Twice now I have come home around 10pm and both nights I have been 
hearing a bird calling which is out of the ordinary and making me 
nuts. The first night I though perhaps it had gotten disturbed and 
was flying calling out an alarm call, but two nights in a row at the 
same time made me really question this.  I do more of my backyard 
birding by ear rather than by sight because I live in an apartment 
complex and we are not allowed to put out feeders.  We do have a 
small wooded area off the parking lot and we are waterfront with some 
small wetland areas and I am used to hearing the occasional black 
crowned night heron cronking and we always have swifts and swallows 
swooping for bugs at night, but that is not until summer.

Here's what information I can offer:
At first it was reminiscent of a killdeer (whose call I know well) 
but when I got in the house and began flipping through my Stokes CD's 
on iTunes the cadence was not the same, although the tone and quality 
of the call was very similar.

I live in a garden apartment complex and the bird was flying around 
some of the buildings while calling. We have a small wooded area and 
we are waterfront with some small wetland areas. Because of the 
security lights I am unable to actually see it.

The song it has been repeating goes between a two note and a three 
not call, occasionally adding a 4th note. The notes are pretty much 
the same length and the emphasis seems to rotate.

So far I can only say what it is not and that would include owls, 
nighthawks and nightjars.

Based on the night flying and my somewhat rough description of the 
call, can anyone suggest what bird/s I should be looking/listening 
for?
-- 
Melanie