AN MD80 FLT CREW; AFTER ROTATION; HEARD THUMP AND MOAN ALONG WITH VIBRATIONS IN TAIL AND CTL COLUMN. ALL ENG AND CTL INDICATIONS NORMAL. RETURNED TO FIELD. ON GND; #2 ENG OIL FILTER CLOG LIGHT ON.

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ON DEP FROM BOSTON; JUST AFTER WHEELS UP; A SLIDING NOISE WAS HEARD FOLLOWED BY A THUMP. SOME VIBRATION WAS NOTED IN THE YOKE FOLLOWED BY THE FLT ATTENDANTS CALLING THE COCKPIT TO INFORM US OF THE VIBRATION IN THE TAIL. THE VIBRATION CONTINUED AND APPEARED TO BE GETTING WORSE. THE FLT CREW REQUESTED PERMISSION TO RETURN TO BOSTON TO HAVE THE VIBRATION INSPECTED BY MAINT. THE APCH AND LNDG WERE UNEVENTFUL. BOSTON CFR FOLLOWED THE ACFT TO THE GATE. ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE VIBRATION WAS A BIRD STRIKE; BUT NO BIRD STRIKE WAS FOUND AFTER INSPECTING THE ACFT. THE ACFT WAS TAKEN OTS FOR FURTHER INSPECTION. AN EMER WAS NOT DECLARED; HOWEVER; IT WAS HANDLED AS AN EMER BY ATC. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR STATED THAT THE VIBRATIONS STARTED AFTER ROTATION; WITH NOISE AND VIBRATIONS IN THE CTL COLUMN AND TAIL. THE VIBRATIONS WERE INCREASING AND THE DECISION WAS MADE TO RETURN TO THE FIELD. LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL BUT ON TAXI IN; GOT #2 ENG FILTER CLOG LIGHT. MAINT PULLED THE MAIN OIL SCREEN AND FOUND IT FULL OF METAL. THE SCREEN WAS REPLACED AND THE ENG WOULD NOT ROTATE WHEN A START WAS ATTEMPTED. AIRPLANE WAS REMOVED FROM SVC AND THE ENG REPLACED. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 674914: WE HEARD A THUMP; FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF MOAN COMING FROM SOMEWHERE AFT OF THE COCKPIT.