Too cold outside to investigate.

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sathanai
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Too cold outside to investigate.

Hello.

I heard a call tonight at 9.30pm  that went woi...woi,woi,woi (high pitched). Any idea what it could be? I first thought it was a little dog barking from across the valley but then realised it was closer than that in a steep North /South valley with a permanent stream and dam mostly cleared with some remnant and regen forest, just North of Gembrook Vic.

S.

Woko
Woko's picture

Hi, sathanai. Some information is better than none but it's always difficult for others to guage from a written sound what the sound is really like. However, including the location & habitat of the sound is helpful.

I wonder if your bird is a barking owl, the sound of which is described in Michael Morcombe's Field Guide to Australian Birds as "a rapid 'wook-wook'". It's habitat is "open country with stands of trees, tree-lined watercourses" which fits your habitat description.

If, on this page, you go to Bird Finder > Barn Owl you'll see on the right hand side of the page a box with the sound of the barn owl which you can play. Give it a try & see what you think.

timmo
timmo's picture

Hi sathanai,

Woko might be on the money here - I always think of Barking Owls as sounding a bit like a fox terrier or other small dog bark, but perhaps a bit more "strangled". i.e. kind of "woo woo woo" - like "woof woof woof" without the f on the end.

The other sound you may hear if it's a barking owl, is a high-pitched scream somewhere between a baby crying and a cat's yowl.

Good luck investigating, if it's not too cold.

Cheers
Tim
Brisbane

sathanai
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Thanks for your replies. 

Is there any way of spotlighting an owl without hurting its eyes - looks like I'm going to have to get a visual as it didn't sound like the recording. It was higher pitched i on each woi and repeated the set  over and over with the same pause after the first woi. I did hear screeching in a different area of trees later on.

I will just have to go out in the cold tonight.

GregL
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King quail call at night. They are aviary birds so sometimes appear out of their range.

dwatsonbb
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I don't advocate spotlighting, but National Parks and Wildlife in Tasmania (they have information sessions during the breeding season) provide red cellophane to cover your torch with at the Little Penguin & Short Tailed Shearwater rookeries after dark, this apparently is easier on their eyes.

Dale Huonville, Tasmania

Araminta
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Hi sathanai, I live outside of Gembrook. Yes we do have Barking Owls around here in the Bunyip State Park. If you happen to find it in your trees, please don't tell people where exactly you saw it. I haven't heard the one that used to live close to my house yet, but someone in town has, he wrote about it in the local paper, but I convinced him not to write more about his find. And he didn't.

Just a minute ago , for the first time this season, I heard another Owl in my trees. There are lots of Owls around here, even Powerful Owls. I know they are there, and next month we will hear the young begging for food. I never go and bother them, I'm glad they are there, that's all.

There are so many things we can do though to protect those beautiful birds. The most important one is not to cut old trees down, trees they so desperately need to find hollows to build their nests in. (At the moment, after the last fires, people panic and cut and slash without any regards for nature.They are destroying so many bird's habitat)

We live in this beautiful part of Victoria, let's look after it.

M-L

Araminta
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I heared our (?) Powerful Owl at 6.30 double hooting close to us .There also was a higher pitched resonse.yesyesheart

Some other Owls are also vocal now. Good luck to all of themyes

M-L

Woko
Woko's picture

While I imagine it's exciting to track down owls at night I'm content to listen to their calls rather than disturb them with a torch & interfere with their life styles.

sathanai
sathanai's picture

Point taken about disturbing them. Someone needs to tell the owl that terrorizes us every year when it bangs into our windows as it collects moths off them. It sits on the kids swings and sometimes sits on the pavers near our house which always worries me because there are foxes out here.

Might wait for a full moon and then investigate but not get too close.

S.

Araminta
Araminta's picture

What do you mean "terrorizes us" ? The Owl you are talking about that does that kind of hunting  around windows, collecting moths, can only be a Boobook. There are lots of those around Gembrook. Get your camera out and take some photos, I'd love to see them.  Even better,send the Owl over to my place, I'd love to be "terrorized" (as you call it) by any kind of Owl.

M-L

sathanai
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Yes I believe it is a Boobok.

I use the term terrorize because I can't count the number of times it's given me a fright while I've been on the computer or watching TV and its banged on the windows. Not good if it's a horror movie.

The family loves it so we won't be sending it your way M-L, maybe one of its offspring will turn up at your place.

Will post a photo one I get a decent one.

S.

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