THE PERUVIAN GIANT SNAKE EXPEDITION DATA - THURSDAY

"Coordinates for these images are at 72 37' 45"w, 3 23' 48"s. The video we will release will confirm our theories about a large reptile making major and minor channels and the existence of the enormous snake shape at the Napo/Amazon confluence. We believe we can prove that this shape has moved locations in recent years. Greg & Mike Warner."

PERUVIAN GIANT SNAKE - DATA INTERPRETATION FROM A BLOGGO READER

Bloggo reader Jason Pratt has sent this: his interpretation of one of the recent sets of data released by the Peruvian giant snake expedition. He writes:

"As I noted, this isn't enough to resolve anything, pro or con, but it ought to be helpful for readers. JRP"

GEORGINA EDWARDS: Stingray Migration

It is always a pleasure to welcome a new guest blogger but this is a special pleasure because it is the first time that we have had two generations of guest bloggers in the same family. Georgina, who was pivotally involved in the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau during the glory years, is also the mother of bloggo regular Fleur Fulcher....

Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Rays are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters. Gliding silently beneath the waves, they turned vast areas of blue water to gold off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula . Sandra Critelli, an amateur photographer, stumbled across the phenomenon while looking for whale sharks. She said: "It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind.

"We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too. I feel very fortunate I was there in the right place at the right time to experience nature at its best." Measuring up to 7ft (2.1 metres) from wing-tip to wing-tip, Golden rays are also more prosaically known as cow nose rays.

Nick Redfern's Weekly Round-Up

Each week Nick will be linking here various articles, news-stories and other items of a cryptozoological nature that can be found at his own blogs. Here are this week's stories:

1. Nick comes face to face with a "Texas Chupacabras" - or (depending on your perspective) the skull of a hairless dog:
http://monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/head-to-head-with-chupa.html

2. From Man to Manimal - Nick's latest "Lair of the Beasts" article at Mania.com:
http://www.mania.com/born-to-wild_article_115620.html

3. The CFZ's Michigan representative, Raven, asks the question: Bigfoot or just a Big Foot?
http://ravensmysterioushaven.blogspot.com/2009/06/bigfoot-prints-or-just-big-footprints.html

4. One more from Raven - on Michigan's growing population of Feral-Pigs:
http://ravensmysterioushaven.blogspot.com/2009/06/michigan-feral-pigs-and-increased.html
5. A Wallaby of the Out-of-Place Kind:
http://monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/wandering-wallaby.html

6. An in-depth interview with Neil Arnold about his new book, Mystery Animals of the British Isles: Kent:
http://monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/neil-arnold-on-kent-beasts.html

7. Does the Mammoth Still Roam...?
http://monsterusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/surviving-mammoths.html

PERUVIAN SNAKE UPDATE

For those of you waiting for today's update from Mike and Greg Warner re. their expedition to Peru in search of the giant anaconda... There isn't one (and the picture on the left was pinched from Wikipedia just to make the page look pretty). I received nothing this morning or yesterday evening and my emails to see if everything is alright remain unanswered. I expect that nothing is wrong and that the daily trials and tribulations of life have just got in the way, and that we will hear from them again tomorrow.

However, it has to be said that the vast majority of comments on their findings have been negative ones. Greg asked me the other day why there were relatively few comments considering the number of hits they had received and I hadn't the heart to tell him that this was because I had not posted over half of them which were purely abusive or libellous. Postings that go "Wot da f*** is this f****** s***? F*** off!" have no place on this bloggo except to illustrate the calibre of some of our recent visitors.

There are a couple of little points that I would like to make at this point. I have been publishing the Warners' data on the bloggo for one reason and one reason only. I do not agree with their findings. I think that they are nice, sincere people who are mistaken in what they believe that they have found but the CFZ was always intended as an open forum where researchers from all walks of life and adherents of a wide range of belief systems can share their data and discuss their findings in a civilised and neutral environment.

With very few exceptions (those being people whose belief systems are ones that the people who set up and run the CFZ - i.e. me - find morally reprehensible, or whose belief systems are based entirely on superstitious tenets and have no scientific base for their existence, and those which only exist to further a religious or political ideology) anyone can contribute to the CFZ melting pot and I will defend their right so to do to the death.

I have received quite a lot of abusive mail on the subject of the Warner expedition. This happens regularly and often from the same coterie of people who make no secret of the fact that they dislike me, my philosophy and what I stand for.

Once and for all:

1. I do not know Mike and Greg Warner

2. I am not financially involved with them

3. I am not intending to publish their book (because as far as I know they haven't written one)

4. I am not being paid by the BBC to examine their evidence

5. I am not an employee of the British (or indeed any other) government

6. I was not drunk when I made the decision to publish this material

All this sorry affair goes to prove is that the cryptozoological commuinity still has a few particularly unpleasant people in it.

glen vaudrey

About eleven years ago a blackbird landed in our back garden. For reasons now lost to Mrs H. she whistled to her feathered visitor. Nothing complex - just a series of random notes repeated several times. The blackbird looked at her and then flew off.

The following day Jackie was hanging out the washing when the same blackbird appeared on the roof of our garden shed. Once again, she whistled the same series of notes that she'd whistled the previous day. To her astonishment the bird promptly whistled the same notes back.

Everyone knows that parakeets and mynah birds can mimic the human voice but at one time few people imagined that this was a talent shared by blackbirds. But it is.

During that summer Mrs. H became good friends with the bird, whom she named Blackie. It visited our garden every day and became bolder and bolder in terms of how close it would approach. Jackie then began to feed it and within two weeks it was quite literally eating out of her hand.

Eventually the bird stopped visiting our garden and we assumed she'd flown off to pastures new. To our delight, however, Blackie returned the following summer. Once again Jackie had been hanging out the washing when she heard the peculiar whistle she'd taught the bird the year before. Startled, she turned round to see our old friend standing on the path.

Over and over Blackie whistled the same tune, in response to which Jackie whistled back. Once again she began to visit our garden daily. On one occasion Jackie was indoors when she heard her feathered friend calling for her. She went outside and smiled at the sight which greeted her. There, standing on the shed roof, were Blackie and four downy young blackbirds. We're convinced that she had brought her young to show us.

One by one the young birds joined Blackie on the path and they all waddled to within a yard or so of Jackie's feet.

Blackie continued to visit us until last year. With each passing summer the whistles become louder and more persistent. She would jump up and down on the garden fence or the shed roof until Jackie popped outdoors to see her.

When Jackie first told me of the almost psychic relationship she had developed with Blackie I was a bit sceptical. I didn't think she was making it up but I did think that she wanted so much to believe that the bird was repeating her whistle that her imagination was getting the better of her.

But then I heard it for myself and actually managed to tape-record a conversation between Mrs. H. and Blackie. I no longer doubted that an extraordinary relationship had developed between them.

Perhaps the most fascinating interaction between Blackie, Jackie and I occurred in the summer of 2000. We were sitting watching the TV early one evening when we heard a frantic scratching at the front door, accompanied by an intense flapping noise. We both went to investigate, and as we opened the door we heard Blackie's familiar whistle. The bird was extremely distressed. It flew towards a nearby bungalow in which lived some neighbours, both of whom had severe disabilities. It continued to fly back and forth between our front door and the other residence, and it was obvious to us that Blackie was trying to tell us something.

We both hurried over to the bungalow and knocked on the door. Our elderly neighbour opened it and whilst Blackie was whistling frantically behind us, said, "Oh, thank goodness! I was just about to ring you and ask for your help! Quickly…come in!"

Jackie and I walked down the hall and into the lounge. There, fluttering around wildly, was a young blackbird. It had flown through the open patio doors and couldn't find its way out. I took off my pullover, threw it over the bird and brought it to the ground. I gently uncovered it and held it in my hands until it calmed down. I then went into the back garden where – no surprises here – Blackie was waiting. I let the young bird go and it flew straight to its mother.

The only explanation we can think of is that Blackie scratched, flapped and whistled at our door because it wanted our help.

Last year Blackie returned once again. As usual, Jackie and her feathered friend talked to each other but what thoughts were running through her avian brain must remain a matter of speculation. All Jackie knew was that she'd found a true and honoured friend.

Sadly, things came to grief. One day last summer Jackie went out into the garden and found Blackie dead, lying in the ornamental bird bath where she often used to bathe and drink. We gave her a decent burial. I'm no expert, but I reckon eleven years or more must be a pretty good innings for a blackbird.

And that, we thought, was that. But there is a peculiar postscript to this story, which I find entirely baffling. Two weeks ago, Mrs. H and I were both in the garden when we heard what sounded like the unique whistle she'd taught Blackie all those years ago. It wasn't the same but it was eerily similar. Suddenly a young blackbird flew down and landed on the path near Jackie. Three times it repeated the whistle. The only conclusion we could come to was that the bird was one of Blackie's offspring and that it had somehow inherited the whistle from its mother. The bird is now a frequent visitor to our garden. It's like having Blackie back again. Like the original Blackie, this one has taken to whistling and will not desist until Mrs. H or I go out and show ourselves. Satisfied, Blackie II will then fly off.

This morning things took an even stranger turn. I went out into the garden and as usual, heard the familiar whistle. I looked up and saw what at first I thought was Blackie II sitting on a nearby rooftop. What surprised me was its size. It seemed to have grown considerably since the last time I saw it. The bird took off and headed straight for our garden. It landed on the roof of our shed and I stared at it. It wasn't Blackie II at all. In fact, it wasn't even a blackbird. It was a jackdaw. It looked at me, whistled Mrs. H's tune and then flew off.

To be honest, much as I'm fascinated by the whole thing I really haven't a clue what the hell is going on. Can blackbirds teach songs to their young? Can jackdaws imitate blackbirds? And why on earth would the jackdaw I saw this morning want to imitate the call Mrs. H taught to Blackie?

I'm sure there must be a rational explanation for all this but not being an ornithologist I can't think of what it might be. I'm really hoping that some readers out there will respond to this blog and give me their two-pennorth's worth….

OLL LEWIS: Yesterday’s News Today

Yesterday’s News Today
http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/

Welcome, once again, to our round-up of cryptozoological news and a bad pun. Are you sitting comfortably? Then here’s the news:

Mass dolphin stranding linked to navy exercises
Darwin killed off the werewolf
Prehistoric Whale Discovered On The West Coast Of Sweden
Monkey 'IQ test' hints at intelligent human ancestor
FLYING SQUIRREL HYBRIDISATION RIDDLE
WHALE COLLIDES WITH ZEBRA

‘Whale’ I never: three marine mammal stories on the same day, it’s almost as if it was done on ‘porpoise’.