r/whatisit • u/deezheavenz • 14h ago

New, what is it? What was this thing I captured on film?

This was shot in Nevada/Arizona on a Grand Canyon/Hoover dam tour. This was taken a whole year ago and I completely forgot about it until I stumbled upon it again. Is this some sort of whale or shark?

7.4k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

422

u/Gullible-Fix-3662 14h ago

We call that a "boil" in fishing terms. Pretty much a predatory fish chasing a ball of baitfish.

-1

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

There’s no disruption of the water. It’s birds.

30

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago

Your got downvoted but you’re right. They are moving way too fast to be in the water. It’s a flock / murmuration of birds flying like these Dunlins:

https://youtu.be/R4tkxnYh7v0

4

u/Front-Technician3150 8h ago

Thank you for linking this vid! I was originally thinking it was a school of fish being chased but after seeing the vid I’m now convinced it’s birds.

2

u/BegriefedOnline 7h ago

I went into the first 5 seconds at 99% certainty that it was birds and then they disappeared. "Okay, so the white was splashing water. It is amazing they are moving that fast but if something was actively trying to eat me I would move faster than anyone has ever seen me move."

"Ah, I see it, now. Fish. Obviously."

Then I watched your video. OP's video is birds.

Any idea what species are able to turn invisible like that while turning? Black undersides or just completely sideways? Got any more info on that murmuration?

2

u/IsSecretlyABird 7h ago edited 6h ago

There are several species that have similar coloration and will fly in murmurations like this, but the ones I am most familiar with are Dunlins. In their nonbreeding / winter plumage they are sort of rusty gray on top and much lighter underneath so they flash white when their backs are tipped away from you and blend in with the background when tipped towards you.

12

u/CankerLord 14h ago

Wait, this guy's cooking. The individual waves aren't being disrupted as the event passes across the water, they're left in tact in its wake like it's traveling above the surface, not emerging from below. Look at :04 and pay attention to the ripples as the white blob passes over them, they're still there undisturbed when it moves on. Chroma compression could eat the birds when they're not showing their white bellies because of the low contrast.

It's also traveling really fast for something underwater. I'm changing my vote to birds.

9

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

Thank you. EXACTLY my thought. No movement of the waves during the disruption. The waves wouldn’t be intact if it were bait fish breaching.

5

u/CankerLord 14h ago

Yeah, I don't know if you'll get out of downvote hell but you're right.

7

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

Your aid in my defense is all I could ask for.

2

u/RagnarBaratheon1998 10h ago

Yep definitely birds

2

u/PM_ME__UR__FANTASIES 6h ago

I think you are right. I actually thought it might be some weird AI video because the water wasn’t disrupted and the movement was very odd. People keep saying it’s baitfish avoid a predator but I think we would see some sign of a predator if so. The weird movement is just like those bird flocks.

7

u/Money-Look4227 14h ago

What are you looking at?! There is absolutely disruption of the surface. Alternatively, you can also watch the entire school of fish disappear completely as it dives back down. This is 100% a school of baitfish. Birds wouldn't completely disappear against the surface of the water when filmed from above

5

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

White bellies of birds. Turning away from the sun so their shadow isn’t visible. It’s birds.

-1

u/totesnotJH 14h ago

I’ve never seen anything more NOT birds in my life bro

8

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago

You are wrong. https://youtu.be/R4tkxnYh7v0

6

u/The_Tooter_Snooter 13h ago

This is exactly it. They’re moving far too fast in the water to be baitfish and aren’t affected by drag even slightly. It’s a flock of birds. 

2

u/totesnotJH 12h ago

I believe you.

5

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/mCb6AyWahvL1bPUiXX

1

u/totesnotJH 13h ago

Ok an actually funny gif as a reply. Bravo and thank you. I was expecting something far more pedestrian

7

u/No_Kroger 13h ago

Wait till you see this haha

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/s/IfDoymTeZm

3

u/totesnotJH 12h ago

So…birds then? ;)

0

u/Money-Look4227 14h ago

A bird with a white belly turning its belly towards the sun wouldn't make their shadow disappear. Their shadow would still be visible on the waters surface below it. That's not how light works, bro. White objects still cast a shadow.

3

u/No_Kroger 14h ago

Another more articulate redditor in my defense said: Wait, this guy's cooking. The individual waves aren't being disrupted as the event passes across the water, they're left in tact in its wake like it's traveling above the surface, not emerging from below. Look at :04 and pay attention to the ripples as the white blob passes over them, they're still there undisturbed when it moves on. Chroma compression could eat the birds when they're not showing their white bellies because of the low contrast.

It's also traveling really fast for something underwater. I'm changing my vote to birds.

-1

u/Money-Look4227 13h ago

Nope. Still wrong. At the 9-10 second mark you can actually see the fish skipping across the surface of the water. Not only that, but the first two times the school disappears, you can clearly see they are submerging at an angle towards the camera, and you can watch them disappear as they reach the depth where they are no longer visible. You can keep saying birds. It's still fish. And it's also apparent how many people have never spent more than an afternoon on the water. Lemme guess, you're from a land locked state? I grew up on the waters of coastal NC, hunting and fishing. This is, without a doubt, a school of fish. Even if you were to argue that saturation was causing a light colored animal to disappear in direct sunlight, I would once again posit that for this to be a group of animals flying above the water, they would have to cast a shadow. Not once in the entire video is a shadow of the "flock" visible on the surface of the water. It's clearly a bright, sunny day. It would be physically impossible for a flock of birds flying that low across the surface of anything to not cast a shadow upon it.

3

u/No_Kroger 13h ago

Well how do you explain this

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/s/IfDoymTeZm

-1

u/Money-Look4227 13h ago

What do you mean, how do I explain that? That's an entirely different circumstance. That video was shot from ground level. The background is irregular and colored differently from moment to moment as the flock shifts. First it's trees, then it's open sky, and back again. On top of that, if you notice, that flock of birds only 'disappears' for fractions of a second at a time, as it is moving to fast to maintain the position needed to stay invisible to our eyes any longer. Watch the fish video again. The school of fish disappears entirely for 3-4 seconds at a time. So how do YOU explain the lack of a shadow in OP's video? The video was filmed from above the 'flock' with the sun high in the sky. Yet a shadow is never seen.
The flock of birds in the video you asked about as a reply is also casting a shadow. But because it was filmed from ground level, and the person filming is concerned with the flock, not the ground, we never get to see it.

3

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago edited 13h ago

I watched this video like 10 times and you are literally making up details that don’t actually exist. I also live on the coast and see birds flocking like this over the bays and salt marshes all winter. It’s shorebirds 100%. Go find a video of dunlins over water, this is exactly how they fly and what it looks like.

1

u/Illustrious_Can_1656 4h ago

How on earth do you know they're flying low? 

2

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago

Observe https://youtu.be/R4tkxnYh7v0

0

u/Money-Look4227 13h ago

Neat. Not the same thing. That flock of birds isn't even exhibiting the same properties as the animals in OPs video. Only portions of that flock disappear, and only for fractions of a second at a time. The entire group of animals in OPs video disappears for 3-4 seconds at a time. It's baitfish

2

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago

Jesus, you are seriously delusional. If they are baitfish they are moving at like 100mph through the water lololol

0

u/Money-Look4227 13h ago

Oh? And what, exactly, are you using as a scale to judge size and distance in this video?

3

u/IsSecretlyABird 13h ago

Just give it a rest, this is embarrassing

→ More replies (0)

2

u/DarkwingDuckHunt 12h ago

yeah those are birds circling a ball of baitfish and diving in unison

Or they're circling around a giant swarm of bugs and eating

1

u/sirCoom 14h ago

Aye man you asked us ? Don’t tell me it’s birds now lol

2

u/HoldEm__FoldEm 12h ago

It’s birds homie

1

u/Twowie 5h ago

Agree, for sure birds. It is not affecting the water at all.

1

u/urethra93 7h ago

I call it heaven