by Oubliette

From the mist-shrouded Andes Mountains, this segment whisks us away to frigid Alaska in search of the Thunderbird, a creature said to be so large that it is capable of carrying off small children.  The Thunderbird has survived in the stories and legends of myriad Native American tribes from across the continent.  It has been carved on totem poles in the snowy North and drawn on the war shields of tribes who roamed the great American plains.  Its actual description varies: in the East it is almost wholly birdlike in appearance; but as one travels West, the depiction takes on definite reptilian characteristics.   The latter would place it more in the cryptid category and hence of interest to Josh and his team.

The majority of sightings in the last several years-specifically in 2002- have been centered around the small village of Manokotak, 300 miles west of Anchorage.  Based on these accounts, the DT software has conjured up for us a huge, dark brown bird with striking reptilian features.  Wickedly long talons, a huge, very impressive beak and a wingspan of 30 feet invoke images of the ultimate bird of prey.  Witnesses say it circles high in the sky for several minutes before returning swiftly to the tree line; typical predatory bird behavior.

Arriving in Anchorage (Josh’s sense of humor is in full form as he has a bit of fun with the stuffed specimens in the airport) and while waiting for a connecting flight, Josh hears an eyewitness report from a woman who claims to have seen its giant wings, yellow eyes and gnashing teeth (?).  I don’t know whether he is more taken aback by this description or the fact that at night the temperature plummets to around -35.  Quite a change from the steamy, humid Amazon.

The team lands during a snowstorm in Dillingham, where Josh meets up with John Bouker, the pilot and owner of Bristol Bay Air Service, who, along with his passengers, had seen the giant bird flying about 1000 feet from his plane.  He is adamant that the animal’s wingspan matched those of his own aircraft–about 15 to 20 feet, and that it was much larger than any of the eagles that are normally seen in the area.  One gets the impression that Mr. Bouker is definite about what he and his passengers had observed.

Josh charters a plane flown by Charlie Pike, who is the proud owner of a 1961 “classic” as Josh calls it.  In flight, the “ADD” message in the fuel gauge starts to blink, but Mr. Pike tells Josh to ignore it.  Just another normal day in DT land.  As they fly over breathtakingly beautiful vistas of the Alaskan landscape, it seems that their plane and a few small birds are the only things airborne on this clear and calm day.  No Thunderbirds, but what a view!

As they approached Manokotak, Josh was struck by the lengthy tree line around the village and noted that it could provide a perfect environment for a large bird.  So it was back to Dillingham to prepare for the overland journey to the village and also purchase some more appropriate outerwear to help them brave the frigid temperatures.  I was wondering why they didn’t come prepared with more appropriate clothing but lugging huge jackets and gloves around would have proved awkward at best.

It’s always fun when the DT team goes shopping, and this excursion was no exception.  Josh settled on a jacket straight out of “The Thing” (he must watch a lot of the same movies I do) although he passed on the bank robber ski mask.  And of course, boys will be boys, as there’s snowballs thrown and some wrestling in the snow.  Who could resist, especially since so many of their investigations take place in 90+ degrees and overwhelming humidity?

Time to rent some snowmobiles for their overland adventure. The team gets to meet some colorful characters, one of whom appears to have a dead fox wrapped around his head (Barry, take note!).  Andrew Bergof, their guide (who appears to have another animal of some kind on his head), shows Josh how he carries a pistol attached to the handlebars of his snowmobile.  Though he hunts on a daily basis, he cannot be talked into riding behind Josh and firing away while they fly over the snow.  One of the fun aspects of this show is getting to meet the locals, be they in Thailand or in the Alaskan wilderness.

A course is mapped that will take them the twenty miles over the frozen tundra to Manokotuk.  Though it looks like a lot of fun, driving snowmobiles can be a dangerous endeavor, and this fact is illustrated when Bicha, with Gabe as his passenger, somehow manages to flip his vehicle over.  Thankfully neither are hurt, and after getting the motor going again, everyone arrives in the village in one piece.

The town is inhabited by yup’ik natives, who probably don’t see many outsiders coming to their remote tundra home.  A woman named Astay prepares a treat for them known as Eskimo ice cream, made from moose fat, Crisco, sugar and berries.  They seem to enjoy it as long as they avoid thinking of its major ingredient.  Sounds yummy; wonder if it would be a hit in the lower 48?   Breyers, take note.

It’s time to talk to a local witness.  Tommy Evon states that he has seen the Thunderbird in the vicinity of the village; he estimates the wingspan to have been about 30 feet.   He points Josh in the direction where he had seen the bird, just northeast of where they are standing.   But since all the sightings have taken place without the loud noise of snowmobiles to frighten the creature away, Josh decides to travel via  “environmental friendly hyper-technology”, aka a dog sled.  I’m wondering if there is any mode of transportation Josh hasn’t yet tried.  Taking Jael with him, he scouts the area to find a good spot to set up camp, then returns to the village to gather his cohorts and their equipment in preparation to start the night’s investigation.

Base camp is quickly set up.  They choose a gorgeous location, one which provides them with a view of the forest as well as the snow-covered hills beyond.  Supposedly the Thunderbird is nocturnal, so their primary job is to keep their eyes on the skies looking for anything flying along the tree tops.  Rex warns them about wolves in the area and instructs them to back slowly away if they encounter one.

The IR cameras are positioned to cover all directions and will pick up any movement whether on the ground or in the air (Bischa, did you have to make that remark about how to keep the cameras warm?  Naughty boy…).  While Rex starts a fire to warm things up at base camp, Josh and Jael head off to place the track cameras that will be baited with moose meat and salmon farther out beyond the other equipment.    As we’ve learned, these cameras are motion activated and will take photos of anything that passes in front of them.  Using the GPS locator, the devices will be checked periodically throughout the night.

Returning to base camp to pick up a thermal camera, the two again take off into the wilderness.  The light and dark blues on the FLIR screen indicate how very cold their surroundings are; definitely below 0 degrees, as Josh tells Jael.   No sooner are they gone then Gabe and Bicha back at camp claim to hear a loud boom (or light boof, as Bicha describes it).   Though they admit it could have been an owl,  it is decided that the area should be explored on the chance it may have been something more then a small bird.

After hearing some branches and twigs breaking, Rex looks upward and sees something that buzzes right over his head, knocking snow off the swaying branches as it apparently took flight.  Back at camp, he reports that the bird was definitely larger than any eagle he had ever seen.  Josh decides that he and Mike should head back with the FLIR and the parabolic dish to catch the animal while it is still in the vicinity.

Josh hears something walking around in the woods, and the parabolic dish also picks up the sounds of movement on the ground.  The FLIR picks up the shape of some animal walking amongst the trees;  Josh deduces it is not very large and is probably a wolf.  I concur with his view as there appears to be four legs and  the outline of a head that seems to be sniffing the ground.  It is amazing how well the parabolic dish works.  Even we viewers can easily and clearly hear the sounds it picks up.  It would make a good permanent addition to any team investigating the paranormal.  I wonder why other groups don’t use it as often as the DT team does.

Back at camp Josh reports on what has just happened.  While he is speaking, an image of a large bird appears on IR camera #1, flying between the trees and highlighted against the night sky.  Josh and Bicha hurry as fast as they can go through the deep snow to the camera’s position.   Just as they reach the spot where the camera had been trained on the tree line, something again is visible gliding among the treetops above and in front of them.  Since one of the trap cameras is also nearby, Josh and Bicha make their way over to it to check on the bait and also to see if any pictures had been taken.

Their efforts are rewarded.  Not only has the bait disappeared but there were signs that a bird of some sort had landed long enough to leave claw marks in the snow before taking off with its meal.  The camera itself had taken 35 pictures of whatever had made off with the meat and fish.  Sharra is instructed to bring an evidence kit and digital camera to capture these exciting finds.  As Josh takes pictures of the prints on the ground,  the team is certain that not only did they encounter something large in the woods, but this time they probably had sufficient evidence to determine if they had indeed been visited by the Thunderbird.

The evidence is taken to Mike Dee, who unfortunately could not give them a definite answer as to what the IR camera had captured.  And although whatever passed in front of the trap camera had been too close to the lens, there was enough of an image for the former curator to determine that the animal must have had feathers.  He further postulates that what the evidence shows (and presumably what eyewitnesses have been seeing) is the Steller’s Sea Eagle.  This bird, one of the largest of the raptor family, typically breeds in the Kamchatka Peninsula in the easternmost part of the Russian Federation, which would put it in reasonably close proximity to western Alaska.  It is also one of the most heaviest birds in the world.

The only problems with this theory is that the Steller’s Sea Eagle has a wingspan ranging from 7 to 9 feet, far from the 30 ft. or so reported by eyewitnesses.  But Josh is correct in stating that it is extremely hard to determine the size of an animal or object when it is seen in the open sky.  (This is a common problem that besets eyewitnesses of supposed UFOs as well.)

The last hurdle is the fact that this eagle is diurnal.  Of course, that doesn’t preclude the fact that the bird will not move around at night, especially if there is a handy food source, such as bait, in the vicinity.   Josh and Mike Dee are correct in assuming that the Steller’s Sea Eagle probably accounts for the sightings in Alaska that many have attributed to the mighty Thunderbird.

I thoroughly enjoyed this particular show.  As with other episodes, it is the sometimes harrowing, sometimes comical journeying to these remote destinations that proves to be the most fun.   Also we get a chance to see these far-flung places that most of us will probably never get to enjoy for ourselves.  The cinematography is top notch.  The beauty of the Peruvian Mountains or the Alaskan wilderness is awesome, and because of DT we get to go along for the ride and see the wonders that exist in these remote corners of our planet.