The evening before last, my neighbor across the street called to tell me that there were owls in her backyard.  By the time I grabbed my optics and walked over, the owls flew to nearby powerline tower.  They were Barred Owls and appeared to be a family group comprised of two large adults and one smaller juvenile.  One of the adults flew off and returned with something in its beak to the eagerly begging juvenile.  The Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs CD contains an example of the harsh screeching call made by Barred Owl fledglings, which may be your mystery midnight sound.  My neighbor said the owls have been active the past several nights, waking the family on several occasions with the unusual call.
 
Tom Marko
Olney, MD
thomas.marko@med,navy.mil
 
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From: Maryland Birds & Birding on behalf of Cavigelli, Michel
Sent: Thu 03-Jul-08 3:07 PM
To: 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Bird heard near midnight, the sequel

Hi folks,

I have gotten four responses of peacock, and though I am not great with
sounds, this does sound familiar from when I lived near some peacocks
many years ago.  However, it would be quite surprising to have peacocks
at this location, which is federal agricultural land (I know of no
federal peacocks at BARC) and marsh land.  Maybe the sound could travel
a long distance and one of the neighbors has peacocks (all likely
candidates probably > 1 mile away)?

However, I wanted to share a comment made by Chris Starling who
mentioned perhaps a juvenile owl (he mentioned peacock too).  With that
in mind, do others have experience with juvenile owl calls?  We
definitely have barred and screech owl in the area.

Thanks.

Michel
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Michel A. Cavigelli
Research Soil Scientist
Sustainable Agricultural Systems Lab
Animal and Natural Resources Institute
Bldg 001, Rm 140
BARC-West
10300 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, MD 20705

301-504-8327 office
240-304-9480 cell
301-504-8370 fax
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