Wednesday, September 30, 2009

WATCH THE BIRDIE

Jerdon's courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) is one of those animals that many cryptozoologists tend to use as a `poster boy`. It was discovered in 1848, but not seen again until 1986, giving hope to those folk who believe that `extinction` is a much misused term.

It has not been seen for some years, but now two specimens "have been seen in the Cudaapah District of Andhra Pradesh, the first confirmed sighting for several years.

The birds were seen in the heart of the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary; and in a second piece of good news, the sanctuary has just been extended by a further 1,200 hectares, in compensation for the construction of a canal, which at one point threatened to destroy the Critically Endangered bird’s last stronghold."

Thanks to Fleur Fulcher for having sent that titbit of news along, and giving me another reason to smile this morning.

http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2009/09/jerdons_courser.html

CFZ PEOPLE: Marjorie Braund

I had a very welcome telephone call from Kaye last night. Her mother Marjorie who is gravely ill in Bideford and District Hospital was considerably improved last night. She is still very ill, but not in such distress as she was, and is now lucid and able to communicate.

I will do my best to get in to see her later today, because she is the nearest thing to a mother that I still have alive on this planet.

Kaye has asked me to pass on her mother's gratitude and thanks for all the messages of support she has received from readers of the bloggo....

OUT AND ABOUT WITH YOLIE

http://sasqwatchwatch.blogspot.com/

Yolie from the sasqwatch watch company, who were one of our sponsors for the Weird Weekend, and who made my young nephew Greg very happy when he won one as a raffle prize (OK he didn't: my cousin Sally won it and gave it to him, but that is another story), has her own blog and has been out and about recently.

Really cool picture of Bob Gimlin manning the stall, by the way....

LETTER FROM NEIL ARNOLD

Hi mate,

I don't know if Doc Shiels has been to Rochester, or it's a case of projected form, but today at lunchtime I observed a peculiar wake going against the tide in the river behind my apartment. I have written up an article on sightings of strange creatures in the stretch for the yearbook and will get it along to you shortly.

I watched the wake, which was around 1/4 mile away. It travelled slowly along the river, against the tide, from the area where a huge sub has been sitting for years. It wasn't a bird or seal as I see them all the time, and I watched it through binoculars for around ten minutes as it very slowly moved out of sight. A boat was gradually heading towards it diagonally and the boat wake drowned out the wake of the 'creature'.

I was very impressed by the Irish footage, and found this a bizarre synchronicity. Also, the stretch behind my apartment has had several bizarre monster legends.

Neil

CFZ IN A PAKISTANI NEWSPAPER

http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/54900.htm

Mysterious monster lurking beneath British Isle lake captured on video

London, September 28 (ANI): Scientists have got hold of incredible new footage that could shows a mysterious monster lurking beneath one of the deepest lakes in the British Isles, which is unlike any creature ever seen.

According to a report in The Sun, Jonathan Downes spotted the “creature” thrashing around in one of the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland, while on holiday.

His eerie sighting was in the Upper Lake one of three interlinked lakes that make up the area.

The mystery comes just a few years after bizarre unexplained sonar recordings showing a large body were made in the adjoining Muckross Lake.

Along with his wife and friends who also had cameras, Downes, from Crediton, Devon, managed to capture shapes moving across part of the lake.

Downes, who is director at the Centre for Fortean Zoology, said that he had heard of the sonar reading before visiting the lake, but was “ridiculously” lucky to see anything.

“What we saw was a thing about nine to 10ft long. I’d love to say I saw long necks and humps and things but I didn’t,” he said.

Downes, who studies cryptozoology – which investigates unknown species of animals, described seeing what he see described as appearing to be “a long thin eel-like creature appearing about 10ft long”.

“I believe it must be a large eel. It was a pale colour. What I saw didn’t actually really come out on the picture as well,” he said. (ANI)

[NF]