strange unknown late night bird calling - South-Western Ontario - youtube clip (2 Viewers)

[BruceTrailHiker2011]

I recorded this outside of my house last September. around 2:00 AM. I tried to pinpoint where it was coming from but no luck. i've heard it once or twice since then. I'm assuming it must be a bird. very odd call

any idea?

btw - I live outside the city of Hamilton in South-Western Ontario

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrXSe5aKj98

 

[Chris Benesh]

Hi Bruce,

Sounds like you must be near the shore of Lake Ontario. The mystery sound is an adult Caspian Tern being pursued by a begging juvenile.

Listen to this recording from the Xeno-Canto website. It starts with a whistled juvenile begging call and then has some raspy calls from the adult bird, much like your recording. The Xeno-Canto recording sounds more emphatic, but that is in part because the subjects are closer and the mic picked up more of the higher frequencies than in your sample.

I've also attached a short mp3 taken from your youtube video with the calls isolated and amplified a bit for easier listening.

While I'm at it, welcome to Bird Forum.

Chris

 

[BruceTrailHiker2011]

wow thanks! but I'm about 8 km south west of the marsh (Cootes Paradise) at the tip of the lake. while we do have forest nearby we never see Gulls or anything around my house - which is in the suburbs.

but you're right it does sound similar. good detective work. so you're quite sure of that ID? would thee be that far from water in the suburbs and forested areas? and are they active at night? this was around 2:00 AM

for sure you hiit it on the nail. it's 2 different birds - one whistling, the other making a raspy noise

well done! I'm impressed!

 

[Chris Benesh]

Hey Bruce,

Just as a follow up, Caspian Terns are apparently pretty common along the shore with more than 300 using the Cootes Paradise area in the Fall (according to this). Also, young terns can be extremely persistent when it comes to begging (doing it for hours on end), and that might be enough to drive an adult a fair ways from the water in order to try and get some temporary relief.

Chris

 

[Peter C.]

BTH2011 -

I live in a very suburban suburb of Kitchener, and am also quite a distance (about 4 km) from any decent body of water. Nonetheless, in the fall, we regularly get a couple of Caspian Terns giving that unmistakable call as they fly to roost in the evening. The situation is not quite the same as yours - these birds are congregating with a large roost of gulls that "commutes" between a reservoir and the rooftops of some nearby factories - but it does show that Caspians can be regularly found far from their foraging waters.