We were all kept awake last night by something calling loudly from a
tree near the house. Any help in identifying it would be much appreciated.
The sound was a cross between the nasal blare of a jay and the mew of a
cat, in a single one-second blast followed by a long pause. There was no
chittering or chattering to it, just a solid whiny scream. It continued
off and on for much of the night and well into the morning. When I
finally went outside to find the source of the @#$!&* racket, I was
shocked by how loud it was, and wondered if maybe our new neighbors had
bought a peacock. The noise might have been echoing from inside a tree
cavity, because there were no mammals or large birds visible among the
branches.
We're pretty familiar with the varied sounds of the squirrels, raccoons,
and foxes in our yard, plus of course the usual birds, and this was
totally different. I'm presuming it was a young creature of some sort,
but am otherwise clueless. After listening to various recordings of bird
and mammal sounds, my family agrees that (so far) peacock calls come the
closest. More realistic suggestions are welcome!
Thanks in advance.
Janet Millenson
Potomac, MD (Montgomery County)
<janet...>
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot
--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Group 'Maryland & DC Birding'.
To view group guidelines or change email preferences, visit this group on the web at http://www.mdbirding.com
Posts can be sent to the group by sending an email to <mdbirding...>
|