Owl or Mammal ? (1 Viewer)

[Buckster]

Recorded last night on a Birdnet Pi - accidentally as it had detected and recorded a Redwing (correctly) - latter part of the recording

Its the howl/hoot at the start of the clip. Whatever it was seemed quite close to the mic (which was in the back garden) - very little dog noise at night or during the day here just the occasional distant bark, never heard anything like this. Recording was at 11:20pm - I have never seen anyone walking their dog at that time

do have regular Fox visitors (live on the edge of a field) - but I've not heard a Fox sound like this but I do know they have wide vocalisations.

do have regular (once or twice a week) Tawny Owls - Male and Female which I've numerous recordings of over the last month or so - and none sound like this

have heard there are Long Eared Owl in the village and in the local area but I've not heard them from the house

In the recording - after the howl/hoot it sounds like something either takes off or lands on the fence (which is near the mic) - can hear it but can also see the double vertical line. I had a Sparrowhawk land on the fence behind me once when I was putting bird food out and it sounded very similar.

any ideas please ? I'm completely stumped - my apologises if is a Mammal rather than a Bird. I think most likely a strange vocalisation from a Fox (would be a new one to me) but part of me thinks it could be an Owl

 

[01101001]

Do you know Undiscovered Owls – web book - The Sound Approach?
I don't think anything matches up with it (?)

 

[Derbyfella]

Sounds more like a deer to me

 

[Buckster]

Do you know Undiscovered Owls – web book - The Sound Approach?
I don't think anything matches up with it (?)

thanks very much for the link and reply - I wasn't aware of that web book and it's a fantastic resource thankyou for sharing

 

[Buckster]

Sounds more like a deer to me

I have to admit that was one of my first thoughts - but I've gone through numerous videos online of all of the European Deer (and wider) of their various calls and I can't find anything close

 

[KenM]

If that was an owl….I’d be running for cover.🤣

 

[Buckster]

If that was an owl….I’d be running for cover.🤣

lol - the odd thing is though - I've listened to loads of videos on youtube for dog, deer, fox all sorts of vocalisations and not found something near and don't know how to describe it but the "roundness"/maybe harmonics just sounds a bit more bird like than mammal - although I freely admit it is more likely it is a mammal

BirdNET Pi did detect last night 2 instances of Barn Owl and multiple instances of Tawny Owl last night though which was nice to see this morning. One of the instances of the Barn Owl was distant but the other nice and close

 

[Julie50]

Just saying…….are we sure it’s not a human mammal?

 

[Buckster]

Just saying…….are we sure it’s not a human mammal?

I can't be certain but I think would be difficult for a human to make that noise, and it was at 11.20pm - house is at end of a culdesac and there is very little noise at night from neighbours etc. One side of house is right up against field - Mic in the back garden was located by the fence that is next to the field

<edit> added a photo for reference. Mic was placed near fence at about fence height

 

[01101001]

BirdNET Pi did detect last night 2 instances of Barn Owl and multiple instances of Tawny Owl last night though which was nice to see this morning. One of the instances of the Barn Owl was distant but the other nice and close

Maybe I'm unusually deprived of owl observations, but it must be great to have them both up close.

 

[Buckster]

Maybe I'm unusually deprived of owl observations, but it must be great to have them both up close.

it is but from the house rarely heard or seen

in around 4 years, I've heard a Barn Owl once and Tawny Owl once. Although I do see Barn Owls very regularly when driving about the area near dark - I've never seen one from the house - even though I've spent multiple times for half an hour at a time at dusk looking - I think they tend to pass by along the hedge on the field edge rather than hunt over the field - so I'd have to be looking at exactly the right time.

I've been really surprised how often Tawny Owls have been picked up by the BirdNET Pi overnight considering how infrequently I've heard (and often have window open at night) - but that said they seem to be very late into the night 2am, 4am etc so probably fast asleep

I'm also quite surprised, after 2 months of most evenings Pi being out - last night was first time it detected a Barn Owl - that said though they are not vocal all the time

 

[KenM]

lol - the odd thing is though - I've listened to loads of videos on youtube for dog, deer, fox all sorts of vocalisations and not found something near and don't know how to describe it but the "roundness"/maybe harmonics just sounds a bit more bird like than mammal - although I freely admit it is more likely it is a mammal

BirdNET Pi did detect last night 2 instances of Barn Owl and multiple instances of Tawny Owl last night though which was nice to see this morning. One of the instances of the Barn Owl was distant but the other nice and close

Hi Buckster,

I regularly sleep with window open (adjoin woodland) Tawny’s have a wide vocalisation of calls apart from the regular “ker-wick” and “hoot” to my ear it sounded too volumous for an owl, I’d think mammal would be more likely.

Cheers

 

[Buckster]

Hi Buckster,

I regularly sleep with window open (adjoin woodland) Tawny’s have a wide vocalisation of calls apart from the regular “ker-wick” and “hoot” to my ear it sounded too volumous for an owl, I’d think mammal would be more likely.

Cheers

thankyou and I definitely get what you mean by it sounding too volumous for an owl

in the kindly provided link above I listened to all the vocalisations of Tawny Owl and Long Eared Owl (they are meant to be in the village, and I've heard in the next village a few miles away) and none sounded right.

I've listened to all the youtube Fox videos I can find, all their call variants and none seemed close. Did the same for all of the European (and wider) Deer

Just the other side of the fence (to the side) is a small area of grass and hedge that is our garden - this area is open to the fields - I will put out the Wildlife camera tonight to see what it picks up

ps living next to a wood sounds fantastic reference listening to the Tawny Owls - I'm really enjoying listening to the recordings in the morning of them. One particular - either vocalisation or individual sounds really "cute" (don't know the right word)

 

[Buckster]

Some of the Tawny Owls last few weeks