Giant Bird Mystery in Kansas City in the 1950s

1955-56: Kansas City, Missouri- Giant Birds Sighted by Multiple Witnesses

In locations near 47th & Denver close to the limestone quarry and KC Zoo/Swope Park area multiple sightings of large, winged creatures were seen by a number of persons over a two-year period. James Bair is a retired schoolteacher and Field Investigator and section director for Missouri MUFON. James and his family and neighbors saw these winged creatures over a two-year span. James was eight and nine years old at the time. In one instance his father called him outside and said excitedly, "Take a look at that great big eagle on top of the garage!" Then, he thought better of it and said it was a huge owl. But neither of them knew what it actually was, and it scared them because it was just too big to be a known bird. The creatures had feathers, a white head with oval egg -shaped black bodies.

James and his friends used to play along Brush Creek and would sometimes see these big birds. He believes that some of the creatures were short and stocky, while others were taller and thinner. None had a long tail. They also struggled to get off the ground when starting to fly. In the 50’s eagles were in decline, so it was not common to see eagles at that time.

                                                  Map of recent sightings

James said that he saw several of these creatures standing next to the banks of Brush Creek. "They stood about 5' 8" tall, about the same height as my dad, and they never made a sound," James said. The neighbors and other family members saw these unknown creatures on multiple occasions, sometimes flying in the air, sitting in trees, or standing on the ground on two legs. James would be super -vigilant when he and his friends went to the creek, keeping watch for these large creatures, which scared him.

The birds seemed to make appearances after dusk but not during the day. James surmises that they may have been hiding out in the caves at the quarry during the day, and came out at night to eat, presumably fish from the creek or chickens and other animals that many people had in those days. James and his family lived between Brush Creek and the Blue River. The Blue river runs past mines and a police pistol range. It was undeveloped in that area and was mostly forest, where any type of creature could live. Today James says that he could not rule out that the creatures were pterodactyls. 

Then, the sightings mysteriously stopped, and the birds were not seen by the group of friends again. James still lives in the same area and has not spotted one of these creatures since the 1950s. 

I have taken a number of reports of sightings of giant winged humanoids in and around the Swope Park area in recent years. Swope Park is a place where any type of animal could easily live.

Source: James Bair, Field Investigator for Missouri MUFON.

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Report taken by Margie Kay, director of Quest Investigation Group. www.margiekay.com

1948 Giant Bird Mystery in St. Louis, Missouri

 

In April of 1948 The St. Louis area was inundated with reports of unusually large birds.

At least 13 witnesses reported seeing a gigantic, grayish-black bird with a torpedo-like body soaring in the skies above South St. Louis, Alton, Glendale, Overland, and Richmond Heights.  People described the creature as “immense,” “incredible,” and “enormous.”  A police patrolman, and a corporal saw it as well.

Officer Francis Hennelly said that “Its wings were flapping, and it was headed southwest, flying at an altitude of several hundred feet. I thought it was a large eagle, but I’ve never seen one that big before.” One witness said that unlike normal birds, this creature flapped one wing, then the other. Another witness watched as the giant bird flew towards the Mississippi bluffs, where he surmised would make a good habitat for such a creature. 

There have been multiple reports of gigantic birds and/or Mothman type creatures across the state of Missouri since 2017, with the bulk of the recent reports from the greater Kansas City area. Perhaps whatever this creature is has followed the Missouri River across the state.

Read the original 1948 article

The original story posted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was titled “The Gigantic Bird Mystery: That Thing in the Sky- is it Really a Bird or is it a Plane or a Witch?

Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 29, 2017

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Margie Kay is the director of Quest Paranormal Investigation Group and the Assistant State Director for Missouri MUFON. Contact her at www.margiekay.com.