I was just wondering if anyone can explain this to me. I was living in the northwestern region of Illinois about twenty years ago. It was late at night, maybe 11pm. Completely dark sky; no moonlight. I don't remember if the stars were out. All light available was artificial. I was upstairs when I heard something outside. It was more of a feeling that something fishy was going on outside because there were lots of idiots who did stupid things in the neighborhood. I went downstairs and out the back, and very quietly walked around the house. I looked down my driveway and nothing. Then I looked up at the street light (not a traffic light, but a street light). A winged animal was up there. It didn't perch like a bird, though; it was more like standing. It turned its head and looked at me and immediately took off. I would say it was about four feet tall. I couldn't see it all too well because it was right next to the light. It didn't look like it had any feathers, but it did appear to have light fur (but that might be from proximity to the light), and its face was creepy. It looked a lot more like a huge bat. But even the flying fox isn't as big as this thing was and it was upright. I never saw it again. When it flew off, I heard branches bending off in the distance, so I think there was a group. I found this site - https://mysteriousheartland.com/2011/02/21/top-10-most-mysterious-creatures-in-illinois/ The section on the thunderbirds has a picture that kinda looks a bit like what I saw. But the head looked larger and the beak looked shorter, like a snout. But I don't understand how it could fly at night unless it was a bat. Which leaves me wondering how it saw me. I really don't know what to make of this.
Do you not have owls in Illinois? I've been out running after dark and seen a barn owl fly silently across in front of me about ten foot up in the air. I'm not suggesting it was an owl (they're not known for being gregarious), merely addressing the quote above.
I've seen Great Blue herons in Missouri and Illinois. They're pretty damned big. They're feathered, of course, though maybe in the dark it might not be readily apparent. I don't know if they fly at night. I've seen them near dusk.
Oh yeah. There are plenty out there. There's no way this was a heron. I really would rule out birds unless there's a rare one that most people aren't familiar with.
