A 2nd report concerning a large avian entity is received from Mercer County Park, New Jersey. I have included an earlier report from the same general area in the mid-1980s.
The following account was reported to MUFON on 2018-02-04. This is the first time I have seen it:
My wife and I while trail biking in a remote area inside Mercer County Park were startled by a huge "bird" that took off from a tree at approximately 15 feet up directly in front of us while we stopped for a brief moment. This was on the narrow trail by the creek that feeds the backside of the dam.
I am a retired law enforcement officer. I was very much concerned by this observation and felt that this encounter was unnatural by the size of this creature. My wife was not concerned and wanted to go follow it. I had a feeling that we might be in jeopardy and I wanted to leave immediately.
The bird had a wing span over 10 feet and was larger that anything natural I have ever seen fly. It made no sound and when it left the tree directly in front of us it glided approximately 50 feet into a row of trees across the creek and I couldn't see it land. She wanted to follow it and I had this feeling of doom and wanted to leave. I knew it was unnatural and there was a sense of impending doom to me. I couldn't readily see a head, beak, tail, legs or claws. This "bird" was the size of a small hang glider.
I know Hawks, Buzzards, Vultures, and the different kinds of flying creatures in the surrounding habitat. I am a outdoors person and have grown up in this environment. I am familiar with all that live in the habitat. When this thing glided away from the tree I focused on the right wing and it had a perpendicular multi colored pattern of gray, black and brown in varying shades. The sheer size and mass of this thing was nothing I have ever seen before. The clincher beyond the sheer size and mass of this thing was the eerie alarming feeling I had when I saw it that told me to leave.
This account is particularly interesting because of a previous report I received in the same general area:
"I just read your post about the dragon sighted over southern New Jersey. It took me by surprise because I had a similar experience in the mid-eighties when I was still a kid (about ten years old, I think).
It was before noon, in the springtime, and I was biking around a local ballpark by my house. (Nottingham baseball field in Hamilton, NJ). There were no games scheduled that day so I was alone, as far as I could tell.
There was a play area and a pond by the woods that I would frequent, when I was bored, in the hopes of finding other kids to play with.
About halfway there, while looking up at the clouds and sky, I saw what I thought was a plane coming from the south. There's a small air strip by us and there were some very cool bi-planes that would fly by from time to time. My favorite was a red baron style one, and I thought that was it, because of the color.
I stopped and turned to watch (and wave, it's what kids do). When the plane gave it's wings a single, long, flap, that's when I realized it wasn't a plane.
It was a dragon. There is no doubt in my mind. It was dark red and I could see the sun shimmering off it's scales as it got closer. Needless to say, I didn't wave. I felt frozen to the spot, dumbstruck, a little scared, and very, very excited.
It was huge, flying at about the same height as the bi-planes do, and it didn't make any sound as it went overhead. just gliding. It was like a classical European dragon, but the proportions were a little different.
When it was right overhead I felt a blast of heat. I assumed it was it's fiery breath at the time. I was absolutely vibrating with excitement and looking around frantically for anyone else that might be around. the ballfields were empty, no one was outside in the nearby houses!
It kept going at a steady clip and right before it disappeared over the tree line to the north it gave another slow flap of it's massive wings.
I turned right around and sped out of the park hoping to find someone else who saw it too. No one, everyone was inside their homes that early. When I got home I realized no one would believe me. So I never told my parents. They'd think I was making it up. Instead I told my older sister, but she said I probably saw a hang-glider or a fancy plane.
It was such an odd sighting I never perused it further. Nice to see the dragons are still flying over New Jersey though. Thanks for all you do, your blog is awesome." D
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