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ellix

Bird? Sounds at night?

ellix
18 years ago

I live at the edge of a 2-3 acre pond with woods on three sides--in a neighorhood. The last week I have been hearing these bird sounds as soon as it is dusk. Any time I wake up at tight I also hear them so it is anytime at dark. Loud sounds-they seem to echo and they come from the tall trees. Almost screeching sounds. I really don't know how to describe them in words. But they are LOUD. I hear them inside with all the windows shut. What are they???????????????????????

Comments (139)

  • lueri
    12 years ago

    I have been hearing bird sounds at night too this year, that I didn't remember hearing before. Out in our woods is a temporary pond from the extra rain, and it sounds like hundreds of birds out there. I found a website and they have a sound that sounds similar: http://www.pondmarket.com/pond/nature_sounds.htm It is the 4th one from left under owl and bird sounds. I am wondering if others that are hearing bird sounds through the night are hearing similar sounds. I never have noticed this before and have lived here all my life (46 years).

  • theresalazarz_rocketmail_com
    12 years ago

    I actually came online to research the same annoying sound. We tried to sleep with our windows open last night but certainly was unable we also just moved to Indiana last year and did not hear this screeching two syllable noise, first it sounded like it was in the front yard then the side and finally in the backyard. My husband found a robin's nest under our deck. well we put in a pool last year well tonight my son took a flash light outside in the dark and actually found the noisy little critters...in the water on our pool cover is filled with 100's of small frogs...you can see their throats as they make the distinctive noise....mystery solved now I would just like a good night sleep! I guess when we open our pool they will go away.

  • hobokenjohnson879_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    I think I have the same birds by me in Northern NJ!! I made a video of them calling. Let me know if it's them. Any birdwatchers out there, do you know what type of bird this is? They are so loud I have to close my windows to hear the tv. They also make noise at night too!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Na7LunIZAM&feature=channel_video_title

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bird Call Video

  • MichiganNight
    12 years ago

    Hello all, have a need for some help. We live in southwestern Michigan, just a few nights ago (about May 18th) we started hearing an incredibly loud and intrusive bird cry, like a scream, just outside in a wooded area near some marshland. It's not any owl or hawk we can identify by cries we've looked up on the web, we haven't seen it because it only happens at night, and it's so LOUD we have to close the windows to hear the television. The dogs go nuts and it can sometimes go on for quite sometime (and I've heard another bird reply with the same cry in the distance, though this doesn't always happen). The cry is sort of an "aw-AAAAAWWWW!!!" and it is unbelievably loud. Have I mentioned that it's really loud? I was outside the other night and it was in a tree just off of our drive and it scared the crap out of me. But I haven't seen it yet. We're in Berrien Springs, on a country road. ANY THOUGHTS?? It's driving us crazy...

  • MichiganNight
    12 years ago

    MYSTERY SOLVED! For us at least. It's a PEACOCK. Apparently a local farm has llamas and peacocks, for some reason, and one has wandered quite a way into the woods, putting it right outside of our property. As soon as I heard this:

    http://www.junglewalk.com/popup.asp?type=a&AnimalAudioID=12802

    I knew what we were dealing with. So if you're being haunted by a night screamer, check out the link above. Perhaps you have a wayward peacock in your midst.

    Best,

    MichiganNight

  • joannpalmyra
    12 years ago

    Oh my, those peacock sounds are terrifying! LOL.

    When I read this thread my first thought was frogs. The peepers in my neighborhood are loud little buggers.
    Then I saw that it was started in 2006 and realized my opinion is moot. :P

  • sairysue
    12 years ago

    We have a bird which flies in outer concentric circles and then back in . This bird has a call similar to the just the start of a cicada sound or the start of a tree frog sound. The bird looks like a shore type bird, the wings and white coloration from bottom and grey strip in middle of wings. Very hard to see in flight except when it almost hits you on a dive! When diving down, the wings or something make a sound like a sonic kazoo! We live near the Mississippi River and this bird is out in the early evenings and most of the night.

    Please e-mail me if you have an identification. sairysue@sbcglobal.net

  • crazyoutfly_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Barn Owls, they screech instead of hoot. Look em up, that may be it.

  • help_loastabird_com
    12 years ago

    I found these posts about a bird screaming and my lost bird screams his head off. You can see a photo of him and hear what he sounds like on his web page. http://lostabird.com. He is a Sun Conure and he has been missing for 13 days! Please contact me if you hear him. He will come to you if you say apple. Thanks

    Here is a link that might be useful: Missing Sun Conure Parrot's page

  • mmstjohn05
    12 years ago

    It's a Fisher Cat they are creepy looking and make screaming sounds... Just look them up

  • dddesavigny_terracon_com
    12 years ago

    Maybe someone here can help. We have just started to hear squeaking noise from outside the house. The noise starts about 7:30-8:00 pm and lasts until 11pm. The squeaks remind me of a roof turbine or swinging metal gate but we have neither of these at our house. I think it is a bird or animal since the sound is from dusk until darkness falls. Any ideas?

  • kerry151
    12 years ago

    I have lived in Central NJ for over 10 years and I've never heard a bird that sounds anything like it. We live in a heavily wooded area. It starts at around 8pm and tends to die down around 11pm. About 4 weeks ago, it was just one bird, but it now seems to have attracted a mate. They seem to be trying to match the tone of each other's call. It's almost like they're playing a game of Simon. It's amazing to listen to it. The thing that I find so weird is that it sounds like the noise would come from a really big bird, yet I've never seen even a slight movement in the trees. The noise also tends to stop as I approach. After listening to numerous clips, the only thing that it bears a slight resemblance is a red-tailed hawk. I'll film a video clip tomorrow and post the link.

  • cici_stewart_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    I followed the sound last night, flashlight in hand, thinking I had a couple of raccoons in the manzanita trees that line my property. I could hardly believe my eyes when my flashlight shone on the culprit... it was an owl! Yes, an owl. Small, maybe 9' and grey. I followed the sound to the left of it and spotted another owl. Who'd have thought an owl would make sounds like a raccoon? Whoooooo!

  • neptune25
    12 years ago

    I'll jump into this thread too. :) I live in northeast GA, and I've been hearing strange sounds at twilight over the past year, mostly in the warm months. It's a breathy kind of shriek that is broken up into two parts. It almost sounds like a "witch" or something. It doesn't happen repeatedly--only occasionally, and some nights not at all. Tonight, it happened at the edge of some woods right after sunset. I heard it about 3 times. I actually taped the sound using my digital camera, but when I played it back, you could barely hear anything. :(

    Of the sounds listed in this thread, the sound that I'm hearing is closest to that of the Eastern Screech Owl, but it still sounds a tad different to me. However, it definitely resembles the neigh of a horse. It probably is some kind of owl, though. I wish I could get an audible recording of it and post it to YouTube! It's been bugging me for months now to find out exactly what it is.

  • sairysue
    12 years ago

    Finally, I figured out what my mystery bird is in St. Louis. It is a common nighthawk. see link.....

    Here is a link that might be useful: guardian UK

  • jeremyt
    12 years ago

    I live in southeastern Wisconsin and have been puzzled by the loud screaming/screeching noises I would hear at night while walking the dog. I should say I was puzzled until last night.

    As I was coming down the street with the dog last night I heard this noise, very loud and what sounded like right in front of me. Looking down the street and flashing the flash light down the street I saw one of the many barn owls standing in the street screeching at me.

    Next time I am out I will try to get a sound clip to help solve the mystery for at least some.

  • gmccullough_zoominternet_net
    12 years ago

    I too was puzzled by loud bird sound the other night. We found the culprit: Grey Tree Frog

    Here is a link that might be useful: tree frog

  • xamichee_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Hi, I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. I was on my bike last night in the Greenville, SC area and heard the craziest owl call ever. It sounded like a crazed woman or monkey call. At first I thought it was kids messing with me in the dark. So after scouring the net, I found a sample. See the link... note the first sound that gets louder. I heard that up close and personal on a dark neighborhood street. Yikes!

    http://www.stancourtney.com/sounds/birds/Barred%20Owl/2009.05.07_Barred_Owl_01.mp3

    Here is a link that might be useful: Crazy Barred Owl Call

  • arthousefilms_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    Great thread! Northern California Coast: For the past 4 nights I have heard a screech from the top of giant eucalyptus trees. It sounds like a lone hawk. It screeches about every 20 seconds for the whole night. Is it a baby who is hungry? Wounded? Or is this something natural with hawks?

    thanks, for your help.

  • Jeanninenperris_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Tonight i hear alot of birds or bats flying around in circles around my house sreaching.....nonstop.....its been over three hrs....they cirle and circle in the same direction over and over around my house....what coukd they be....they are not frogs for i see them fly but its too dark to tell if they are bats or birds.

  • bingo_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    It's a Barn Owl that screeches like that.
    http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Owl/id

  • jennifer20
    12 years ago

    I think It could be tree frog or owl.

  • Saintlane
    12 years ago

    I know this is a old form , but i just wanted to share , i have a big yard and woods on two sides , i know for a fact i have a mommy fox and she just had a baby back in feb. they live in a hollow tree that has fell on the back side , they never bother us except the garbage from time to time but a few months back me and my daughter heard a almost growling sound outside the front door early one morning i asked my dad he said it could have been our fox , well this morning about 3 am i heard my dogs barking so i went to check and i could hear screaming just like most of you decribed about every 30 sec to a min very high pitched almost barking/ screaming sound that echoed thought the woods, very scary sound, it lasted about a hour, so im not telling yall that you have a fox but i know that is what my was and it sounds like what alot of you r hearing , im guess its mating calls! its getting a little colder and its time to snugle!

  • HeatherU
    12 years ago

    I think I have the same bird. It came to my lake last year and stayed from Feb. to about June, so it must migrate. It sounds like it is screaming in my lake all night. Last night my boyfriend threw a rock at it and it flew away only to annoy my neighbors down the lake. My friend in Boynton Beach has the same bird. She called animal control and they said that it was endangered and we cannot harm them or try to relocate them in any way. Stand by for the name of the bird. I put a call in. BTW, it is fairly large and brown... it is sitting on the tree on the other side of the lake right now screaming at me. UGH!

  • kimberly8710
    12 years ago

    hello im new here but im a little scared for my grandmother she is so delicate of health and there is a bird i think scaring her in panama (the country )in the country area...it sounds like very extremely high pitch whistel people believe its a witch flying around but i think it my be and im hoping its a bird also i have doubts..so this happens at night and its very few whisteles oe or two or 3 but not a lot but you always hear it even when its far away and when you hear it it sund like it is very close to you...very very creapy so does anyone has a clue? please help so i ca tell my grandmother everything its just an act of nature? and also what other bird sound like its saying whoo-oohh! whhoo-oohh! like someone out of air? i want to get those whitch and ghost sounds out of myth i know they have to be birds! thank you and hope someone can give me the information i sooo need! thanks bye!!

  • sheldon12
    11 years ago

    It might be a Chuck-Will's-Widow. I'm in S.C. and I hear one all night long from spring to winter. If you follow this link, there is a recording of one. http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?curGroupID=1&curFamilyID=223

  • ellenrr
    11 years ago

    This website also has the bird sounds of some common garden birds.
    I love the bird songs.
    I also have what I think is a bird, something that makes bird sounds in the middle of the nite. Which surprised me cuz I didn't think birds sing at nite. So maybe it is one of the alternatives mentioned in this thread. Whatever it is, I like it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: bird songs

  • MK1234
    11 years ago

    I live in NH on a small pond with the same loud rhythmic calls from dusk through the night up in the trees. I thought it was a group of woodpeckers because I saw one in the trees at dusk when all the sounds were active. Turns out I was wrong, most of the posts here are correct. I did a little Google searching and found out it is a gray tree frog. Hope that helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Gray tree frog sound

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    I was hearing some strange sounds coming from the woods tonight--I've heard them before. Anyway, this time I followed them, and I found the culprit. It was a bird. It was no bigger than a mockingbird, but it was acting like a bat. The time was just after sunset, and the bird was flying around low and making short squawks. Sometimes it would even land on the ground, and then when it saw me following it, it would get up again. Overall, it was keeping pretty low to the ground, perching on low branches in trees, etc. The bird wasn't staying that far away from me either, and it kept making short squawks the whole time. Does anybody have any idea what kind of bird this might be?

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    Oops, forgot to mention that I'm in Northeast GA. :)

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    Look up Nightjars, which include whip-poor-wills, poor-wills and other 'night hawks'.

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    Thanks, rhizo_1. We have a ton of whippoorwills--we hear them all the time. But maybe this other bird is their cousin or something. :) Yes, I'll definitely read up on nightjars.

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    OK, I think the bird is definitely some type of nightjar. This description for the common nighthawk hits the nail on the head:

    In the Southern United States, it is sometimes mistaken for a bat when spotted flying erratically at dusk.

    However, the bird's voice is different from that of a common nighthawk. Ir'a much less intense. This bird sounds almost like a chicken (bock-bock), but with a much lower-pitched voice.

    So, I definitely believe it's some time of nightjar--thanks, rhizo_1. Maybe eventually I can narrow it down. I'll have to bring my digital camera along next time and hope it can pick up the squawking. :)

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    Oops, hit the wrong keys there. :) That was supposed to say, "It's much less intense." LOL.

  • neptune25
    11 years ago

    OK, I think the mystery is solved (at least for me :). Apparently the bird I've been hearing is a whippoorwill. I didn't realize that whippoorwills, in addition to making their familiar call, also make a low-pitched bock-bock at times. Someone told me this on another forum, and it makes perfect sense.

    I wonder why all the sound clips of whippoorwills online don't include this other noise that they make too? Strange.

  • jaxx0rr
    11 years ago

    THIS GUY !!!

    ---------------------------------------------------
    Posted by chauch (My Page) on
    Tue, Jul 21, 09 at 0:20

    imgu89 is close, but it's not a barn owl. It's a juvenile Great Horned Owl. We all know the sound of the adult Great Horned Owl's hoot, but as juveniles, they let out a piercing shreik as they beg for food all through the night. It sounds exactly like a cross between a parrot and a red-tailed hawk screech. Super loud and carries all the way across the farmer's fields behind our house--no way it's a frog. This spring we would have a pair of adult Great Horned owls who would frequently perch on our roof and hoot to each other. It only makes sense that they were nesting in a nearby tree. We are now lucky enough to have a baby in the trees behind our pond and the sound is unmistakable. There is more information here:
    http://www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com/owl.htm
    Here is a picture of one of the awkward little guys (or gals):
    http://www.douglloydphotography.com/mediac/400_0/media/DIR_9698/horned~owl~618.jpg
    Here's a sound file--scroll down to "Recordings" and click the middle one.
    http://owling.com/Great_Horned.htm
    Here's another one--scroll down to "Great Horned Owl" and click the second one that says "Owlet calling for food."
    http://www.owlpages.com/sounds.php
    Ours is a little lower than both of these and sounds more like a parrot screech than a red-tailed hawk screech, but that's what it is for sure.
    Mystery solved. Count yourselves lucky if you hear it that you have these magnificent birds reproducing in your neighborhood (unless you're a mouse).
    ---------------------------------------------------

    just when I was about to snipe it with my softair gun..
    poor baby owl just wants some nomnoms..
    ...
    ...
    god dammit the sound is unbearable... imma scare it away..
    ...
    ...
    @#$%@#$% it wont go away... what to do ?!?!??
    keeps makin that horrible sound from 10pm till dunno late in the night.. me and i'm sure several dozens of neighbour's cant sleep ...
    ...
    I've seen it on a pole the fukkr was teasing me... threw a bunch of small rocks at it.. it went to some other location
    ...
    ..
    fkn HELL its back..
    .....
    and now there's 2 jesus h. christ... !

  • nieten7642
    11 years ago

    Yes, chauch is 100% right, at least in my case. Played the sound he linked too of the juvenile Great Horned Owl, and that's what we have. Heard it starting in the evening then took my dog out around midnight... Still going. Decided to see what would happen if I imitated it... And after about a dozen imitations/calls it flew in close to check me out. Landed in a big old tree and really started calling out. It was dark, but could see that it was a large bird. We have heard mature Great Horns here for years, but never heard the juveniles before. Like a shrieking sound a minute or so apart. Thanks chauch!!! You're my hero for helping me identify it!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Equip2Survive.com Survival Gear and Information

  • AntarRSB
    10 years ago

    The sound you're hearing is either the owl as mentioned or a common nighthawk. They sound similar so what it boils down to is how you hear the sound. If it's stationary as in in the tree and only the tree probably juvenile owls.

    However here in Detroit I hear this as well but it repeats throughout the night and at different locations. These are nighthawks. If you're lucky and one flies close enough to you (say no more than 25 ft. away) you can also hear them fly it's a soft buzz song when they whip by. If you're luckier or a bird watcher you can see them in flight in summer mornings at about 4-5 am (or whenever is slightly before dawn but lit enough to see dark figures). It took me a while to figure this out, as my first guess were bats ironically enough but it's definitely nighthawks here. I remember the band on the wing when one flew overhead.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Call of the Common Nighthawk

  • neptune25
    10 years ago

    Here's a follow-up to my post from a couple of years ago. I was hearing a shriek in the woods that sounded like a "witch." I've been wondering what the sound is for over 2 years now. Well, I finally found out. It's deer!

    Here's a link to the sound (it takes about 20 sec. before the sound appears):

    Deer Snort

    Who'd a thunk it?

  • JordanWalker
    10 years ago

    I was thinking maybe screeching owl too. Those things are scary sounding specially at night time. Just like what happened one year ago. We went camping with my friends in the middle of the woods and in the middle of the night I woke up by a screaming owl. It freaked me out, all I could think was getting outta there.

  • Granville7718
    10 years ago

    Hi, I know this post is old, but i came across it looking for another bird sound and had to reply because I'm pretty sure I know exactly what the noise is. I'm surprised nobody else has posted this. Southern Flying Squirrels. http://www.wildlifeofct.com/southern%20flying%20squirrel.html I live in Orlando and they're everywhere, yet nobody knows they're around because they come out at exactly dusk, party all night, and are in bed before you wake up. But if you happen to have a window right outside a tree they live in, they'll keep you up for hours. I had this problem in my old house. I have them living in my yard now as well, but fortunately their tree is on the other side of the house. Grab a flash light and hang out and look for them. But have patience because they're hard to spot at first. Here's a link to the sound.

    Here is a link that might be useful: southern flying squirrel

  • sandyl
    10 years ago

    Great Blue Herons fly and hunt at night, I have heard and see many by moon light.

  • Charlotte_M
    9 years ago

    So I know the post below is 4 years old, but those are probably Spadefoot Toads! And several other of these noises described are different toad species. Interesting string of posts!

    â¢Posted by tnlizzy 7 (My Page) on
    Fri, Sep 17, 10 at 20:18

    Can anyone identify this crazy bird (?) sound? It started in the middle of the night in East Tennessee on Sept. 16th, 2010 after a thunderstorm and rain. Listen to the recording at this link (or click on "Crazy Sound at Night" below): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkAywvkv2zs
    I did read most of the previous posts and the sound isn't like an owl, frog or fox.
    Any help would be VERY appreciated because it freaked me out!! =)

  • franci29
    8 years ago

    @ Catherine-from Texas, a woman screaming, first find out by calling 911 if it is a woman in trouble but in your yard, a mountain lion sounds just like a woman screaming. Do Not go out to see what it is. Middle of the night I heard sounds like loud heavy wings flapping and a horrific screeching. I was raised almost inner city but come from farming and ranching people, families, they are all dead. I don't know what it was but I did not let my dogs out.

  • User
    8 years ago

    I was wondering what nature sounds are in Kansas in middle to late summer.The daytime sounds are cicadas singing and pretty sure the night sounds are tree frogs. Aw, the wonderful sounds of summer

  • Sandy Dunn
    8 years ago

    I live in Florida on a lake. It seams as if whatever this noisy bird is, it must be attracted to water. Driving me crazy! Never in 13yrs living here, or anywhere, have I heard this. I know its a baby crying for momma. It starts when the sun is gone, and goes ALL NIGHT LONG! I love sleeping w the windows open cause its beautiful out. I was thinking maybe an owl, but its screechy, unlike an owl.

  • pinkfairy27
    7 years ago

    Well guys i live in the uk in an urban area but there is a green belt where I live( but no water) . I have been lead to this thread because I am trying to find out what bird is making this high pitch almost scream like screechy noise. Unlike others on here it doesn't bother me . I love birds and would just love to know whats out there. We tend not to get the wonderful birds I saw as a child living in the USA. I have lived here many years and never ever heard this before. And as someone posted a few weeks back i thought id give it a go. its been very wet and cold here.

  • Nita Younger
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Thanks for the links. I'm still not sure what it was but I'm very sure it was killing the rats my neighbor had been inadvertently raising. For that I'm very grateful.

    End of April about 2 am. hear this horrific screaming and screeching interspersed with a warbling almost cooing sound. But the sounds overlapped so it was more than one creature. They were in the neighbors front yard. Since the town made him remove the feed, the rats went searching and they were found. Only happened that one night but it went on for hours.

  • pepperlou
    7 years ago

    Any idea what this is? I feel like it may be an owl, but sometimes it sounds like it may be an animal vs a bird. it's loud even with the windows closed and it's been coming back late at night for the past week.


    Thanks in advance


  • pepperlou
    7 years ago


    Sound did not post here it is!


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