages a tug of war with the beast until it
04:52relents and lets him go.
04:54In 2021, a Pennsylvania woman reports spotting a bird of unimaginable size perched atop the chimney of an office building.
05:03As she tries to photograph the colossal creature, it swoops down at her, talons extended.
05:09She barely makes it into the building to escape.
05:12When authorities attempt to verify the woman's claims, they discover several bricks have been torn from the chimney.
05:20Now, a recent surge in sightings points to a hotspot of supposed thunderbird activity in the Allegheny Mountains along Pennsylvania's
05:29Chestnut Ridge.
05:31Locals describe aggressive birds with wingspans up to ten times the size of a bald eagle.
05:39Ranchers in the area have reported livestock disappearing without a trace.
05:44And most shocking of all, last month, a trucker claims his rig was almost lifted off the ground by one
05:51of these monster birds.
05:53But what's really going on here?
05:55Has the legendary thunderbird truly taken flight in western Pennsylvania?
06:04Just to be clear, I am not saying there is a giant monster bird out there firing lightning bolts from
06:11its eyes.
06:11That's what I heard you say.
06:12But there definitely could be a large avian predator that has yet to be documented.
06:19I mean, just a couple of years ago, there was a stellar sea eagle found in Texas.
06:24This is a massive bird, seven to eight foot wingspan that is normally found in northeastern Asia, 6,000 miles
06:31away.
06:32So, anything's possible.
06:33I've always been fascinated by this story, partially because the thunderbird mythology is so rich, but also because you do
06:40have these people stepping forward claiming to see a flying unidentified something.
06:46So, what do you think? Real deal or for the birds?
06:49I get how it could sound far-fetched that there's a thunderbird in Pennsylvania.
06:53But the eyewitness reports are real, that audio is real, and people are seeing something.
06:59So, we've got to go on with an open mind. And we've investigated a lot of land-based cryptids.
07:04So, this time, investigating one that's in the air, it's going to be fascinating.
07:08And it's not going to be easy, and I don't know how we're going to do it, but I'm definitely
07:12in.
07:12All right. Sounds like we're all agreed.
07:14The mission is to get to Pennsylvania.
07:16Start by interviewing this trucker who claims his rig was attacked from the skies.
07:21Is it a thunderbird? Is it misidentification? Is it an unknown species?
07:25See if you can get a bird's-eye view of the truth.
07:28Caw-caw!
07:29What was that?
07:31It's thunderbird for hell, yeah.
07:33Oh, sorry. I don't speak thunderbird.
07:36The flight from New York to Pittsburgh is just over an hour.
07:40The team then hits the road for a two-hour drive along Route 30,
07:43to the area where our witness had his shocking encounter.
07:49Seems like there's our guy.
07:50All right.
07:54Hey, Fred!
07:56Veteran and trucker Fred Stoll has driven America's highways for decades.
08:00He thought he'd seen it all, until he recently crossed paths with something beyond belief.
08:06So, this is Highway 30.
08:10It was around here that you saw whatever you saw.
08:13Yeah, but this is like the first time I've ever talked publicly about it.
08:18Can you tell us what happened to you?
08:21Well, it was about 4 o'clock in the morning.
08:25Just started work.
08:26Going up Route 30 over the mountain.
08:29I was coming up the hill.
08:31My lights were shining up in the air.
08:34This enormous bird thing come out of the southeast.
08:39I literally thought it was going to take the top of my truck off.
08:45How big was this thing?
08:47I'd say the wingspan was 60 to 80 feet.
08:5060 to 80 feet?
08:52At least.
08:52The width of the wing literally covered my whole track.
08:56I mean, you've got to understand how for someone hearing that,
08:59that sounds kind of unbelievable.
09:01I really don't care what people think.
09:03Mm-hmm.
09:04I've seen what I've seen.
09:06What'd you do after you saw this thing?
09:08I got out of there as fast as I could.
09:12I didn't care where it went.
09:13I did not want to see it again.
09:17So this thing scared you?
09:18Yes, it did.
09:19Believe me, I've seen a lot of stuff running up and down these roads
09:22for 25 years and being in the military.
09:25And there's hardly anything on the face of this earth that scares me,
09:29but that did.
09:31So in that moment, what did you think it was?
09:34I had no idea.
09:36First place I was able to pull over, I called my wife.
09:39She said, you've seen what they call the Thunderbird.
09:42And I asked her, I said, what is it?
09:44You know, I've never heard of it.
09:46I guess it's some kind of mythical legend, but it's not mythical.
09:51It's real.
09:52Have you heard of anyone else seeing something like it?
09:55I've heard rumors where guys have 1,200 pound cows come up missing.
09:59Wow.
10:00Just disappeared.
10:01No tracks around and nothing to drug it out.
10:04So something huge had to pick it up.
10:07Maybe a Thunderbird.
10:08That's what I would say.
10:10Where do you think we should focus our search if we want to try to get eyes on it ourselves?
10:15I would start with Route 30 crosses Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Ridge after.
10:21Between them two ridges, it's nothing but forest, mountains and that, and nobody knows what's up in the woods.
10:28Fred, thank you for sharing your story.
10:30Thank you so much.
10:31Just be real careful and take very good precautions.
10:34Yes, sir.
10:37Fred's given us a lot of ground to cover.
10:40Highway 30 runs through 15 miles of wilderness between Laurel Ridge, where Fred had his experience,
10:46and Chestnut Ridge, where our video of that eerie bird call was captured.
10:50If we're going to cover the territory of a giant bird, we had a suitably giant idea.
10:55Why not fly like one?
10:58Gliders don't use engines.
11:00They ride the same thermal currents that large birds of prey like hawks and eagles use.
11:05Gliders are also almost completely silent, making them the perfect perch to spot birds, monstrous or otherwise, in action.
11:15All right, Heather. See you up there.
11:17All right. Have fun.
11:19Heather and I will launch separately, being towed by a plane to 4,000 feet before being released.
11:25Close.
11:27Since we'll be constantly on the lookout for giant nests and anything else unusual that could point to a thunderbird,
11:33we're each joined in the cockpit by an experienced glider pilot.
11:37They'll stay focused on keeping us flying while we scan our surroundings.
11:41If we spot anything out of the ordinary, we'll log the GPS coordinates for a follow-up.
11:46Here we go!
11:49Hell yeah!
11:52We're in the air!
11:59This is incredible!
12:01Look at this view!
12:04Hey, Phil, look to your left.
12:07Oh, hey!
12:08Good to see you!
12:09What are you doing up here?
12:10Oh, just hanging out.
12:13Okay. Ready?
12:14Please, we're ready.
12:15All right, Heather. We're good to be released. Ready?
12:18Copy. I got eyes on you.
12:19Three, two, one.
12:23Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!
12:33Oh, and we're away!
12:35Wow!
12:36Oh!
12:39My God!
12:40There we go!
12:42Just us in the air, harnessing that power of the thermals.
12:47If you are a large bird, it takes an enormous amount of energy to fly.
12:52You would be doing exactly what we are doing right now.
12:56See that road down there?
12:58It's got to be Highway 30, cutting right through Chesno Ridge.
13:01See that other set of ridges off in the distance?
13:03That's got to be Laurel.
13:04Well, you want to take Laurel and I'll take Chestnut?
13:06Let's do it.
13:08Copy that.
13:09See that ridge over to the left with that road cutting through?
13:12Yep.
13:13Is there a way we can do it with a little turn?
13:15Sure.
13:19Now, remember what we're looking for.
13:21Anything down below, large stick structures at the top of the trees,
13:25that can indicate a nest, and anything above us that is the same size or bigger.
13:30Copy that. I got my eyes peeled.
13:35The American bald eagle has the largest bird nest in the entire world,
13:39building huge, typically 9 feet wide, 12 feet tall, stick structures.
13:44But if a thunderbird is really the largest thing in the skies, as the stories say,
13:49that means its nest would be even bigger.
13:53So, even though we're a mile high right now, you should be able to see your master from the sky.
13:58We can see for miles.
14:02Our wingspan is roughly 55 feet.
14:05Our witness told us that the thunderbird that he saw had a wingspan of 80 feet.
14:10So, I'm keeping my eyes out for anything as large as a glider.
14:19Oh, I got something.
14:20To the right!
14:23You're dead!
14:25I've got an interesting stick structure I'm sitting down below on top of a tree.
14:31Heather, I think I see our first potential nest.
14:33Nice.
14:36I'm gonna mark a GPS point.
14:38Copy that.
14:4040 miles east of where we are right now.
14:43Yes.
14:44That is promising.
14:46We're in the right spot.
14:51After another hour of searching, the nest I spotted seems to be our most promising lead.
14:56So, we turn back and start our descent.
14:59All right, Heather.
15:00I'll head in first.
15:01Copy that. I got eyes on you.
15:05Woo-wee!
15:08Touchdown.
15:11Coming in for the landing.
15:20All right, thank you.
15:23Nicely done, Glenn.
15:24How about that?
15:26Amazing.
15:26That was incredible.
15:28To be riding those thermals!
15:30I know!
15:31I guess we know where we're heading next.
15:32Yeah, we do.
15:35The coordinates I marked fall in the foothills of Laurel Ridge, just six miles north of where Fred had his
15:42strange encounter.
15:45Okay.
15:47With the exception of owls, all birds of prey hunt during the day.
15:51This way.
15:52All right.
15:53The largest, like eagles, can hunt in an area up to 15 square miles.
15:58The best chance we have of finding a large avian predator is when it's nesting at night.
16:05Hey.
16:06It's getting dark.
16:08How are we looking on GPS?
16:10Should be straight ahead of us.
16:12Okay.
16:19Hey.
16:20Yeah.
16:20We are a hundred yards from that possible structure you saw.
16:23Oh, yeah.
16:24We're almost right on top of it.
16:25If there is something there, I don't want to scare it away, so before we get any closer, there's a
16:29new tool I want to use.
16:31Okay.
16:31Okay.
16:33So this is a Zeiss thermoscope.
16:36Your average thermal camera can only see maybe 50, 100 feet in front of you.
16:40This can see up to a mile.
16:43Cool.
16:44So near and far, if there's something flying around or up in the trees, this thing will get it.
16:48Here's open.
16:54Do you say anything?
17:00You ready to move in?
17:01Yeah.
17:02Let's go nice and slow.
17:15It's gotta be right in front of us.
17:22Oh, got something.
17:24What?
17:25It is a dangle of branches up there.
17:28That's gotta be it.
17:30You think that's what you saw about the glider?
17:31I think so.
17:33It's glowing.
17:34It's glowing?
17:35It's glowing warm.
17:36Which, if that's a nest, something could be incubating in there.
17:44Should we get closer?
17:45Yeah.
17:46Quietly.
17:57No.
18:00Ah.
18:02It's a big, dead tree.
18:06Ah, no.
18:08False lead?
18:10Well, marking GPS from 4,000 feet isn't exact, so what I saw could still be around here.
18:16Okay, but that's clearly not holding something the size of a thunderbird.
18:24Oh my God.
18:28There's something up there.
18:32Oh my God.
18:38There's something up there.
18:46What the...
18:47Something just flew off of there.
18:49Let's go.
18:58Where did it go?
19:00Did you see anything?
19:03I got nothing.
19:05I lost it.
19:10Whatever it was, it was sizable.
19:12And in the treetops.
19:13Yes.
19:14Let's look around and see if we can find any evidence.
19:18Spread it out a little bit.
19:20Yeah.
19:20Okay, I'll take a left.
19:26Oh, what is this?
19:30This is cute.
19:32Oh, my God.
19:39Heather, get over here.
19:41What?
19:42Look.
19:44I think this is a bird pellet.
19:47Look about it.
19:48See that branch?
19:49This is exactly what you would expect with a large bird of prey.
19:53They catch their food.
19:55They sit on a horizontal branch and puke out the bones and the fur.
20:00And look what we got in here.
20:02You can see the bones protruding through.
20:04That is the sizable prey.
20:05I've seen an owl pellet.
20:07That looks way larger.
20:09Yes, it's huge.
20:09I've never seen a pellet that big.
20:12If that's the biggest pellet you've ever seen, what size bird are we talking about?
20:17Exactly.
20:18It must be massive.
20:21I mean, there are bald eagles here, potentially a golden eagle, so maybe something like that.
20:27But the beauty of pellets is that you can reconstruct those bones and figure out what the prey was.
20:33Are you using beauty and puke in the same sentence?
20:37Hey, when it comes to the data we can get from this thing, absolutely.
20:41Okay.
20:46Well, it still feels wet.
20:48If it's still wet, that means it's fresh, right?
20:50I can pack it up.
20:56That's a great find.
20:57Before we go, I'm thinking if we put a camera trap on this tree angled up, we may be able
21:02to catch whatever comes back to this branch.
21:03Good idea.
21:06Here, you need to angle it up.
21:08Yeah, it's perfect.
21:12It looks good.
21:15Okay, let's get moving.
21:16Okay.
21:19Heather and I continue searching for evidence, but it becomes clear that whatever we were chasing has already flown to
21:26the nest.
21:27The next morning, we check in with Josh to update him on our investigation so far.
21:32Well, well, if it isn't my avian associates.
21:35Hey, Gates.
21:36How's it going out there?
21:37Or should I say up there?
21:39It's going great.
21:41We found the biggest bird regurgitation pellet I have ever seen.
21:45Phil, God bless you.
21:46You are the only man I know that could get this excited about bird vomit.
21:50He really is excited.
21:51I am.
21:52So I reached out to a local bird expert.
21:54Her name is Katie Fallon, and she studied how eagles, hawks, and falcons hunt prey.
22:00I want to use that know-how to inform our next investigation.
22:03Okay, well, while you're checking out your puke nugget, I got another witness for you.
22:08An army veteran named Aaron Shakti, who claims to have had multiple close calls with this terrifying creature and thinks
22:16he knows where to find it.
22:17Amazing.
22:17I would love to meet him.
22:18All right, guys, we'll get to it.
22:20The early bird catches the worm.
22:21Bye, Gates.
22:22See ya.
22:26I'm heading to Chestnut Ridge, where the eerie recording of the supposed thunderbird was made, to meet with a witness
22:32who may have a lead on its whereabouts.
22:36Aaron Shakti has called Pennsylvania home for decades, but lately, he suspects he's been sharing his backyard with a monster
22:43from the skies.
22:45So we're here looking for the thunderbird, and I understand you've seen it a couple of times.
22:49Yes, I have.
22:50Walk me through that.
22:50The first time I seen it, it was later afternoon.
22:54I just got done cutting this here field, and I'm looking out there at the end of that field, and
22:59I see a tree stump.
23:00And I'm wondering, how is there a tree stump in the middle of my field?
23:04I just cut this.
23:05So I start walking up on it, and I got maybe 40-some feet away from it.
23:11And I'm looking at it, and I'm thinking, it doesn't look like a tree stump anymore.
23:15That's a bird.
23:16It was like this, like a vampire.
23:19Then it pops its head up, and it's looking at me mad.
23:23Like, why are you here?
23:25You're invading my territory.
23:28And it spreads its wings.
23:29It leans into the breeze like a kite, and it goes one flap.
23:34It's up in the air.
23:37It starts coming right at me.
23:39I'm like, jeez.
23:40So I duck to get out of its way.
23:45Do you feel like he was charging you?
23:46Yes.
23:47He looked very mad when he was looking at me.
23:50This was his territory.
23:51This is his yard.
23:52So there was no way he was another large bird?
23:55No.
23:55We know all the birds out here.
23:57We know the turkey buzzards, the eagles, hawks.
24:00This was nothing like that, not even in the same category.
24:06You're talking miniature, and I'm talking monster.
24:10It went up into the air, and right over on this side, there was turkey buzzards.
24:16They were doing circles, and I went up there with them, and it made them look like this
24:21big compared to my hand.
24:23That's how big he was.
24:25You think you're looking at a thunderbird?
24:26I never heard of a thunderbird before.
24:28I don't know what it was.
24:32I head to neighboring West Virginia to visit the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia.
24:38Hey, Gaty.
24:39Hey, Phil.
24:40I'm just about to feed the birds.
24:42Would you like to help?
24:42I would love to.
24:44Katie Fallon is a birds of prey specialist with an encyclopedic knowledge of the region's
24:49biggest avian predators.
24:51Here's some fish.
24:52Look at those talons.
24:54I'm hoping she can shed light on what we've been chasing.
24:58Oh, wow.
25:01You are beautiful.
25:04So we're looking into reports of something absolutely massive that has been seen flying
25:09around here.
25:09Some people are saying it's thunderbird, and that's why I came to you.
25:13Tell me about the big birds that could be flying around here.
25:16The giant birds flying around here would be bald eagles, golden eagles, great horned
25:21owls, turkey vultures.
25:24Biggest of those birds has about a six-foot wingspan.
25:27It's interesting, because what people are describing, they say 60 to 80-foot wingspan.
25:32It's very difficult to judge the size of a bird in flight.
25:36Birds are often described as being a lot bigger than they actually are.
25:40I'd like to play for you an audio recording that we were sent.
25:43Okay.
25:43Because I'm still trying to figure out what it is that this person was hearing.
25:55I'm not sure what that is.
25:57That's kind of how I felt about it, too.
25:59I could not identify that noise.
26:01There's one more thing I want to show you.
26:03Something that we found on the ground that looked suspiciously like a pellet.
26:09It does look like a pellet.
26:10There's bones, some of the fur, look at the size.
26:13There's my hand for comparison.
26:15I mean, it's a large pellet.
26:16It could be great horned owl.
26:18Really?
26:18They get that big?
26:20Well, possibly.
26:21I mean, if a great horned owl ate something that's very big, potentially large prey.
26:26But there's always the chance that something from somewhere else could have shown up.
26:30I mean, a stellar sea eagle was here in the U.S.
26:33No one could really explain how it got here, but it's a massive bird.
26:36If you were one of these birds, where would you be hiding?
26:38I would be probably on a rocky outcrop somewhere where there's a lot of wind,
26:43because a bird of any large size is going to need a lot of wind to help them fly.
26:48So cliffs and wind?
26:50Yes.
26:50But you need to be careful if you're going to be around a predatory bird's nest.
26:55A lot of raptors are territorial around their nest sites,
26:59and they will fly at people and even graze their heads with their talons and cause an abrasion.
27:04These are birds not to be messed with.
27:06You got it.
27:09But that's not the only time you saw this thing.
27:11No.
27:12The second time I seen it, I came out and I was down on my barn.
27:15I'm up 18 feet in the air, doing some hammering, and all of a sudden I'm in the shade.
27:21So I look up.
27:22Another big bird is doing laps around me.
27:25I was the center of the circle.
27:28He had his eye on you.
27:29Yes.
27:30I'm prey.
27:31That's what I was thinking.
27:33You think it was the same bird that you saw previously?
27:35It looked like it.
27:37It was the same size.
27:39And it glid off through the cob pasture and went down towards Chestnut Ridge.
27:43I'm thinking, good.
27:45Thank goodness.
27:47Bless America.
27:49As you can see, the banner bird should be showing up.
27:52No, there was just a big hunk of lightning behind you.
27:57I rendezvous with Phil and we follow Aaron's directions into the nearby Chestnut Ridge wilderness
28:02to begin our investigation.
28:04Using a topographical map, Phil has pinpointed a remote cliff face that should be an ideal
28:10vantage point above the tree line.
28:14See that up there?
28:15Yeah.
28:16I think we found our cliffs.
28:18Now, we just gotta go up.
28:21Think up through here.
28:26Look at this place.
28:32Wow.
28:32It goes straight up.
28:36Hey, if this thing exists, whatever it is, up on one of those ledges could be our best chance
28:41to find it.
28:42Let's get harnessed up.
28:43Yeah.
28:43Okay.
28:50Ready to do this?
28:51You got me?
28:52Let's hope so.
28:54There's confidence I need when I'm climbing a hundred-foot cliff.
28:57You got this.
28:59Okay.
29:00I'll bring a rope up, drop down the safety line, and see what we find up there.
29:03Go for it.
29:04Bye, mine.
29:13Okay.
29:14Bye.
29:30So, every single ledge I get to is a potential nesting spot.
29:34So, to inspect for anything that may be living here or may have lived here in the past, this
29:40one looked pretty empty.
29:43So, gotta keep going up.
29:45Okay, climbing.
29:46Climb on.
29:55I think I see a feather up here.
29:58No way!
29:59Yes!
29:59It's over on this ledge to my right.
30:01How big?
30:02I mean, it's no songbird.
30:05Something big might be nesting up here, Heather.
30:07Okay.
30:08I'm gonna try to swing over and get to it.
30:09I gotta get eyes on it.
30:11Copy that.
30:12All right.
30:12You got me?
30:13Got you.
30:14One.
30:16Two.
30:18Three.
30:21Oh, f***.
30:22Oh, f***.
30:25Oh, f***.
30:28Oh, f***.
30:30Oh!
30:30Whoa!
30:32Oh, my.
30:33God.
30:35Oh.
30:36Are you okay?
30:37I'm okay.
30:38Thanks for catching me there.
30:40I got you.
30:42You're heavy, but I got you.
30:45Okay.
30:46I don't think I can get to it, but I should film with the GoPro, pick up as many details
30:52on
30:52it as possible.
30:53You can look at the video and try to identify what species was up here.
30:56Copy that.
31:04Okay.
31:05I got something.
31:08Hopefully, it's enough.
31:09Okay.
31:09All right.
31:11Time to finish this climb.
31:23There was a moment there.
31:26Right.
31:26I think I'll make it.
31:29Let's get the bag up, then let's get you up.
31:32Deal?
31:32Deal.
31:33Bag's ready.
31:35Okay.
31:38All right, Heather.
31:39You got to come quick.
31:39We'll lose a light.
31:41Climbing.
31:47How we doing, Heather?
31:49Great.
31:54All right, Heather.
31:55Almost there.
31:58You got it?
31:59Yeah.
32:00Okay.
32:02Keep going.
32:05All right.
32:07Nice to do it.
32:12Wow.
32:13Look at that view.
32:15It's incredible.
32:17Absolutely.
32:18This is our spot.
32:20After that climb, it better be.
32:22Let's get set up.
32:23All right.
32:28If there are any so-called thunderbirds in the area, we're hoping to lure them to us before
32:33they nest for the night by using our game color.
32:36I've loaded it with the sounds of two birds that could help us tonight.
32:40One is wild turkey because it could be prey.
32:42The other is great horned owl because that could be perceived as competition.
32:47So, got the calls loaded up on the Fox Pro.
32:50I've got a highly sensitive omni-directional microphone, which is attached to my phone and
32:56a bird identifying software.
32:58This will identify all the known birds around here, from a whippoorwill to a warbler.
33:03So, if I hear something that it doesn't know, then, yeah, we'll have that documented too.
33:07Awesome.
33:08I'm setting it to record now.
33:11We'll see what it picks up.
33:13First up, turkey dinner.
33:17All right.
33:18Night vision binoculars on and recording.
33:24Got the thermal scope going.
33:27Got the thermal scope going.
33:43Got anything other?
33:44Nada.
33:52Next up, the great horned owl.
33:55Oh, Jesus.
34:06Oh, my God.
34:08That was the owl, too?
34:09Yeah.
34:10They make some crazy noises.
34:15Anything flying in over the treetops?
34:18I don't see anything yet.
34:19Yeah, me neither.
34:26Oh, did you hear that?
34:27Did you hear that?
34:28I heard that.
34:30That was a big branch over there.
34:34Maybe something landed.
34:37Can you see it?
34:38I don't see anything.
34:40Me neither.
34:42But that sounded right along at the edge of the rocks here.
34:45Yes.
34:52What the hell is that?
35:00Capturing an actual photograph of the Thunderbird would make history.
35:04And amazingly, one such photo is said to exist.
35:07The first mention of a picture of the bird comes in a 1963 magazine article by Jack Perle.
35:14He describes a photo from an 1890 edition of Arizona's Tombstone Epitaph newspaper, featuring six cowboys standing below the outstretched
35:25wings of a massive bird the size of a barn, nailed to the wall.
35:30But there is also an equally massive problem.
35:33When Thunderbird sleuths searched the Epitaph's archives, they found the story, but there was no associated image.
35:40So did the journalist make the photo up?
35:43Well, believers say no.
35:45And they're still scouring Old West archives for that picture-perfect proof.
35:49But for now, at least, finding the photograph remains as elusive as finding the Thunderbird itself.
36:04Look at that.
36:05I don't know.
36:07Is it recording?
36:09It's recorded, but it's not identified.
36:11Didn't identify it.
36:12No.
36:15Okay.
36:16That sounded big.
36:19Yeah.
36:19Oh, over there, to the right.
36:21What did you say?
36:22Something just came in behind the tree over there.
36:28I couldn't tell if it was flying, but that was right when we heard that noise before.
36:33I gotta get over there.
36:34Go check it out.
36:35I'll stay up here and watch your back.
36:37Okay.
36:39Keep your eyes on this guy.
36:48He's really thick in here.
37:01Yeah, just follow the cliff.
37:04Judging by what I saw on the thermal, whatever we've been hearing should be right around here.
37:13That was really unusual.
37:21I'm not saying anything, but whatever it was that made that noise was close.
37:33Okay, we're getting close.
37:37Let's see what's around this corner.
37:59Let's see what's around this corner.
38:00Right here.
38:00Right here.
38:01Look.
38:02Oh, my God.
38:05Wow.
38:07Heather, I got it.
38:08It's the nest.
38:09Follow the cliffside.
38:10And also, grab my phone.
38:12We gotta take some photos of this.
38:13Copy that.
38:14I'm on my way.
38:14Absolutely amazing.
38:23There he is.
38:25No.
38:26Yeah.
38:27Check this out.
38:29Look.
38:30What?
38:32Yeah.
38:33I think this used to be an active nest, and it is huge.
38:39Yes.
38:40I don't see any feathers, do you?
38:42No.
38:43And I'm also not seeing bird droppings.
38:45That really tells me this hasn't been active for a while.
38:47But whatever lived here had to have been big.
38:52What could have lived here?
38:53I don't know.
38:54I've never seen anything like this.
38:56You have my phone?
38:57Yeah.
38:58Okay.
38:59Phil and Heather thoroughly documented and analyzed the gigantic nest,
39:04careful not to disturb it in case it was still in use.
39:07Whether by a bird that's known, or perhaps a bird that's monstrous.
39:12The nest measured two feet tall, and a little over nine feet wide,
39:17although one side was partially destroyed, so it could have originally been even larger.
39:22It was also positioned at the very edge of the ridge, giving a vantage for attack.
39:28If you're a big bird here, and you need to take off,
39:31this is your launching point, riding that updraft along the cliff.
39:35But was this really the home of a thunderbird?
39:40The dark gray feather Phil found on his climb up the cliff face
39:44matches that of the wing of a bald eagle.
39:48The nest's size also appears to match one that could belong to a mating pair of bald eagles.
39:54But the sound that Heather and Phil heard on the cliff top
39:58was most certainly from something else.
40:02When Phil's identification app failed to recognize it,
40:05he sent the clip to Katie at the Avian Conservation Center.
40:08She identified this as the call of a barred owl.
40:14Specifically one that was feeling threatened.
40:17Was the owl alarmed by the calls Phil was playing?
40:21Or by something bigger?
40:24Look.
40:25Because the team did find a piece of evidence
40:28that indicated a much larger predator is stalking these skies.
40:33The huge regurgitation pellet.
40:36Phil analyzed the pellet back at HQ
40:38and made an astonishing discovery.
40:41It contained the digested bones of an adult cat.
40:47So, is the thunderbird flying high in the skies of Pennsylvania?
40:52Well, if the feather and nest that the team found
40:54do belong to a bald eagle,
40:56those birds have a wingspan of up to 7.5 feet,
40:59a huge size that could perhaps be misidentified as monstrous.
41:04As for the pellet,
41:06the local great horned owl does attack cats.
41:09It's not known to eat them whole,
41:11but it could certainly consume one.
41:14Putting these facts together,
41:16it seems unlikely that the thunderbird
41:18is casting a shadow over the Allegheny Mountains.
41:21Although, try telling that to our terrified eyewitnesses.
41:25You're talking miniature,
41:27and I'm talking monster.
41:28But our official recommendation,
41:31to borrow a phrase,
41:32don't count your thunderbirds before they hatch.
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