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Unidentifiable Birdcall at night?? (3 Viewers)

Hi Sadie, well done. I don't know what it is. Can you tell us which part of Italy you are from please? That may help limit the options.
I’m from northern Italy, around Turin
Sorry Sadie, I'm not very good with noises now, I've lost access to several of the higher octaves in the last couple of decades and so my PC sound mixer has been roughly tweaked to 'reclaim' a little of what I can no longer hear naturally, or without being dangerously close to the source.

The 'tweaked' sounds from Mono in #18 are better than my vanilla copy but I don't think I've heard anything similar - what I can hear 'feels' like there's a lot of acoustic reflection/reinforcement happening, like a toy in an empty goldfish bowl, or the back of a small cave... some elements do vaguely remind me of Golden Oriole, or some of the more vocal European toads - I can't rule out a Scops - type owl, or any nocturnal insects from your region as I haven't experienced them.

Have you been out to listen since? What was the weather/temperature like the night you made the recording?

I'll hand you back to those who can hear things well :)
thank you Andrew. You’re right it sounds
Sorry Sadie, I'm not very good with noises now, I've lost access to several of the higher octaves in the last couple of decades and so my PC sound mixer has been roughly tweaked to 'reclaim' a little of what I can no longer hear naturally, or without being dangerously close to the source.

The 'tweaked' sounds from Mono in #18 are better than my vanilla copy but I don't think I've heard anything similar - what I can hear 'feels' like there's a lot of acoustic reflection/reinforcement happening, like a toy in an empty goldfish bowl, or the back of a small cave... some elements do vaguely remind me of Golden Oriole, or some of the more vocal European toads - I can't rule out a Scops - type owl, or any nocturnal insects from your region as I haven't experienced them.

Have you been out to listen since? What was the weather/temperature like the night you made the recording?

I'll hand you back to those who can hear things well :)
Hi Andrew, you’re right, it sounds a bit echoing like in a cave or something. I’m living on a small hill, and the sound seems to be in the dale. The nights are mostly clear at the moment. I didn’t hear it since I postet this threat, I hear it every couple days. And I’m sure I overhear it often because it’s at night like around 2-3 am?
I never heard some similar here and we have a lot of owls. I didn’t have the idea that it could be a toad, I’ll look into that.
Thank you very much and have a nice Weekend 🫶
 
I think toad vocalisations (or whatever their noises are called) would be confined to the breeding season, so probably late March through May?

If you can check the wind direction for that night and it's not the prevailing one, it's possible that you might walk some of the likely area during the day, there may be some new stock held in an unusual building, some alarm or 'scarer' device installed, perhaps something damaged since a recent storm.

Maybe it's an admirer trying to signal someone - do you use that balcony often? ;)
 
sadie, it doesn't sound like a bird or even an animal at all. Maybe an engine, a huge machine like a forest harvester or sth similar.

Btw: It's not a good idea to download and double tap on zipfiles of unknown origin in general.

Sadie, You are a new and unknown member here and have probably joined the forum with the best of intentions only. Otherwise, it's super easy to place and spread malware this way.

So please mods, watchout and do Your job ☺️

@Sadie: Welcome to birdforum
 
I tried to delete the files that didn’t work but I don’t know how. 😥 If someone knows pleas tell, I’ll delete them.


I asked some people and they found it sounded like a bird, that’s why I postet it here. I’m sorry I didn’t want to cause any trouble or confusion
 
sadie, it doesn't sound like a bird or even an animal at all. Maybe an engine, a huge machine like a forest harvester or sth similar.

Btw: It's not a good idea to download and double tap on zipfiles of unknown origin in general.

Sadie, You are a new and unknown member here and have probably joined the forum with the best of intentions only. Otherwise, it's super easy to place and spread malware this way.

So please mods, watchout and do Your job ☺️

@Sadie: Welcome to birdforum
Nice name 😄
 
I asked some people and they found it sounded like a bird, that’s why I postet it here. I’m sorry I didn’t want to cause any trouble or confusion
Sadie, I can’t help with an identity. However, wanted to let you know it is not any problems and you didn’t create any trouble. As I said before we are a very friendly place, and want to help people as much as we can.
 
Sadie,
Cornell University in the U.S. has an app for your phone that will identify birds by there sound. It is for birds common to North America, but it might recognize your bird in Italy. Here is a link to the website: Merlin Bird ID - Home
Hi radeleo, I already downloaded that app and played the sound to it. It says it hears a bird but can’t identify it. 😅
Next time I’ll hear the noise in real life I’ll try to record it with that app.
I’m happy that I apparently downloaded the right app 🤣
Thank you very much 👍🫶
 
Here is an update:

I was away for 10 days so I can’t say if the noise is still there, but today I was in town and heard a very similar sound. Turns out, it was the brakes of a car that squealed when it pulled out of a parking space. 🫣
It wasn’t exactly the same noise but similar enough to be a possibility. Maybe a big machine here in the area or something? I’ll keep locking for now but this explanation makes most sense to me for the moment, even if it’s still strange that I heard it so loud and so late at night.

❤️🫶
 
Hi Sadie, I ran your sound through the ChirpOMatic analyser and it identified it as a Scops Owl, with almost 100% certainty. It's most likely two or three ScopsOwls calling at the same time - this would explain the notes at different pitches and different time intervals. Hope this helps
Hi first thanks for your help. I really appreciate it 🙏🏼
But I think it isn’t a bird at all at this point. I heard the noise (or a very similar one) more often at day, and I think its a working machine that needs some oil. Even if I couldn’t find the exact culprit of the noise.
 
Hi first thanks for your help. I really appreciate it 🙏🏼
But I think it isn’t a bird at all at this point. I heard the noise (or a very similar one) more often at day, and I think its a working machine that needs some oil. Even if I couldn’t find the exact culprit of the noise.
It’s true that scops owl calls can sound remarkably like electronic or mechanical noises, and there are instances of this causing confusion (some years ago in a village near where I live, people were driven crazy by what sounded like a faulty car alarm—eventually, it turned out to be a scops owl). They call repeatedly for hours, and while they usually vocalize at night, they do also call during the day. So, I still lean toward it being a scops owl :)
-Hilary
 

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