ANHINGA STORIES

I have just been sent this, and I really don't know what it is. It vaguely reminds me of an anhinga, but I don't think that it is one.


The YouTube blurb reads:

Unknown bird fishing @ Arcadia arboretum (L.A. County)


Recorded July 11, 2007While feeding the fish and turtles at the arboretum lagoon, a persistent unknown bird, (I know electronics, not birds) was going after baby catfish, feeding on bread.He (?) eventually caught one. (No video), but I do have a still photo, of the little fish in its mouth. (beak?)

Whilst on the subject of anhingas, it is a little known fact that for some years one was living in Exminster marshes in South Devon. Back in 2001 a friend of mine from America was visiting Exeter and spent some time with Richard and me. We took the mildly touristy river boad that goes along the canal from Exeter to The Turf Lock a pub out in the marshes. The pilot of the boat was a lady who spent every winter in the Everglades doing something involving manatees, and she pointed the anhinga out to us. That is certainly what it was, although no-one has ever mentioned it before or since...

(For those not aware of these peculiar birds, the lower piece of footage is of an anhinga from You Tube

THE INDEXING PROJECT IS UNDERWAY - BUT NEEDS YOUR HELP

Things are going on apace with the indexing project. It is horribly tedious, and I am very grateful to dear Heather and Lee for their sterling work. They are both working very hard on the project. The first semi-completed page is now up. It covers anomalous behaviour from aquatic animals, such as strandings, attacks and unusual swarms and gatherings. The periodical data needs to be added, but you can find it here:

http://cryptozoology-bloggodex.blogspot.com/2009/05/aquatic-cryptozoology-anomalous.html
This is an urgent plea to anyone who feels like joining in. There are enormous amounts of this stuff to be done. I estimate that the CFZ Archives actually contain over 25,000 items and they are growing daily. So PLEASE if you have an hour or so on your hands, and especially if you are au fait with the most rudimentary html coding, please get in touch with me at jon@eclipse.co.uk

WE CAUTIOUSLY ENDORSE THIS AS THE REAL DEAL

TIM THE YOWIE MAN HEADLINES THIS YEAR'S WEIRD WEEKEND

I should have guessed that this would happen. We have been waiting for a week or so to confirm the last speakers for this year's Weird Weekend, and finally I posted the incomplete list this morning. However, we can now proudly announce that we have Tim the Yowie Man as one of our headliners. We have been hoping to get him for the WW, but as he lives in Australia this has not been easy. But finally herte he is, so lock up your daughters.

If you have not already done so, but your Weird Weekend tickets at the link below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Weird-Weekend-tickets-2009_W0QQitemZ380096466148QQihZ025QQcategoryZ1306QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

ARCHIVING PROJECT: The Third Trenche of Folklore Clippings

Oll has been a busy little beaver and the latest set of scanned news clippings and other stuff from the Archiving Project is ready for you to download HERE should you want to..

The CFZ Archives yeild up a mixed bag of odd folklore clippings mostly folklore reports from the Devonshire Association between 1892 and the early 1950s

NICK REDFERN: Not A Cave-Monster After All

Having read with much interest the recent controversy concerning the so-called Quatari goblin, and the subsequent discussions here and elsewhere concerning various photos of non-cryptids - models, toys and constructs, in reality - being passed off as the real-thing, I'm reminded of this photo which was sent to me around (I think) 1997 or 1998.

Nope, this is no cryptid either. Rather, it's a creation that can be found in a certain, very famous series of caves in England, and which is meant to merely offer a bit of "sword-and-sorcery"-style entertainment to those who visit the caves in question.

But what was interesting was the intricately woven tale that accompanied the picture when it was mailed to me. I forget the precise details now, but it all revolved around the claim that intelligent, sword-wielding cryptids were roaming the many and varied caves that exist deep below the British Isles.

The letter ran to 2 or 3 pages - and was, of course, all complete nonsense. So, if you too have ever been on the receiving end of this photo, just enjoy it for what it is: a piece of man-made entertainment and nothing else!

AT LAST - THIS YEAR'S WEIRD WEEKEND SCHEDULE

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Weird-Weekend-tickets-2009_W0QQitemZ380096466148QQihZ025QQcategoryZ1306QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

This timetable is ridiculously provisional, and that the CFZ take no responsibility for disappointment caused by the non-appearance of any of the advertised speakers All stuff in PINK is tba. We are waiting for a couple of surprise big attractions to confirm, but to avoid disappointment we are not going to announce them at this stage..

THURSDAY
7.00 p.m Cocktail party at the CFZ,
Myrtle Cottage, Woolsery, Bideford, North Devon EX39 5QR

FRIDAY
noon - 5.00 p.m Open Day at the CFZ
Myrtle Cottage, Woolsery, Bideford, North Devon EX39 5QR

Community Centre, Woolsery, Bideford, North Devon
Doors open at 6.00

7.00 – 7.15 Introduction
7.15 – 7.45 OLL LEWIS: Welsh Dragons and Gwibers
7.45 - 8.15 JULIAN VAYNE: A cabinet of curiosities from North Devon Museums
8.15 - 8.45 BREAK
8.45 - 9.30 JON McGOWAN: Big Cats in Brtain - exposed!
9.30 - 10.00 BREAK
10.00 - 11.00 TIM MATTHEWS: Crop Circle Confusion

SATURDAY
Community Centredoors open at 10.00

11.30 – 11.45 JON DOWNES + RICHARD FREEMAN: An introduction to cryptozoology
(ALL AFTERNOON JOANNE CURTIS: monster making for kids)
11.45 – 12.15 MAX BLAKE: Unknown animals in Pet Shops
12.15 – 1.15 PAUL VELLA:The Minnesota Iceman
1.15 - 1.45 BREAK
1.45 – 2.45 ALAN MURDIE: Forteana from Colombia (PAUL VELLA: Bigfoot for kids)
2.45 - 3.15 BREAK (KIDS: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party)
3.15 – 3.30 QUIZ
3.30 - 4.30 ANDY ROBERTS: The big grey man of Ben McDhui
4.30 - 5.00 Break
5.00 – 6.00 JAN BONDESON: The basilisk
6.00 - 7.00 DARREN NAISH: British big cats in deep time
7.00 - 7.30 Break
7.30 – 8.30: NEIL ARNOLD:Zooform Phenomena - monsters amongst us
8.30 – 8.45 CFZ AWARDS
8.45-9.15 Break
9.15 – 10.15 tba
10.15 - 11.00 tba

SUNDAY
COMMUNITY CENTRE
doors open 10.30

12.00 – 1.00 MICHAEL WOODLEY: A proposed system of taxonomy for cryptozoology
1.00 – 1.30 GLEN VAUDREY: Mystery Animals of the Western Isles
1.30 - 2.00 LIVE: Sitting Now (Discussion and Panel) Presented by KEN EAKINS
(KIDS: Monsters are real – Jon Downes/Richard Freeman 30 mins)
(ALL AFTERNOON JOANNE CURTIS: monster making for kids)
2.00 – 2.30 BREAK (KIDS: Treasure Hunt)
2.30 – 3.30 NICK REDFERN: Stalin's ape men
(OLL LEWIS: Lake Monsters for kids)
3.30 - 4.00 BREAK
4.00 – 4.45 RONAN COGHLAN: Atlantis and other lost continents
4.45 – 5.00 JONATHAN DOWNES: Keynote Speech and Closing Remarks.

Events specifically for kids are in red. Whilst all the lectures are suitable for children, some may be of more interest to young minds than others. The talks marked with are those that we especially recommend for children under the age of 12, although - of course - they are welcome at any that they care to attend...

OTHER ATTRACTIONS tba

WORKSHOPS tba

EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition: Pictures of Monsters by the children of WoolseryExhibition: Metamorphosis - exotic insects

EVENING: Dinner at The Farmer's Arms

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Weird-Weekend-tickets-2009_W0QQitemZ380096466148QQihZ025QQcategoryZ1306QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262