Woman Takes Photo Of Majestic Bird And Accidentally Captures A 'Ghost' As Well

Dawn Lausier was walking around a cove in Portland, Maine, looking for a rare bird who had been spotted the day before. She was hoping to photograph the rare bird, but unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find him. She did come across a snowy egret, though, and decided to photograph him instead.

“This snowy egret was close to the trail, so I was happy to get a chance to take a few shots of it,” Lausier told The Dodo. “I took two pictures with my cell phone and one or two with my DSLR camera.”

Lausier didn’t actually look at the photos she’d taken until she got home. She scrolled through her cell phone and took a look at the first picture she took, which came out beautifully. Then she scrolled over to the second one — and couldn’t believe her eyes.

In the second picture, above the snowy egret, was a reflection of the bird that almost looked like a ghost. It completely freaked her out. Lausier had absolutely no idea what had happened and quickly began searching for answers. She asked everyone she knew, scoured her own knowledge and of course turned to the internet for answers, but so far, no one can come up with a concrete answer for what the ghost actually is.

“Most people have said it's a cool picture,” Lausier said. “Some claimed it's a messed up setting on my camera or a corrupt memory card. Thing is, it was a cell phone picture, automatic settings and no memory card. I take lots of pictures with my cell phone [and] haven't had this happen before or since then.”

Everyone who’s seen the photo has been just as mystified as when she first saw it. She herself has a theory, but still isn’t completely convinced.

“Not sure exactly what happened, but thinking [it's] likely because the contrast between the white of the bird and the dark of the water,” Lausier said. “You sometimes see something similar when trying to take a picture of the sun or moon and seeing another bright spot in the picture; however, that's usually with a mirrored camera.”

There could be a very logical explanation for the strange photograph — or it could be a ghost. It’s impossible to know for sure.