Sighting in Coudekerque-Branche, August 13, 2016

At around 1:30 in the morning, a father and his two sons were lying in the garden of their town house, watching the sky for shooting stars, satellites and aircraft. Their attention was caught by a triangular phenomenon, light red verging on orange, that passed quickly and without a sound. Its light was rather subdued, with no trail or halo. It followed a straight path and vanished completely after 6 to 8 seconds. Only one account was collected, from the main witness, who was very cooperative and gave a highly detailed report. GEIPAN carried out an on-site investigation and interviewed the witness.

The analysis concluded that the witnesses had probably mistaken a barn owl gliding over the block of houses. The colour is explained by the orange light of the street lamps reflecting off its white plumage, and the soft glow by that same reflection. The shape looked more like a three-pointed star (tail and two wings) in one of the children's drawings, which fits a gliding bird, as GEIPAN checked for this species. The silence is typical of its flight. Calculations place the bird about 20 m from the witnesses, even though the witness estimated a much higher altitude. This is explained by the surprise, being used to watching distant objects, and the brevity of the sighting. The species is present in the area and probably nests nearby. Its gradual disappearance is explained by the street lamps' glare, blocked by the rooftops, which leaves a zone of shadow above the gardens: the bird entered it while descending. The case is rated B because it rests on a single witness, with no photo or video.