Thanks, Guy and also to those who replied privately.
I would agree, the first part sounds typical of the short-eared owl. The wing
claps also fit with that identification. What is still mystifying to me is the
second part - a duet of insect-like squeaky chirps or peeps. The barking
individual seemed to settle down to quieter and less frequent mewing sounds.
These mewing sounds returned to the location for short (few minute) durations a
few times over the couple hours I paid attention. At some points the mewing
and the peeping did seem to coincide and interrelate - perhaps a parent
checking in on a couple fledglings. However, I am not ruling out the
possibility two separate species just yet.
John Hartog
rockscallop.org
--- In Guy <> wrote:
>
> John,
>
> Your recording sounds very much like the standard vocalizations of
> the short-eared owl. If you can access Dendroica, Cornell's online
> Bird ID help website, they have numerous recordings of all 3 owls
> mentioned, plus every other bird in North America, if I read it
> right. They do require you to register, but it was free when I
> registered. You can access it here : Dendroica Bird ID Tool
>
> Their description of the short-eared's vocalizations includes the
> following text: "a variety of sharp barks like the tentative barks
> of a puppy, usually directed toward human intruders" . This would
> makle sense because they were located in the middle of a busy
> campground. The long-eared also has an alarm call (the 5th button
> of sounds for the bird in dendroica) very similar to your birds.
> Their western screech recordings have no similar sounds.
>
> Guy McGrane
>
>
> John Wrote:
>
> Mystery Sounds: unknown owl vocalizations
> South Fork Crooked River, Crook County, Oregon
> May 4 2012, approximately 1 hour after dusk.
>
> Recorded outside the foot of my tent with AT3032 microphones and a
> SD702 recorder. There are also some rustling and sounds in the
> vicinity from other campers in our group settling in for the night.
> Edits: the recording was amplified approximately 12 dB over natural,
> several car doors and one stomach grumble were edited out.
>
> If you have a guess which species might make such sounds, please feel
> free to comment.
>
> My guesses: short-eared owl, long-eared owl, or western screech owl.
>
> John Hartog
> rockscallop.org
>
>
>
>
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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