loud 'pew pew' Middlesex Massachusetts (1 Viewer)

[mirdin]

I've been hearing a bird that makes a loud, shrill 'pew pew' sound very early in the morning (waking me up) and during the day as well.

It does the same sound over and over. 'pew pew' ... 'pew pew'....'pew pew'

I haven't been able to identify the bird, I hope you can help! (I'll try recording the sound)

I'm located in Middlesex, Massachusetts

 

[Gillian_M]

Hi Mirdin,

I see this is your first post, so welcome to Birdforum!

I'm afraid I can't help much with your mystery bird, but if you can get a recording that would make it easier. Also, can you describe the habitat where you live? I.e., middle of the city, out in the country, etc. That might help too.

 

[steveo]

How about Northern Cardinal. scroll down and click on "play song" on this link http://fsc.fernbank.edu/Birding/birdID/cardinal.htm

 

[KC Foggin]

Hello there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

What about a Grey Catbird?

 

[mirdin]

Thanks for the welcome!

It is very difficult to describe the sound in words!
The birds mentioned so far aren't it.

This bird just repeats 'peeeew' 'peeeew' (twice and then a pause). No other sounds as far as I can tell. The 'peeeew' is a long sound, not a short 'pew'

I'll make a recording of it tomorrow morning.

 

[Gentoo]

I'm thinking maybe, Acadian Flycatcher. Phonetically it's writen many different ways but your description seems to match it.

Get a recording if you can for sure.

 

[steveo]

I this link look at the top of the list on the right labeled Tyrant flycatchers try eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood Peewee, and Acadian Flycatcher. http://www.uwgb.edu/birds/wbba/speciesaudios.htm

 

[Jim M.]

An easy way to record the sound would be to use the video function of a digital camera. Northern Cardinal is what occurred to me also; they have many different calls and songs, but I confess I was unable to find one that consisted simply of two repeated notes. Tufted Titmouse and Baltimore Oriole (which, like Cardinals, have many different vocalizations) are other possibilities, but they also tend to have longer songs.

I'm thinking maybe, Acadian Flycatcher. Phonetically it's writen many different ways but your description seems to match it.

Get a recording if you can for sure.

Acadian is a rare to uncommon bird in Massachusetts. It also would be unlikely in a suburban area (though we do not have a description of the surroundings at this point). It also does not repeat the same sound twice in close succession -- it's call is a single explosive two-syllable hiccup-like sound (peet-sut!).

Best,
Jim

 

[Parula6]

Do you have Wood-Pewees in your neighborhood? They don't always make the full "pee-a-weee" call, often just sticking to drawn out "peeeurs" instead. Pewees have a tone of voice that often sounds plaintive to the human ear, and is fairly distinctive. As another poster suggested, a clear, whistled series of "peeew" sounds is a common song pattern of the No. Cardinal. They usually sing many multiples, however, not just two.

A bird that comes to mind that frequently sings couplets (often phrased as "peter-peter" or "pew-pew") is the Tufted Titmouse. They're found in your area. I have a resident bird that drives me batty some days with his repetitive song, which is pretty loud and penetrating for such a little guy. Oh, and one other thought -- if this sounds like a call and not a song (alarm cry for example as opposed to something prettier), check out Carolina Wren. They are very vocal and have a wide variety of repetitive calls, some pretty harsh.

 

[Gentoo]

I forgot about Tufted Titmouse. That's a real possibility.

 

[mirdin]

I made a video with my digital camera, but I can't upload the file. It's a quicktime file with a .mov extension.

I tried capturing the audio from the quicktime movie with an audio capturing program, but the resulting audio quality was not good. So I put the .mov file online here:
http://www.easy-share.com/1905579508/bird.mov

The bird was far away somewhere in the trees, but you can still hear it pretty well. Hope this helps!

I'm quite sure we have the tufted titmouse around here as well. It is a bit similar but not as loud and penetrating and it seems to repeat the pew 3 to 4 times instead of just the 2, and then often changes song.

 

[Jim M.]

I made a video with my digital camera, but I can't upload the file. It's a quicktime file with a .mov extension.

I tried capturing the audio from the quicktime movie with an audio capturing program, but the resulting audio quality was not good. So I put the .mov file online here:
http://www.easy-share.com/1905579508/bird.mov

The bird was far away somewhere in the trees, but you can still hear it pretty well. Hope this helps!

I'm quite sure we have the tufted titmouse around here as well. It is a bit similar but not as loud and penetrating and it seems to repeat the pew 3 to 4 times instead of just the 2, and then often changes song.

It's a titmouse, as I and others suggested above. It's pretty much the classic pattern--"Peter, Peter". I agree they usually repeat it more often, but they also have a lot of different songs.

Best,
Jim

 

[mirdin]

Not to argue (since I'm not an expert!) but I'm not quite sure, especially because this bird is louder than the tufted titmouse.

This bird doesn't really come close to the house, and I haven't been able to spot him yet in a tree closer by the house.

I've seen and heard the tufted titmouse, but it just isn't as loud as this bird it seems. The 'pew pew pew' call I've heard the titmouse make is the one they have here:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/sounds (the second bar where it says 'Song')

It's not the same 'pew' and not as loud. At least that's my impression so far!

I'll try to get some pictures of the birds and a better sound recording when I have the chance.

Thank you for your help so far!

 

[Jim M.]

Mirdin,

Tufted Titmice are fairly notorious for singing in different ways at different times. If you want an idea of the amount of variation in Tufted Titmouse songs, check out this link [you may have to do a search for Tufted Titmouse]: http://macaulaylibrary.org/search.do

I have birded extensively in Massachusetts, by the way, so I know the avifauna well.

Best,
Jim

 

[graymall]

Could it be an Evening Grosbeak?

 

[steveo]

I agree with Jim on it being a Tufted Titmouse.I usually hear a three note call with a tufted titmouse there is certainly variation. The bird is probably doing the calling from high in the tree tops which can make it sound louder more boomimg I guess.

 

[mirdin]

Well, I'm quite sure there are tufted titmice around. I heard the three note call this afternoon as well. It is exactly the same as I've heard on the sound files.

Since I haven't heard the loud two note call at the same time as the 3 note call it could ofcourse be the same bird. The two note call is definitely louder than the 3 note call though.

If only the bird would come to the house close to the house instead of staying far back I would be able to take a picture!

 

[graymall]

I still can't help but think it sounds much like the Evening Grosbeaks that I have visiting my feeders. They are VERY loud, and each time I hear them, it's in sets of 2 "whistlely" pews. I look all around and despite their brilliant colors, I often don't see them until they land on my feeders. Having said that, I would listen to the others before I would listen to me, since I am very novice at this!

 

[Jim M.]

I still can't help but think it sounds much like the Evening Grosbeaks that I have visiting my feeders. They are VERY loud, and each time I hear them, it's in sets of 2 "whistlely" pews. I look all around and despite their brilliant colors, I often don't see them until they land on my feeders. Having said that, I would listen to the others before I would listen to me, since I am very novice at this!

Hi Sandy. You must be in Western Massachusetts. Evening Grosbeak is an unusual bird in Eastern Massachusetts (where Middlesex is located), and even more so at this time of year. The pitch and pattern of the call on the recording is really classic Tufted Titmouse, and differs from Evening Grosbeak in various respects, including emphasis and tonal quality. For example, the call on the recording has two "syllables", Peee-Ter, while an Evening Grosbeak call typically has only one.

By the way, many of us here would "kill" to have Evening Grosbeaks in our backyard. So I at least am quite envious.

Best,
Jim

 

[danehower]

It is definitely a tufted titmouse. Like Jim said the can have a bit of a repertoire. This bird can project pretty well also - for a small bird that is.