# "I’m a Bird Watcher. But the Thing Watching Me Back in the Trees Wasn’t a Bird." Creepypasta

An episode of [CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1492008134), 22 Jun 2025, 21 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/66679831/i_m_a_bird_watcher_but_the_thing_watching_me_back_in_the_trees_wasn_t_a_bird_creepypasta.mp3

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## Transcript

[0:02] Speaker 1: I'd been after that damn thrush for a week. I
[0:05] Speaker 1: saw it once, skimming alone near the canal. It was
[0:08] Speaker 1: a nervous thing, with a chest like it had been
[0:10] Speaker 1: sprinkled with pepper. It was nothing flashy, but that glimpse
[0:15] Speaker 1: left me wanting more. I think it was the fact
[0:19] Speaker 1: it wasn't meant to be here. It was definitely, of course,
[0:23] Speaker 1: it probably caught the wrong goss somewhere south and ended
[0:26] Speaker 1: up where it shouldn't have. I hadn't seen one in
[0:29] Speaker 1: this area before, not in all the years I've been
[0:32] Speaker 1: coming out here bird watching, so I kept coming back
[0:38] Speaker 1: every morning. I put boots on before the town woke up,
[0:41] Speaker 1: shoved my scope in my bag as well as some
[0:44] Speaker 1: snacks and a thermus of tea, and followed the same
[0:47] Speaker 1: muddy tracks through the trees. There's a battered old notice
[0:52] Speaker 1: board nailed up near the canal shelter, faded from years
[0:55] Speaker 1: of sun and frost. I never meant to make it
[0:59] Speaker 1: happy of checking it, but lately I couldn't help myself.
[1:04] Speaker 1: It used to be the usual mess of dog walker ads,
[1:08] Speaker 1: but now it was littered with missing persons posters. I
[1:12] Speaker 1: often glanced at it on the way in But on
[1:15] Speaker 1: Monday I spotted Gareth with his uniform jacket half buttoned
[1:19] Speaker 1: up and radio clipped to his shoulder, leaning over it
[1:23] Speaker 1: with a stable gun. All right, you old sod, Gareth said,
[1:29] Speaker 1: glancing sideways without turning fully around. Morning to you too,
[1:34] Speaker 1: I said, grinning. He snorted back again, you trying to
[1:40] Speaker 1: court that bird or marry it? If it starts letting back,
[1:43] Speaker 1: I'll let you know. I stepped up beside him. Who've
[1:48] Speaker 1: we got to day? He tapped the edge of the
[1:52] Speaker 1: top sheet. It was a woman in the mid twenties.
[1:56] Speaker 1: The print out looked like it had been taken off Facebook.
[2:00] Speaker 1: Below her was a boy about eight or nine. From
[2:02] Speaker 1: the lock of him. Both this week, Gareth said, he's
[2:07] Speaker 1: been building real slow. One here, one there. Woman and
[2:11] Speaker 1: little heads always look similar, but they never related. We're
[2:15] Speaker 1: meant to keep it on the hushburn. Come on, it
[2:19] Speaker 1: feels like someone's picking them out on purpose, he rubbed
[2:23] Speaker 1: to the back of his neck. Problem is this sodd
[2:26] Speaker 1: ale to go off on? I didn't know what to
[2:31] Speaker 1: say to that. Instead I gave a quiet hum and
[2:35] Speaker 1: watched him press the paper flat with a side of
[2:38] Speaker 1: his hand. I see you've got a busy morning. A
[2:44] Speaker 1: few more of these the stick up around town, then
[2:46] Speaker 1: back to the station to pretend I know what I'm
[2:49] Speaker 1: doing for hours, Maybe sneak a cuppa if the phone
[2:52] Speaker 1: stops ringing long enough, living the dream, I said. Gareth
[2:58] Speaker 1: hofed and laughed through his nose and stood stepped back.
[3:01] Speaker 1: He squinted at the board, making sure it all lined up,
[3:05] Speaker 1: then gave me a serious look. If you see anything
[3:09] Speaker 1: strange out there, you let me know, just me, but
[3:14] Speaker 1: you already knew I was a bit off. He gave
[3:17] Speaker 1: a dry laugh, then moved on and watched them go,
[3:21] Speaker 1: then turn back to the trees. The woods out here
[3:26] Speaker 1: go on longer than most people reckon. From the main trail.
[3:30] Speaker 1: It all looks neat and groomed near the couple of
[3:32] Speaker 1: picnic benches and the odd wooden sign pointing out butterflies
[3:36] Speaker 1: or fungus. But you only have to take a few
[3:40] Speaker 1: steps off the path and it all folds in on itself.
[3:44] Speaker 1: It all becomes a slow, thick mess of hawthorn, older
[3:47] Speaker 1: and nettles. You can't avoid. Where I'd seen the thrust
[3:51] Speaker 1: last was off to the left, well past the cut
[3:54] Speaker 1: of the canal and into the sort of tangle that'd
[3:57] Speaker 1: make most people turn around, But I'd grown up out
[4:01] Speaker 1: here when I was little. These woods were my patch,
[4:05] Speaker 1: way before mobile phones and the estate got bigger. I
[4:09] Speaker 1: used to spend hours getting lost on purpose. Me and
[4:13] Speaker 1: a couple of mates built a half rotten den out
[4:15] Speaker 1: there once, proper deep where the brambles got thick. We
[4:19] Speaker 1: nicked a couple of planks from a skip and a
[4:21] Speaker 1: bit of tarp we weren't meant to have back then.
[4:25] Speaker 1: It felt like a bloody fortress. I don't go in
[4:29] Speaker 1: as far these days, but that thrush wasn't going to
[4:33] Speaker 1: hang about on the edge trail, not after a week
[4:36] Speaker 1: of me stomping through. If I wanted another lock, I'd
[4:41] Speaker 1: have to push deeper. It was just past noon when
[4:48] Speaker 1: I took myself lower between a couple of twisted hazels
[4:51] Speaker 1: and a rotted out log that must have been down
[4:54] Speaker 1: for years. Bracken came up to my knees and spot
[4:58] Speaker 1: a nasty invasive plant that looked like it was slowly
[5:01] Speaker 1: infecting the entire woodland. Then I heard a clink like
[5:07] Speaker 1: metal on metal. It wasn't loud, but it cut clean
[5:12] Speaker 1: through the trees, and I started to ponder what it
[5:15] Speaker 1: could be. Maybe someone flight it out here, though here'd
[5:19] Speaker 1: it take some effort, though I wouldn't put it past
[5:22] Speaker 1: a few of the scruffs that lived near my end
[5:24] Speaker 1: of town. Either way, you don't usually hear that sort
[5:28] Speaker 1: of thing that deep in. I stayed crouched and listened.
[5:33] Speaker 1: It kept coming clink, clink, sometimes on its own, sometimes
[5:40] Speaker 1: in twos or three. Each one seemed to come from
[5:44] Speaker 1: a different spot, first to my right, then behind me,
[5:48] Speaker 1: then dead ahead. It gave me a jolt, scared me
[5:53] Speaker 1: enough to stiffen me up a bit. I stayed where
[5:56] Speaker 1: I was, listening hard. Then it came again, clink. I
[6:07] Speaker 1: slowly lifted myself just enough to see over the log.
[6:11] Speaker 1: It took me a second to find it, but there,
[6:14] Speaker 1: perched on a low stump, was a missile thrush. I
[6:20] Speaker 1: watched as it tilted its head and opened its beak
[6:23] Speaker 1: to make that same metal clink, perfect and crisp. It
[6:28] Speaker 1: threw me a bit. Sure missile thrushes will copy the
[6:32] Speaker 1: odd sound, but they're not known for it like some others.
[6:36] Speaker 1: And even if they were, why that noise out here
[6:40] Speaker 1: in the thick of the woods. There's nothing metal for miles.
[6:45] Speaker 1: We must have learned it near by, heard it enough
[6:48] Speaker 1: to copy it back. Like that, it shifted once more,
[6:52] Speaker 1: then took off His wings caught the lights as it
[6:56] Speaker 1: darted between branches and dipped through a narrow lion of alder.
[7:00] Speaker 1: I followed carefully. The ground here was knotted with roots
[7:05] Speaker 1: and soft underfoot, spongy in some places where the moss
[7:08] Speaker 1: was thickest. I kept low, stepping where the ferns bent,
[7:12] Speaker 1: smoothly moving around the trees. Brambles caught at my jacket.
[7:18] Speaker 1: Occasionally I'd lose sight of the thing, but hear it again, clink, clink,
[7:26] Speaker 1: always just ahead. I couldn't help but admire it, even
[7:32] Speaker 1: with everything else going on. It moved with that sharp,
[7:36] Speaker 1: nervous grace mistle thrushes have. The patterning across its chest
[7:40] Speaker 1: looked darker in the shade, almost oily, and its eyes
[7:44] Speaker 1: flickered back at me now and then, like it knew
[7:47] Speaker 1: I was behind it. I'd watched the birds my whole life,
[7:51] Speaker 1: but something about this one held me. If he had
[7:57] Speaker 1: left again then dropped out of sight, I pressed forward,
[8:01] Speaker 1: pushing through a wall of damp rush, and there it was,
[8:05] Speaker 1: sat atop a rusted metal roof, wings tucked in head
[8:10] Speaker 1: turning slowly. The building looked more like an old shed.
[8:16] Speaker 1: It was narrow, sunken slightly into the slope, edges softened
[8:21] Speaker 1: with age and dirt. Tarbs had been thrown over the
[8:24] Speaker 1: top and weighed down with camou netting, but they started
[8:28] Speaker 1: to rot and curl back. The thing looked forgotten, as
[8:32] Speaker 1: if it hadn't seen proper use in years. The door
[8:36] Speaker 1: at the front was heavy duty, bolted shut. A padlock
[8:40] Speaker 1: hung from the frame. Rust crusted deep into the mechanism.
[8:47] Speaker 1: Then I heard it again, clink, but the bird didn't move.
[8:55] Speaker 1: It stayed still on the roof, feathers flat, eyes fixed
[8:59] Speaker 1: somewhere behind me. The sound hadn't come from it this time, clink, clink, clink,
[9:08] Speaker 1: this time more sporadic. I edged closer, careful not to
[9:13] Speaker 1: snap any branches under foot. A smell something like bleach
[9:18] Speaker 1: hung in the air. The noise persisted. I circled around
[9:24] Speaker 1: to the far side, where one of the lower panels
[9:27] Speaker 1: had walked out of the frame, a gap maybe a
[9:30] Speaker 1: foot wide. I dropped to my knees, brushed the bracken aside,
[9:35] Speaker 1: and pushed myself through. Inside. It was hotter than I expected.
[9:41] Speaker 1: It felt wrong straight away. The air hit the back
[9:45] Speaker 1: of my throat in a way that made me want
[9:47] Speaker 1: to spit, and there wasn't much light, so I pulled
[9:51] Speaker 1: out my emergency torch. The floor was concrete and sloped slightly.
[9:57] Speaker 1: At the far end was six cages, welded straight into
[10:00] Speaker 1: the ground proper thick steel. Each one had been lived in,
[10:06] Speaker 1: no question about it. Blankets pressed flat from use, bits
[10:10] Speaker 1: of paper, and string, trays with hairs in them, kid's clothes.
[10:16] Speaker 1: One had a muslin cloth baby sized. Another had what
[10:20] Speaker 1: looked like make up, just the stub of a lipstick
[10:23] Speaker 1: and a broken comb. None of it matched, None of
[10:27] Speaker 1: it made sense. The last cage had a little boy
[10:33] Speaker 1: in it. He couldn't have been more than seven. He
[10:37] Speaker 1: was curled up in the far corner under a blanket,
[10:40] Speaker 1: blinking slow, like he'd just woken up. His face was
[10:44] Speaker 1: gorn to but clean. He looked looked after in the
[10:48] Speaker 1: way a pet might be. No marks I could see.
[10:52] Speaker 1: Then A notices the strip of faded cloth pulled tight
[10:55] Speaker 1: around the back of his head and knotted hard enough
[10:58] Speaker 1: to leave a mark. A gag. Once he got a
[11:04] Speaker 1: good look at me, he started moving quick and panicked,
[11:08] Speaker 1: trying to talk through the gag, pointing to the lock,
[11:11] Speaker 1: then to the floor. The cage was bolted shut. I
[11:15] Speaker 1: rattled it gently, but it didn't budge. I'm gonna get
[11:20] Speaker 1: you out, all right, I said, trying to keep my
[11:24] Speaker 1: voice steady. Just hang on. I got up and started
[11:30] Speaker 1: checking the room. There was a grimy, indented surgical table
[11:34] Speaker 1: in the corner, with one leg braced on bricks. On
[11:38] Speaker 1: it was a scalpel, a boning knife, thin and stained
[11:42] Speaker 1: tweezers blackened at the tips, and a jar of cloudy
[11:45] Speaker 1: liquid that looked like it was meant to clean them,
[11:48] Speaker 1: though it hadn't been touched in a while. Most of
[11:51] Speaker 1: the metal had what appeared to be dried blood crusted
[11:54] Speaker 1: in the grooves. Seeing the tools turn my stomach a bit.
[11:58] Speaker 1: I kept looking at them, trying to convince myself they
[12:01] Speaker 1: were just old junk and that the blood was rust.
[12:05] Speaker 1: But I couldn't. Not With the boy behind me, I
[12:10] Speaker 1: stepped over a length of pipe and crossed to the
[12:12] Speaker 1: far wall. The freezer chest was low to the ground
[12:16] Speaker 1: and held shut with a thick rubber strap. A mess
[12:19] Speaker 1: of jumper cables fed out the back, still hugged into
[12:22] Speaker 1: the terminals of a car battery. It buzzed faintly when
[12:26] Speaker 1: I touched the lid inside, but plastic tubs stacked tight
[12:31] Speaker 1: about half a freezer full, and each was labeled. The
[12:36] Speaker 1: top one read Shannon scalp, Benjamin lower, left arm, Shannon teeth.
[12:45] Speaker 1: Even through the frost, I could tell they were real.
[12:52] Speaker 1: I slammed the freezer shut and held the lid down
[12:54] Speaker 1: for a few moments. Then I pulled out my phone
[12:57] Speaker 1: and started snapping. Flash lit up the space as I
[13:00] Speaker 1: took pictures of the freezer, tools and cages. I felt
[13:04] Speaker 1: clumsy doing it, my hands slick with sweat, but it
[13:08] Speaker 1: had to be done. I'd make sure to delete them later.
[13:12] Speaker 1: I opened maps, dropped a pin where I stood, and
[13:15] Speaker 1: fired it straight off to the Gareth found something in
[13:19] Speaker 1: the woods bad sent my location. Get here quick and
[13:23] Speaker 1: don't come alone. I turned looking for the key and
[13:29] Speaker 1: spotted two Mannikins tucked into the shadows near the back wall,
[13:34] Speaker 1: one adult sized, one child. Pinned above them on the
[13:38] Speaker 1: wall were diagrams, polaroids of the same woman and little boy,
[13:43] Speaker 1: scrap paper with rough sketches, measurements, and a shopping list
[13:47] Speaker 1: of different body parts. Then I heard a lock shift.
[13:55] Speaker 1: At first I thought the boy had been able to
[13:57] Speaker 1: free himself, but as I turned, the sudden flush of
[14:01] Speaker 1: light flash banged me. The shape in the doorway stood stiff,
[14:06] Speaker 1: its head tilted to its left shoulder, like they were
[14:09] Speaker 1: melted into each other. I squinted to see more, but
[14:14] Speaker 1: the light from outside made it difficult. All I could
[14:18] Speaker 1: see was the bulk of him, broaded through the chest,
[14:22] Speaker 1: with one arm hanging longer than the other. He stepped
[14:26] Speaker 1: in and I raised my torch slightly. You don't want
[14:30] Speaker 1: to do this, I said. My voice came out quiet
[14:34] Speaker 1: and pathetic. He kept moving. The shape of him came
[14:39] Speaker 1: into view. He was burned with twisted but healed skin.
[14:46] Speaker 1: He was big. He lunged with both weight and power.
[14:51] Speaker 1: I stumbled back, caught off guard, and slammed sideways into
[14:55] Speaker 1: the metal frame of one of the cages. The torch
[14:58] Speaker 1: clattered to the floor, spinning light strobing around the room.
[15:04] Speaker 1: He came at me again, arms wide, trying to grab hold.
[15:08] Speaker 1: I dug sideways and shoved my shoulder into his ribs.
[15:12] Speaker 1: He grunted and swung one arm to the side of
[15:14] Speaker 1: my head. I shoved back, using both hands, pushing him
[15:19] Speaker 1: off balance toward the table. He knocked it, sent talls scattering,
[15:24] Speaker 1: but stayed upright. He came at me again, clumsy but fast,
[15:30] Speaker 1: leading with his shoulder. I grabbed a bit of pipe
[15:33] Speaker 1: or rod and brought it up between us. It slowed
[15:37] Speaker 1: him and gave me just enough room to back pedal
[15:40] Speaker 1: and breathe. Everything in me wanted to run, but I
[15:45] Speaker 1: knew I couldn't leave the boy alone. He charged again, faster,
[15:50] Speaker 1: this time, slamming me back into the cages. My shoulder
[15:54] Speaker 1: cracked the bars and sens a jol down my arm.
[15:57] Speaker 1: I swung the pipe and clipped the side of his head.
[16:01] Speaker 1: He roared, voice all torn up and broken. Get away
[16:05] Speaker 1: from them, their mine, my Shannon, my benjy. He grabbed
[16:10] Speaker 1: a handful of my jacket and yanked me forward. I twisted,
[16:15] Speaker 1: kicked hard, and landed somewhere near his shin. He didn't
[16:19] Speaker 1: go down, but he gave me just enough space to
[16:22] Speaker 1: wrench free. My ear was still ringing from the earlier blow,
[16:27] Speaker 1: and sick the rock behind my eye now as something
[16:30] Speaker 1: had split. He kept coming. Every breath he tuck sounded
[16:36] Speaker 1: like it hurt, wet and uneven, full of rattling heat.
[16:41] Speaker 1: The barns had wrecked his face, but there was still
[16:44] Speaker 1: strength in him, more than I had. He was desperate,
[16:49] Speaker 1: and desperate men don't stop easy. I tripped trying to
[16:54] Speaker 1: dodge his next swing, landed hard on my back, ribs flaring,
[17:00] Speaker 1: slipped on the pipe, and it skidded out of reach.
[17:04] Speaker 1: He loomed above mouth, working like he was trying to
[17:07] Speaker 1: say more, but all that came out was a dry,
[17:10] Speaker 1: bubbling rasp. His boot pressed into my leg, pinning me.
[17:15] Speaker 1: I tried to twist to roll clear, but his weight
[17:19] Speaker 1: kept me pinned. My ear was still ringing, and now
[17:23] Speaker 1: my ribs were burning. I couldn't catch my breath. The
[17:27] Speaker 1: pressure on my leg grew sharper harder. He was trying
[17:32] Speaker 1: to crush me. The door slammed open behind him. Down,
[17:38] Speaker 1: Get the hell down. The man didn't flinch. He kept going.
[17:44] Speaker 1: There was a crack of Gareth's bat and slamming down.
[17:47] Speaker 1: The figure reeled back a step. I kicked out hard
[17:51] Speaker 1: and caught him just above the knee. He staggered sideways.
[17:55] Speaker 1: I said, get on the ground. Gareth didn't start, got
[18:00] Speaker 1: behind him fast and brought the baton down again. This
[18:04] Speaker 1: time across the shoulders. The man dropped. There was a grunt,
[18:09] Speaker 1: and then Gareth was on him, pinning him, coughing his
[18:12] Speaker 1: wrists tight behind his back. The figure flinched but didn't
[18:16] Speaker 1: drop got him. Gareth barked, you're right. I nodded, caught
[18:24] Speaker 1: my breath and sweat stung my eyes. I dragged myself upright,
[18:29] Speaker 1: ribs aching and used the cages to hold myself up.
[18:34] Speaker 1: We need bolt cutters, I said, voice. Horse now back
[18:43] Speaker 1: up arrived quickly. They helped pin improperly and hauled him out,
[18:47] Speaker 1: kicking and spluttering like an animal, while another stayed behind
[18:51] Speaker 1: to free the boy. Gareth helped me walk back through
[18:55] Speaker 1: the trees, mostly acting as a support over the rough terrain.
[18:59] Speaker 1: Parramed were waiting near the path. They took me in,
[19:03] Speaker 1: sat me down, gave me something for the pain, then
[19:06] Speaker 1: carted me off to A and E to check for
[19:08] Speaker 1: concussion and whatever else i'd rattled loose. I gave two
[19:13] Speaker 1: full statements that day, then another two later in the week.
[19:18] Speaker 1: I had to repeat some of it more times than
[19:20] Speaker 1: I felt like. A few days later, Gareth swung by
[19:25] Speaker 1: my place with a flask and some imported cigars. We
[19:28] Speaker 1: sat in the garden out back, just like we used
[19:31] Speaker 1: to when we were younger. Eventually he said, ugly bugger,
[19:37] Speaker 1: wasn't he? Yeah, I muttered. Gareth nodded, staring into his flask.
[19:46] Speaker 1: Didn't even know he was still around. Thought he'd left
[19:48] Speaker 1: years back. He used to live on the fringe near
[19:51] Speaker 1: the old paper mill. His wife and kid died in
[19:54] Speaker 1: a house fire. Poor Bugis didn't make it out. He
[19:58] Speaker 1: did he always that big, I asked. Gareth hoffed, Yeah,
[20:06] Speaker 1: he's a big lad. Worked in salvage. I think he
[20:09] Speaker 1: used to see him down by the skippins holding stuff
[20:12] Speaker 1: no one else would touch. After the fire, something just snapped.
[20:18] Speaker 1: We thought he moved off. I took a sip of
[20:23] Speaker 1: my drink in that shed. Those women and boys. He
[20:28] Speaker 1: was storing certain parts, Yeah, Gareth muttered. He wasn't just
[20:34] Speaker 1: storing them, he was trying to put them back together,
[20:38] Speaker 1: bit by bit. We both went quiet. After a while.
[20:45] Speaker 1: Gareth cleared his throat. It's sick, but in his head
[20:51] Speaker 1: he thought he was fixing something, putting his family right now,
[20:56] Speaker 1: fixing that, I said, not what he did. Gareth gave
[21:01] Speaker 1: a slow nod. Nah, there's no coming back from there.
[21:07] Speaker 1: Did you find that bird you were looking for.

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