Shadow bat or bird?

Hi Guys,

I experienced something this evening that I have never experienced before. I don't know its meaning or significance and wondered if you could shed some light on it.

I was lying on my bed at about 7.15pm (dark at the moment here in the southern hemisphere) thinking deeply about a few things, eyes wide open. In front of my bed there is a row of white cupboards. One of the bedside lights was on and my eyes were pointing in the direction of the cupboards but not focused on them. Quite suddenly I saw a shadow on the cupboards of what I instantaneously thought was a bird or a bat flying from right to left towards a closed window which has drapes on it. I could see the fluttering of wings. I reacted immediately with the thought "what the hell was that!" I rose from the bed immediately to investigate expecting to find it lying on the floor or stuck behind the drapes. A very careful and methodical search yielded nothing.

I investigated the switched on light to check if a small flying insect was there that might probably have caused the shadow on the cupboards. There was nothing there. I also tested to see what size shadow might have been projected onto the cupboards by a flying insect. It would have been enormous. The size of the object I saw was about three inches.

I would appreciate your comments.

Bruce