The Wonderful World of Owls

Based on this, I have heard many creatures in the night which I had not expected. The particularly spooky call of the grey fox and deer were a surprise. I have heard Barred Owls, Great Horned Owls, and Burrowing Owls either in my area or back east. I will try to have Merlin on-hand for any future calls I hear in the night, which could possibly be Owls or other night-time birds.

I found them all very interesting and a little surprising. I guess the common gray fox may have been the most surprising. Is there a good place for non-bird animal sounds? I've heard a few that neither I nor Merlin have been able to identify and sometimes I wish I had a better knowledge of non-bird sounds. Nik

I was really surprised by the deer sounds!

let's just say there are no standard rules of thumb

This was fun and interesting. The thing that surprised me the most was the gray fox!

Does one owl species understand the sounds of another owl species? In other words, when a barn owl produces a sound stating "this is my territory," does a barred owl (or any other owl species) interpret the sound in that way?

This was so interesting. The little gray fox was absolutely wild to hear. When I first heard the noises Cougars made, I was similarly shocked. Nature is so wonderful. I’m not very musically gifted and it’s always very impressive when someone is able to identify birds and other animals by their sound. Well done!

Common Gray Fox (so scared)

The Mourning Dove definitely sounded owl-like to me. In my area, the calls of the Barred Owl and Eurasian Collared-Dove are often confused.  Both are relatively recent arrivals in the region.

The first time I heard Barred Owl duetting was on a float trip on the Eleven Point River in the Missouri Ozarks. We were camped in the woods along the river, sitting around a campfire when the "hootenanny" started up. Really a memorable experience!

I would like to say that I think that it is so fascinating that there are so many sounds out there at night that we need to hear and pay close attention to at night.  The owl calls are literally fascinating especially the recording of the duet

The grey fox sounded like a screaming woman. We have barred owls and great horned owls.

I have been around white-tailed deer my entire life. I had no idea they made vocalizations like those presented here! Wow. Same with raccoons...I have never had the pleasure of hearing them call. I have heard owls at night. I just returned from Shenandoah National Park and heard owls at night. But have no idea which of the many species located in the park were doing the calling.

I was most surprised by the deer! I know fawns bleat and the adults will huff when threatened. But, I'd never heard something like that before.

The sound that surprised me the most was the Bush baby. It definitely sounds like an owl. Where I live, the sounds I hear from an actual owl at night is the barred owl. I was outsidedoing this course and heard it. There is one for sure pretty close to my apartment. The other sounds I hear are bats, frogs, and a group of coyotes. They were really close and loud last night.

Me sorprendió más el canto a dúo de Atrix varia, no sabía que en los strigiformes podría encontrar algo así al igual que algunos paseriformes de mi país como el Furnarius rufus.

the fox!

First, I really enjoyed this particular lesson! We live in a magnificent world of nature; so sad how we are rapidly destroying the habitat that supports all of these beautiful creatures. My biggest surprise was the White-tailed Deer! Douglas (Laureles, Medellín, Colombia)

Yikes, that bobcat sound would freak me out if I heard it. Speaking of being freaked out, I was camping a few months back and heard some shriek at night - now I know it was most likely a Barn Owl.

The first time I heard barred owls caterwauling I thought they sounded like monkeys,not likely in Canada😁.   We have Saw whet owls calling in the spring and Great greys here every other winter.     I have never heard a sound like that that come from a deer, so that one surprised me.

I didn't know that white tailed deer make that kind of sound. We have living in our bush two or three kinds of owls that I've heard on the recordings and also heard them live in the bush - barred owl (both single and duet) and Eastern screech owl.

OH MY GOSH!! I could guess the sounds that were probably owls and most of the animals but the bobcat freaked me out a bit and impressed me. I didn't know they could sound so scary. The Short Eared Owl threw me off as it sounds so much like a cat like animal and the Spotted Owl I mistook for a dog. I have never heard a bush baby in my life so I thought it was a crow. What a fascinating sound for a primate!! As for the gray fox I have heard a red fox before so I know they sound eerie and tend to scream. A red fox screamed for days at 6 in the morning around my neighborhood, likely a vixen in heat. But like I said before I have seen but never heard a gray fox before so hearing it gave me the chills. It was like a siren mixed with an echoing scream!! I didn't know such a sound could come out of an animal however I should know better after already hearing so many strange sounds in the animal kingdom haha!

The gray fox sounds like an ambulance being tortured. I've seen them, but never heard anything like that!

I was most surprised by the sound of the white tailed deer and the raccoon. The shrill sound of the Sooty Owl was also a surprise  with its high pitched shrill. I was able to identify the Saw Whet, the Barn Owl, the Barred Owl, thanks to previous sound recordings and the Mourning Dove, which I have heard many times at my feeder station. I was able to recognize that some sounds were not owls, like the bobcat and the whipporwill. I have never heard an owl at night. I spotted a Great Horned Owl on a dead tree on a rare snowy night in Sugar Land TX and the sound of a prey animal avoiding capture with leaves rustling and escape of the almost prey animal into  my flower bed.  I saw the Great Horned Owl in pursuit that night only because of the rustling leaves and the light from a flood light from my neighbors front yard. The almost prey animal was a neighborhood cat.

I have heard a Great Horned owl when I got up one night it sounded like a duetting pair .

All the sounds were amazing. I really liked the vocalization of Northern Saw-whet Owl, Spotted Owl, Southern Boobook and Eastern Screech-Owl I have also had the opportunity to listen to other owls like Band-bellied Owl https://www.xeno-canto.org/391918

I've only heard two owls: the Great Horned Owl (a couple of times, I could even see his silhouette in the top of a pine tree in Georgia!) and the Barred Owl. The first time I heard a Barred Owl, I had NO IDEA what it was--it's such an unusual sound! It took me a while to track down the type of owl--but once you hear it, you never forget it. Sometimes, when they are further away and it's more muffled, it sounds sort of like a dog barking in the distance. I was most surprised by the grey fox and deer sounds--never really knew they made any sounds, the fox was definitely a surprise--so eerie! I still can't believe how much the Northern Saw-whet owl sounds like a truck backing up! :D I also like "horse whinnying" sound the Eastern Screech-Owl makes.

The white-tailed deer was the biggest surprise for me.  The bobcat I recognized probably because I heard one when I was in high school.  We lived on the edge of a small town in a wooded area.  It was at night; my cousin and I stayed up late talking in our backyard.  We heard the scream, realized what it was and went in the house.

Each sound is remarkable in its own way. The most surprising for me were the bobcat and fox. And the barred owl really puts a smile on my face!

The Bushbaby, White-Tailed Deer, and Sooty owl suprised me! Both the Bushbaby and White-Tailed Deer sounded more like birds than anything. And with the Sooty owl's call, I thought it might've been an insect!

The white tailed deer surprised me! The fox sound for me sounded like an ambulance. I did not even knew what was a bushbaby! I have heard an owl sound before at about 3:00 p.m. apart fro  that no other sound.

The bobcat sound was spooky .  I haven’t heard any other owls yet.

Sooty owl sure surprised me! When I heard it I said, "There's no way that's an owl". Then, lo and behold, it turned out to be the sooty owl! Owls can make sounds than I ever expected.

The bobcat and the fox sounds were surprising and eerie!

The fox made a pretty haunting sound.  I have heard burrowing owls at night.  They do the "predator" sound if you walk too close to them when they have a nest but they make other sounds too. They have elaborate mating songs in the spring at night.

When i was young at a sleep away camp i used to hear the magical sounds of owls in the woods - so exciting - you can imagine my disappointment some years later when i discovered they were nothing but mourning doves.  DUPED!   Listening to these sounds - i am convinced I have never EVER heard an owl ever - but i am happy to know some of the noises that i have heard and had no idea what they were are some common back-yard critters in the area i live -always wondered what those noises were.  The variety of owl noises is amazing.  I am hoping one day to hear one..maybe if i listen more..

Mostly, the animal sounds surprised me.  I did not even know that deer made such noises, nor the fox.  The racoon sound was new to me as well. The bobcat sound was very scary.  I'm glad to hear it, though, so I won't be nearly as freaked out if I hear it in real life. The saw whet owl sound, like a truck backing up, is very interesting.  (I heard that earlier in the course, but wanted to note it as I find it amazing.)   The eastern screech owl, like a whinnying horse, is very interesting too. I believe I've heard the barred owls, great horned owls and a couple of others. I've seen, and I believe I heard, a barn owl before.  There seems to be a mated couple of barred owls in the trees near my apartment.  They sometimes call to each other quite loudly.  It's very cool to hear.  Even more the amazing because I live in a small city (part of a larger metro area).  But my complex has a descent # of trees, and backs to a big park.

I love the sound of the Barred owls talking to each other.

I did not know the sound of the deer.

I was most surprised by the bobcat scream.  Wow!  That was definitely creepy!  As far as the owls were concerned, the ones that gave whistling calls fooled me every time.  It's so incredible to see such diversity among owl vocalizations.  What a creative Designer they had!   I have heard Great Horned Owls and Barred Owls at night, but none of the others.

I've heard something that sounds like a turkey at night. Probably was.

Many animals make interesting bird-like sounds. I'd have to listen to this over and over again.

I have heard an owl that sounded just like the saw whet owl, but i do not live in its area! I have also heard some creepy sounding noises that sound like a human imitating a wolf howl, but we were in the middle of no where . I found the bobcat suprising!

The most surprising sound for me was the deer and the raccoon. I am still kind of in awe that owls make so many different sounds - in fact, it seems like the "who who" is actually not that common. And FWIW, I think the Barn Owl's screech is creepy - I would not want to hear THAT in the dark of night!

The gray fox and the deer

The bobcat, white-tailed deer, and common gray fox sounds all really surprised me. Especially the deer, I've seen them during daylight many times but never really heard them. I have heard several owls at night. Once in a while, I will hear a Great Horned Owl outside my house, with its hooting calls sounding very similar to those provided in the lesson. I have also heard an Eastern Screech Owl's drumming once or twice, but the Great Horned Owl I hear far more often.

One of the birds on my birdlist that i’ve been searching for for years is a Pel’s fishing owl. One night I was lying in my tent in KNP and I heared a sound. I was convinced it was a Pel’s but it seemed to be the sound of a Southern ground hornbill. Beter luck next time 🙃

The deer was the biggest surprise. I never gave a thought to what they sounded like. I am sure in the past I have thought I heard owls when hearing doves- hopefully I'll know better from now on. The fox was little creepy.

The common grey fox sounded like a human woman; the bobcat sounded human too.

The bushbaby totally sounded bird like. Also I'm surprised how many of the non-owl sounds were more typical North American mammals. I guess many people recognized just by sight and not sound.

I always thought, Dove sounds were Owls. The 'coo coo,' sounds like 'hoot hoot.' So I would think there were dozens of Owls in the forest. Now, after these courses, I can tell, that an Owl is not as prevalent, and sound more like -' hoo hoo hoo hohoho hoo.' Also, I never knew a Barn Owl sounded so Catlike. I would think, to hear that in a night time forest, it was a Panther. Scary. The Great Horned Owl sound makes sense to me, and so does the Screech Owl, because they are unique. But the Screech Owl almost sounds like a robot. So spaced and 'cartoon like.'  All the Hooter Owl sounds ring a bell, and sound like classical Owl sounds, but just a little different, than the classic, 'hoot hoot.' I like to hear the ones that mixes a trill and a hoot. Owly and unique.

The Poorwill as I kept thinking it was an Owl!!

Some sounds were very surprising to us, like the common fox and the white-tailed deer. We hear the great horned owls at night in our canyon very frequently, and we see them as well.  

Some of the sounds were new to me. I have heard Barred Owl, Screech Owl and Great Horned Owls and while living in Merced California, heard a Bobcat family, its amazing how many sounds we can hear at night if we live away from the cities.

On many of the owl sounds at night and in other videos, I get an error message so couldn't hear the sounds.

The call that kept catching me off guard was that Poorwill. other than that I've been able to tell the difference between calls of mammals vs owls. I have hands on experience with a screech owl and can pick that one out  She made an array of noises depending on her current mood  and/ or what she was trying to convey. Actually a pretty clever bird. I also have been monitoring 3 Barred owls over the last year and a 1/2. Also an awesome and interesting bird.

I have listened to this series only one time, and guessed many of them wrong. Most surprising to me was Sooty Owl.

An interesting exercise, I replayed several times...a lot of activity at night. The barn owl screech reminded me of a four footed animal cry. The fox was creepy.

This was a very informative exercise.  I even suspected you had recorded the Jersey Devil (lol).

I had no idea how varied owl sounds are!  My favorite is the barn owl.  I think it sounds like a spray can of whipping cream.

The fox and bobcat sounds were certainly surprising - and creepy! I want to set my alarm clock to the northern saw-whet owl's call, I love it. I've never heard an owl in person but after following the barred owl nest cam last season I'd recognize their sounds anywhere.

Both me and my mom have heard the barred owl courtship, It truly is amazing!! They sound just like monkeys, and the sound is so crazy and loud it even made our dog stop and listen. The mottled wood owl sound is very cool, and I would die if  I heard the bobcat or the fox at night.

The gray fox sounds were amazing- and unexpected. We have a friend who lives several blocks away (but well within city limits) who has foxes living in her wooded yard.