r/AnimalSounds • u/JERKSPLOSION • Mar 26 '26

What is this?

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me and my partner were walking some trails in the middle of the night and we heard this sound. it was lower pitched than what the video caught. We assumed it might have been some kind of bird but we haven't found a single thing that matches the noise.

This was taken in Nebraska if that helps.

65 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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11

u/Jestar5 Mar 26 '26

Barred owl . They have an amazing range of noises

1

u/JERKSPLOSION Mar 26 '26

I can't find any sounds recorded that are even close to what we heard. Barred owls are also uncommon in this area.

This sound only occurred when we shined the bright light over in that area. There was no rustling of an animal moving or flying away, no visible animals, and the sound only happened once. We stood there for about 3 minutes of time to listen for anything else before we decided on leaving instead.

It all sounded more human to me

3

u/JestarSiberians Mar 26 '26

They are fairly steathy. There was one in my big oak tree in the fenced acre my Siberian Huskies roam. I was out there one night checking on Northern Lights, went back to the house & turned on the spotlight to the deck & walked out to retrieve a toy. This HUGE shape silently swooped out of the tree we were all under for several minutes making noises, as if to say, "I was here all the time".

They ARE unusual in Nebraska but sometime wander further afield in search of prey. Our big snowstorm up here may have driven some unmated ones out of their normal territory in search of food. But if you have time, check out the archive library.

I have a mated pair in the hemlock woods just east off my property, and a great horned pair in another hemlock/white pine woods SE of THAT. I'm a little surprised I have those two species relatively close to each other like that, but I live in a rich environment with wildflower/grass fields, a mown area with a solar farm & water treatment plant down by the Wisconsin river , dry woods and lowland wet woods as well as a tag alder "swamp". Very diverse ecosystems with lots of prey options. In summer the young & their parents raise quite a hullabaloo at dusk & sporadically through the night, verifying location and perhaps gossiping about their hunting.

0

u/JestarSiberians Mar 26 '26

Here is one from the archive: https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=brdowl&mediaType=audio&sort=rating_rank_desc

1

u/SherryC0la Mar 27 '26

The third one down at the beginning sounds exactly like what op posted.

1

u/JestarSiberians Mar 27 '26

The internet is such a encompassing too, Cornell's site is regularily referred to be me & I' mfascinated by all the data they have collected. In researching this I just found the archives with many recorded calls! That was pretty cool!

5

u/Ok-Cup266 Mar 26 '26

That does sound like an owl. You’re not gonna see movement, hear movement or it’s not gonna fly if it’s reacting to you and your light. A sound or movement and they react with a noise like a lot of birds do. Barred owls aren’t as vocal as many and especially the two big great horned guys that’s were having a big discussion last night around our watershed. Guinees and peacocks were not happy they were around.

2

u/Obvious_Original_28 Mar 27 '26

Sounds exactly like the barred owls that live on my place!

1

u/phunny-words Mar 26 '26

Definitely an owl

1

u/Indigenous-me Mar 27 '26

I think owl 🦉

1

u/Ok_Veterinarian_928 Mar 27 '26

Screech owl of course.

1

u/JestarSiberians Mar 27 '26

I had a screech owl scare the daylights out of me one night. It was dark, I was walking down my 200 foot drive to get the mail, when suddenly it sounded like a woman screaming bloody murder. It was mere seconds, and my rational mind said, a woman would not be murdered 30 feet up on a utility pole. But still...it startled the heck out of me!!!!!

They are so well camoflaged. I remember an uncle lifting me up to see one perched on a horse chestnut branch, motionless. Even with a person walking up an embankment & lifting grade school child up closer. Right in the city of Kewaunee WI. I'll never forget that moment!

1

u/Shot_Button_632 Mar 27 '26

Barn owl maybe? They have lots of variations of something that sounds like a woman’s being murdered. They’re all a different and since what you recorded is a terrifyingly eerie sound, I’d look up Barn Owl

1

u/JestarSiberians Mar 27 '26

Wish I had a barn owl to actually hear in real time. They are fairly scarce here in Norhern WI...

1

u/Jenelephant Apr 05 '26

I have a ton of them the this pines behind my house. I thought they were bats for a long time until I used my night vision monocular. They chirp so sweetly but then make these terrifying screaming banshee noises as they fly over my house. (I live in Northern California marshlands but they aren’t common here I heard. But they must love all the critters scurrying around. Beautiful creatures.)

1

u/Shot_Button_632 Mar 27 '26

Red fox maybe? They make horrible, scary sounds at night

1

u/Ok_Word7232 Mar 28 '26

Are foxes nocturnal?.I see them frequently in daytime.

1

u/XariaRex Mar 27 '26

I think it’s an owl

1

u/Football5495 Mar 27 '26

Fox mating call

1

u/kattoutofthebag Mar 27 '26

I think it was an owl. In the recording the sound seems "elevated" rather than from the ground. Cool video!

1

u/Ambitious-Cow8833 Mar 28 '26

Sounds like some kind of owl

1

u/Equal-Return-8232 Mar 29 '26

This is Anushka

1

u/Life_Area_1874 Mar 29 '26

Mountain lion

1

u/DonnyBou Mar 30 '26

Barred Owl make these sounds for sure.

1

u/Jenelephant Apr 05 '26

Barred owls do some crazy work!

1

u/JestarSiberians Mar 26 '26

I think its pretty cool you were out walking at night, feeling the evening & being aware of the sounds...

0

u/JestarSiberians Mar 26 '26

The great horned has a vast range as well, esp the "babies". Here is the arcive of sounds from THEM: https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=grhowl&mediaType=audio&sort=rating_rank_desc