Just heard a strange owl

[Micahn]

Howdy
I was just outside at 3:30 AM and heard something I never heard before. I have heard countless Owls in the past but never like this. Now I had been outside a couple of min (having a smoke as I do not smoke inside) and I heard what I believe was a Owl. Well right away it got a reply from not one but what sounded like 3 others one sounded like from the very same spot. I stood there for at least 5 min and they was just making a hell of a racket calling back and forth. It did not sound like any of them was moving around any and one of them sounded like it was far away from the others coming from the other side of my place here.
Any of you ever heard anything like that before ?

[Graybeard]

On warm summer nights when we sit out on the porch late at night we can often hear owls from relatively near to so far off as to barely be able to tell it is an owl. Sadly we're so close to the state highway where traffic is fairly heavy even late at night that it tends to drown out other sounds and there are so many dogs around barking and howling that too makes sound identification difficult some nights.

I'm not sure what makes the sounds you heard strange to you. Can you describe the strange sound?

Most common sound here seems to be the "who cooks for you" of the barred owl but on odd occasions we'll hear what is commonly called the laughing sound and some that to me are just whoots and not much else. Screatch owls (likely spelled wrong) do make a uncommon type sound but here at my place that's seldom ever heard.

[bobg]

  We have screech owls and the big ones that go hoot here. When i lived in the country i would hear them every night.  In 17 years there i only saw the big one once. It flew in and landed in a tree right next to me. This was in broad day light too. Never heard anything i would call strange though.
       bobg

[Micahn]

I would say they was just a type of owl I have not heard before. Down south where I used to live (about 100 miles S of where I am now) we had a lot of  Great Horned Owls. We had one that would sit in a tree behind our house all the time. Some times the wife and I would drive around about dusk and see 4 or 5 of them within a couple of miles from our house.
Then I have heard them as well up in Indiana where I am from. I am not sure what type I heard up there but they sounded different than the ones I heard down south.

These I heard the other night you could tell they was owls but I could not place what type they was. We have been gone for a couple of days so I will do some online searching now that we are back home, and see if I can learn what type they are.

But the main point of the post I just never heard a few of them going at it like that. They was just hooting away for at least 5 min. Every other time I ever heard owls it was maybe a call or two from just one single owl.

[dks7895]

We live on 6 acres in the woods of Missouri.  We have tons of screech and barred owls.  We have heard about 8 different owls all hooting at each other in our woods.  Our kids crack up when the screech owl chimes in...they are hilarious.  Just last night my wife and I were on the deck and the owls were active.  It was awesome.

[Blackhawker]

I'm an avid birder, was a licensed falconer and used to rehab raptors.  I've heard all kinds of descriptions from people about various birds; sizes, colors, sounds, all of which are never accurate.  I've heard stories of red tailed hawks the size of condors yet when I'd tell the person that red tails only get to be "so sized" (as I'd motion my hands 18 to 20 inches high) they'd insist that I was wrong.  (OK, whatever....)

Anyway, the point is that unless you get a wave file of the sound, none of us will ever be able to tell you what you heard.  One thing I can say, however, if you've ever heard a pair of barred owls courting, you'd swear you hearing chimps out in the woods.  Owls can make a myriad of sounds and unless we can hear it or you can actually get a reproduction of the sound, it'll just be a fun memory for you.  Savor the experience and keep your eyes and ears on wildlife and wild places.  There is a lot for all of us to learn out there.

[kynardsj]

I live in the edge of the woods here in Alabama. The owls cut up every night and sometimes during the day. They'll do the regular whoooooaaaahhh and then sometimes they do the wah wah wah wah wah. When they do that it sounds like they're laughing. I tell my wife they're telling dirty jokes.

[1911crazy]

Its blackbears  hooting looking for a mate because they can't call 1 800-collect.  I hear them all the time in CT and up in Vt too.  I can even call them in at night by mimicing them.  Its a long hoot, long hoot followed by three short hoots.

[mrbigtexan]

maybe you were surrounded by indians

[Ray Ford]

Because, more than anything else, I enjoy being in the woods at night, I accepted an invite a few years ago to get involved in a friend's effort to find a bigfoot.  That turned into an experience.  I learned that, among bigfooters, what sounded to me like owl hoots were commonly taken as bigfoot "vocalizations."  Some did sound quite strange and maybe those guys know more than I did.

I was identified as a monotone in the second or third grade, and I admit that I can't differentiate tones as well as most people.  (You ought to hear me try to sing.  You'd get a laugh out of it.)  I could never sort out a group of hounds on trail as well as many 'coonhunters, and I probably can't sort out owl hoots, and other bird sounds, as well as I might need to. 

We regularly have owls on our place out in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.  I have heard and seen them.  Once, in the day time, I spooked three out of the same tree near our barn.  One good thing about owls is that they will keep your excess cats in check--particularly if the kittens are white or light colored.

Have you ever heard the old idea that, if you hear an owl hoot during the day, someone is going to die?

[MGMorden]

Have you ever heard the old idea that, if you hear an owl hoot during the day, someone is going to die?

Never heard that one.  Local legends do interest me though.   In a similar "someone is going to die" vein, it was often said that if you hear your name called from a phantom voice, to not answer it.  It'll typically call 3 times, within the span of a few days.  If you ignore it - then crisis averted.  If you answer it though, it will stop calling (if it hasn't made it to #3 yet) and someone is going to die.

Other local legends:

1. If you come across a cold spot in the woods, it is an evil spirit.  Take out any change in your pocket, and your pocket knife if you have it.  Lay them on the ground, stomp on them once, and then walk away without looking back.  The spirit will not follow, effectively focusing on the "tribute" you left it.

2. Nailing 2 pennies in front of your doors (one left, one right) will keep evil spirits out of your house.  It's not quickly noticeable but you'll see plenty of houses in the area where I grew up with the two aged and weathered pennies still nailed down.

3. When a very old and respected member of the community dies, a rain storm will "come to get them".  It's not uncommon for a storm following the death to be referred to as their rain (for instance, after my great uncle Leonard died we had a storm, and I know my dad referred to it as "Leonard's Rain".  I've heard others do the same on numerous occasions). 

I don't really believe any of them, but from a cultural and historical standpoint, the stories are very interesting.

As to the owl, could it have been a screech owl?   First time I heard one of those it scared the dickens out of me.  To my ears it sounded like a woman screaming.

Also, on the topic of strange noises in the woods - my dad and brother had a strange experience last deer season.  They were out in the woods hunting - different stands, but still relatively close to each other.  As they sat, they heard a strange noise start up.  Both could hear it, but it was much closer to my dad.  Neither of them have been able to really describe it much, but the best my brother could come up with was that it sounded almost like weird chanting and hollering.  My dad said that in his mind it sounded like devil worshiping.  Almost like people, but at the same time, not.  It was definitely creepy whatever it was.  Now, my dad went investigating later that weekend, and a dangling wire tipped him off.  Near the wire, he found a speaker, equipment, and a battery out there in the same area.  Expensive looking stuff from what he said.  That has to be been the source of the sound, but what we've been wondering is what anyone would be doing planting all that stuff out in the middle of nowhere.

[ihookem]

Screech owl, sounds like a real screechy and rough sounding EEEEEEEEEEEE about once a minute or so. A very weird sound.

[picturerock]

Cherokee people say it is the worst of bad luck to have an owl fly into your house.  Good thing that hardly ever happens, although I know of someone who raised an owl for a pet and it roosted inside their house at night.  It would perch on the mantle and watch the family eat dinner every evening. No bad luck from that, however.

[Blackhawker]

Cherokee people say it is the worst of bad luck to have an owl fly into your house.  Good thing that hardly ever happens, although I know of someone who raised an owl for a pet and it roosted inside their house at night.  It would perch on the mantle and watch the family eat dinner every evening. No bad luck from that, however.

The owl was imprinted.  A normal wild one would NEVER do that.  It is illegal to raise a wild owl or hawk as they are protected under the migratory species act. 
I've been having a courting couple or Great Horns roost on my chimney at night recently.  I can hear them hooting and even hear their talons tapping and scraping on the metal chimney top.  

In general, to most Native American people, the owl is a messenger or bad news and even death.
Ironically, I can recall a day when a great horned owl was sitting on my neighbors front gable of their roof top.  It was around 7:00 and a bright and sunny September morning.  I took my garbage out and no matter what I did, that owl just sat there looking at me and out into the distance yet no more than 20 or 30 ft from me.  I can recall telling my wife that morning to be extra careful as I felt that maybe that owl was a sign of something bad.  It was weird, I literally felt it in my gut.  It was only an hour or so later when the two planes hit the trade towers.  
No kidding, this is not a joke!

[MGMorden]

It is illegal to raise a wild owl or hawk as they are protected under the migratory species act.  

Killing them is illegal, but I'm 99% sure that raising them is not.  Though not extremely popular, there are still a number of people who pursue falconing as a hobby and go hunting as such.  The Migratory Bird hunting regulations of my state (which are typically just handed down from the Federal level) even specifically lay out some of the ground rules for falconers.  Not sure if owl's are subject to different regs than hawks.

BTW, on the subject of owls.  I remember once when I was about 9 years old my mother, brother, sister and I were driving to my uncle's house one night.  My mom saw a small owl (not sure the type - about 8" tall) sitting in the road.  She thought it was hurt, so she stopped.  She walked over and naively picked it up.  It never moved.  We than drove another 6-7 miles to my uncle's house with her holding it in one hand.  Once we got there she showed it to my uncle.  After pointing our her foolishness by way of indicating it's sharp claws, he took it and released it.  It flew off just fine.  Just strange that a live owl - obviously capable of flying - would let itself be picked up, and then calmly ride several miles in a vehicle without going into a frenzy.

Another strange occurrence.  About 4 years ago I was out hunting.  My great-uncle Hazel was out with us.  He was my grandfather's brother - the youngest member of that generation of the family, which consisted of 6 brothers and 1 sister.  At the time he was in his early 80's and was the only one still alive (which we all found a bit strange, since he was the "wild" one of the brothers and had lived the roughest life).  We had all stopped on a dirt road to talk a bit during the mid day.  While talking, a small robin landed on a bush about 15 feet away.  Uncle Hazel calmly said "That's one of my brothers - come back to visit me.".  He then walked over to the bird, and calmly picked it up in his hands.  He whispered to it, then released it and it flew off again.  Very strange.  He passed away about a year later.

[Blackhawker]

McMorden, ironically, you're speaking to a falconer!  
YES, we can keep falcons and owls etc but we MUST have a FEDERAL PERMIT as well as a STATE permit to do so.  Anything short of a FEDERAL permit for falconry or for a migratory bird rehabilitator is prohibited.  Even the ownership of a feather from a raptor is prohibited without a proper permit.  

As a previously employed raptor rehabilitator, I can tell you that MOST of the birds that I encountered that weren't injured from a car accident or the similar were birds that were illegally and unknowingly picked up by a passerby.  Young owls which are capable of flight often sit on the ground or a low branch.  The parents watch over them but will not make any attempt to swoop or otherwise attack another critter that is 20 times their size.  Often times very young owls are picked up, fed the wrong food and within a matter or a day or two, very young owls may become imprinted on humans and can no longer be released into the wild.

As for that robin, I think your uncle had done the same with it; unknowingly or knowingly imprinted the bird upon him.  An imprinted bird will never breed with it's own species and will be extremely friendly with humans.  With some imprinted hawks and owls, they can become somewhat dangerous to humans during the breeding season.

In a nutshell, it's best to let nature take care of itself.  Many times when humans think they are doing the right thing or the kind thing, they are ironically doing the wrong and/or unkind thing.

[mechanic]

We've had a couple owls around my house for the last few years.  I hear them at night, and once caught just a shadow, but had never seen them.  About 6 months ago, I saw one land on an oak tree about 300 feet away, but I couldn't make it out after it landed.  I eased up on the tree, and the owl was facing the tree with it's wings wrapped around the trunk, and it's feet on a small limb.  Had I not saw it alight, I would never have spotted it at all.

I have a friend who raises poultry, and occasionally loses a few chicks to owls, but not nearly as much as he does to falcons.  Now falcons are not native here to my knowledge, but he has several that are devastating his free range birds.

They come in at such speed, getting a shot at one is nigh impossible, and the local DNR tells him they don't exhist.....

Ben

[Blackhawker]

We've had a couple owls around my house for the last few years.  I hear them at night, and once caught just a shadow, but had never seen them.  About 6 months ago, I saw one land on an oak tree about 300 feet away, but I couldn't make it out after it landed.  I eased up on the tree, and the owl was facing the tree with it's wings wrapped around the trunk, and it's feet on a small limb.  Had I not saw it alight, I would never have spotted it at all.

I have a friend who raises poultry, and occasionally loses a few chicks to owls, but not nearly as much as he does to falcons.  Now falcons are not native here to my knowledge, but he has several that are devastating his free range birds.

They come in at such speed, getting a shot at one is nigh impossible, and the local DNR tells him they don't exhist.....

Ben

Falcons are ABSOLUTELY native to the US and are ABSOLUTELY protected.  The peregrine was almost wiped out from the use of DDT.  It was falconers that had the knowledge of captive breeding and the biologist for the feds became interested in the technique in order to get the wild populations back up.  Through about 30 or more years of captive breeding and release programs, the peregrine was finally taken off of the endangered species list about 10 years ago.  That DOES NOT imply that you can shoot them!  Get a shot at one and get caught, you're looking at high fines and possible jail time.

There are five species of falcons native to the US.