NUFORC Sighting 36396

Occurred: 2004-04-16 12:00 Local
Reported: 2004-04-17 14:28 Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes plus
No of observers: 2

Location: Orange Beach, AL, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Changed Color, Aircraft nearby

Object traveling back-and-fourth for unknown reason and unidentifible possibly because of the distant when the object was sighted.

This may be nothing to really report because I have this scrutinizing suspicion of what I saw was just possibly one of those parachute rides being pulled by a boat.

On April 16, 2004, I was working outdoors on the new condo construction which is located inside the bay area in Orange Beach, Alabama, and it is nearly in direction in front of the Alabama point bridge which is located near Orange Beach, Alabama. At 12:00PM, I took a lunch break. While I was taking my lunch break under a shade, I was admiring the beach direction view of this condo location. I was wearing polarizing sunglasses at the time. I noticed a helicopter flying around in the air. It was a small helicopter like those of a small Huey or traffic watcher type. It kept slowly flying around in the general area inside the bay/gulf channel near the bridge on the fishing side. It would occasionally descend in each pass where people fished then ascend back to its slow, flight pattern of just wandering around near the bridge area. My first thoughts of this odd flying behavior was a news helicopter trying to make some news because of the recent bonanza of whitings congregating at the fishing site. To the left of the bridge are two condos located on the bay side which I think are still under construction, and the height of those buildings I think is twelve floors. On the Gulf side of those condos is undeveloped land and the beach. From the bridge to my location, I think the distant is about one mile. From the bridge to the two condos, I think the distant is about one-eight of a mile. From the condos to my location, I think the distant is about one mile. The sky was partly cloudy, and the temperature was about 80 degree F.

While I was watching this helicopter flying around, I noticed what appeared at first to be a large balloon drifting in the wind. The size of the balloon object is about the same size of the condo's window from my viewing location. Its path when first seen originated by the bridge and possibly out in the Gulf near the beach. The balloon object altitude was above the two condos, and the balloon object altitude was at least 1 and a half condo high from my perceptiveness. The balloon object had no colors except for a minute grayish color that reflected no sunlight similar to the color of a water droplet. The balloon object was perfectly round. As this balloon object moving from west to east drifted pass the two condos starting from the bridge in an estimated time of about 30 seconds to a minute; the balloon object completely stopped drifting and almost seem to hover in the same position for about 15 seconds. Then the shape of the balloon object changed to something not roundish. Its color also changed to something like a black dot but still not roundish in shape. Then this object travel back towards the bridge location at same speed of 30 seconds to a minute. Then it stopped and reverse coarse towards the two condos. It appeared to get slightly smaller. Then about half way towards the condo, I saw for a brief moment a color of paper white appear for about 3 seconds, and it was definitely not a sunlight reflection. I realized that this was no balloon, so I was trying to figure out what it could be. After the fourth back-and-fourth trip of this object, an advertising plane appeared trailing its advertisement. The object on its way back towards the two condos seem to disappear from view behind the two condos. I was waiting for it to reappear on the left side of the two condos which it did not reappear. On the right side of the bridge are some condos. I notice a bright red/orange parachute probably being pulled by a boat. The distant to those condos is about a mile. The size of that parachute ! from my location was about the size of a quarter if I was to held it up in front of me. When comparing the size of the object to the parachute, the object was like a pea to the parachute. Then the object that disappeared behind the two condo reappeared from the right side of the two condos. I thought to myself, "I wonder if the helicopter pilot is seeing what I am seeing? Surely if there was something out of ordinary, he would investigate it." I was thinking, "Gee! If only I could talk to the helicopter pilot and ask him to investigate what I was seeing, then he can tell me what he saw." I took off my sunglass to see if I could still see the object without the aid of the sunglass, and I was still able to see the object, but not as good, so I put the sunglass back on me. I kept watching this object going back-and-fourth between the bridge and the two condos when I noticed a white dot way out near the horizon in the Gulf. It was probably about 5 to 10 degrees above the horizon, and intermittently it was hidden by the clouds. It didn't look like it was shining a light, but it did appeared to be just a paper white dot. It is possible that it could be a jet coming towards my direction, but that object defiantly did not pass over my location to get to the spotted location unless it was flying way up high if it did pass location. All of this viewing took place during my 30 minutes lunch break. When I went back to work, I was still able to see the object, and I explain to one of my co-workers what I saw during my lunch break. I pointed in the direction of the object and my co-worker was able to see it too. He seem like it was nothing since he just glanced at for a few seconds, but I find it strange that all this object did was go back-and-fourth during my lunch break. If it was one of those parachute rides pulled by a boat, it would had to been at least 2- 4 miles out in the Gulf. Another possibility of what the object may had been was another helicopter, but when I first saw this object, it was perfectl! y round and drifting almost like a balloon. When I first seen the object, it may had been up closer, but possibly it may had zig-zag a coarse out into the Gulf becoming smaller as it went which may explain how the two condos were able to make it disappear for a brief moment. It may be nothing, but I saw it, and I can't explain it, so I'm reporting it.

Posted 2004-04-27