Hi Rod,
I remember all the hype in the Toowoomba Chronicle in 1975 about screaming
women in Redwood Park and as you say there was the thought in those times
that the culprit was a Powerful Owl.
I would refer you to our paper in Sunbird Volume 37 # 2. "Changes in the
Occurrence of Birds and Conservation of Bird Habitats in the Pittsworth
Shire (now part of Toowoomba Regional Shire), Darling Downs, since 1972"
A Barking Owl was recorded by Betty Temple Watts and ourselves in the
Irongate Conservation Park in May, June, and July 1972 and in one instance
roosting in a tree besides Betty's cottage where we were able to observe the
bird at close quarters from inside.
John and Ruth Walter
From: Hobson Rod
Sent: Wednesday, 25 July 2012 9:37 AM
To:
Cc: ; ;
; Ruth & John
Subject: Barking Owls in SEQ
Chris,
How are you, Mate? I've just been reading the follow-up on Greg's sighting
of Barking Owl at Lake Broadwater recently; a good record. I've spent a lot
of time around that place but never seen this owl there. With regard to this
species' presence in SEQ I have a few records. It was seen in Redwood Park
at the foot of the Toowoomba Range on 25.11.75 by Alan Graham of the
Toowoomba Bird Observers and I saw it here again on the 23.10.77. There was
some correspondence in the local rag The Chronicle at the time of the 1975
sighting, of people reporting sounds like "a braying donkey and screaming
girls in Redwood" that were identified by a local 'birdwatcher' as being
those of the Powerful Owl. The Powerful Owl had first been recorded in
Redwood around this time on 19.04.75. I'm not sure who the local birdwatcher
was who identified these mystery calls, as that of the Powerful Owl rather
than a possible Barking Owl. I do believe, however that strenua was for a
long time thought to be the culprit before it was eventually proved that the
Barking Owl to be so.
When I was at Gatton Uni in 1992-94 I was living at Winwill near Tent Hill.
I distinctly remember being rudely disturbed from my sleep in the very early
morning (17.02.92) by a chilling wail, as if of a woman in great distress; a
'screaming woman' cry as this owl's call is often described. It also had the
resident horses and our dogs fooled, as well. When I had gathered my wits I
searched with a spotlight and found a Barking Owl perched atop a pile of old
timber in our back yard - mystery solved. I only recorded it that one night.
though; never thereafter. I believe that John Hadley saw this bird a short
time after at Peachey Swamp, however. This wetland is just behind our
residence at Winwill of the time. This was the only time that I've ever
heard the screaming-woman cry of this owl and it was given while the bird
concerned was in flight, as I seem to recollect of the instance.
When I was on Fraser Island (1995-2001) I saw a pair of Barking Owls fairly
regularly there; a resident pair in the camping grounds at Dundubara. They
were fairly well known to the local rangers and I remember showing them to
Michael Mathieson on one occasion. I also had a very sick Barking Owl handed
in to me by a resident of Happy Valley on the island at one stage. It
subsequently died and it was thought to have eaten a Bush Rat or Black Rat
that had originally taken a poison bait. I'm pretty sure this owl is now in
the Q.M. reference collection.
The old timers of the Flagstone Creek/Stockyard Creek area below the
Toowoomba Range used to talk of Banshee Owls being present there 'in the old
days'. I'm pretty sure that they referred to Barking Owls and not any of the
Tyto spp., as they differentiated these respective birds by their calls.
They referred to the Tytos as Screech Owls based on their calls. One of my
friends from Flagstone Creek who knew his wildlife pretty well recorded a
Banshee Owl (not a Screech Owl) from Gorman's Gap in the early 1980's. I'm
pretty sure that it was a Barking Owl to which he referred. There was also
some talk of Barking Owl from the Ballard/Spring Bluff area a few years ago
but this was never confirmed.
Regards,
Rod H.
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