Can someone please help me ID what's making this noise?

[ChickenChick46]

Could have been a fox.

Well that one is terrifying, lol. Between foxes, bobcats, coyotes, and the barn owl, nighttime sounds where I live can be rough.

 

[coach723]

Here is another, with shorter calls. We hear them a lot, particularly in spring when the females are looking for a mate. Not a sound I like to hear. Outside, in the dark, can really make your hair stand up. Only thing that scared me worse, was a puma/mountain lion. THAT was spine tingling.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Here is another, with shorter calls. We hear them a lot, particularly in spring when the females are looking for a mate. Not a sound I like to hear. Outside, in the dark, can really make your hair stand up. Only thing that scared me worse, was a puma/mountain lion. THAT was spine tingling.

To me, this sounds very similar to the OP's recording.

Never heard a mountain lion as supposedly they aren't in my state. Coyotes and bobcats are the 2 I hate hearing when I take my puppy out at night.

 

[thecatumbrella]

In your video I hear one loud squawk then a quieter response-type squawk.

Yeah I noticed that as well, like a call and response.

It was just the one loudmouth for a while, but then I did notice a response call towards the end (which you hear in the recording). Went silent after that.

Need a longer recording. Could be a fox but not sure.

Of course by the time I could actually record it (my hands were covered in from cleaning the coop), he decided he was done! Thankful I got the one snippet.

I can't get it to work with just the one call and a lot of background noise in the recording you posted, but the Merlin app is really good for IDs if it is a bird.

I know, can I have anymore fans running in the background? Great idea with the Merlin app. Audio was too muddled, unfortunately.

Here is another, with shorter calls. We hear them a lot, particularly in spring when the females are looking for a mate.

That sounds closer, for sure...

Coyotes and bobcats are the 2 I hate hearing when I take my puppy out at night.

I had to look up the bobcat calls, and oh my. Sounds like something that would be sampled in a horror movie!

 

[ChickenChick46]

It was just the one loudmouth for a while, but then I did notice a response call towards the end (which you hear in the recording). Went silent after that.

Of course by the time I could actually record it (my hands were covered in from cleaning the coop), he decided he was done! Thankful I got the one snippet.

I know, can I have anymore fans running in the background? Great idea with the Merlin app. Audio was too muddled, unfortunately.

That sounds closer, for sure...

I had to look up the bobcat calls, and oh my. Sounds like something that would be sampled in a horror movie!

Yes!! One night really late, not long after we moved in, my husband and I were sitting on our front porch in total darkness. We live on about 3 acres in a 1900 farmhouse, in a rural part of the country with no street lights. To say it is our dream come true is an understatement.

So there we are, having a drink and enjoying the peace, and this sound like a woman getting murdered suddenly pierces the quiet. We jumped a mile! Luckily we knew it was a bobcat, but it somewhere very, very close. It was quite an experience!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Yes!! One night really late, not long after we moved in, my husband and I were sitting on our front porch in total darkness. We live on about 3 acres in a 1900 farmhouse, in a rural part of the country with no street lights. To say it is our dream come true is an understatement.

So there we are, having a drink and enjoying the peace, and this sound like a woman getting murdered suddenly pierces the quiet. We jumped a mile! Luckily we knew it was a bobcat, but it somewhere very, very close. It was quite an experience!

I just saw my first bobcat the other day, so that's not off the table as my mystery screamer!

 

[ChickenChick46]

I just saw my first bobcat the other day, so that's not off the table as my mystery screamer!

Especially if there are young ones around, I would think. It can be so hard sometimes to figure out what you're hearing. We've got predators from bobcats, foxes, coyotes, racoons, possums, hawks, owls to bears. But we've also got armadillo, rabbits, deer, wild turkeys, and any other assortment of wild birds. It's neat, but poses challenges to know who was in the yard and do they pose a threat and how big of one.

Definitely before I put the chickens in their coop, I'm going to invest in a good game camera to mount in the run, and I'm going to make sure it's one that has an app that can alert me of movement. Just in case.

 

[thecatumbrella]

It's neat, but poses challenges to know who was in the yard and do they pose a threat and how big of one.

Definitely before I put the chickens in their coop, I'm going to invest in a good game camera to mount in the run, and I'm going to make sure it's one that has an app that can alert me of movement. Just in case.

One of the reasons we have that big beige wall in my video (it's a 90% shade cloth) is to visually block the chicken run from the wood line. A predator would have to come out into the open to really see the birds, and then one of my cameras would catch it. Of course, a bear would be game over. I'll hot wire the run someday, but it's at the end of a very long to do list.

 

[ChickenChick46]

One of the reasons we have that big beige wall in my video (it's a 90% shade cloth) is to visually block the chicken run from the wood line. A predator would have to come out into the open to really see the birds, and then one of my cameras would catch it. Of course, a bear would be game over. I'll hot wire the run someday, but it's at the end of a very long to do list.

I like the shade cloth idea a lot. We're going to fence along the wood line one day, which will be made into a fully fenced coop/run/garden. But like you, it's near the end a very long list.

 

[coach723]

There are pluses and minus's to things that block the view. Predators might not be able to see them, but can still hear and smell them. The birds also can't see anything on the other side, so won't see something coming. I have fence (7') around my outside open run, but try to keep plantings away from it for the most part, so they can see things coming. Obstacles and things they can hide under are also away from the fence, nearer the coop. I also have 50 lb braided fishing line strung all over the top of one back corner of the open run (like a sloppy spiderweb), about 1/4 of the run, with silver bird tape on it, to deter hawks, as that is the shadiest spot with a large oak, where they like to be when it's hot. My closed run has an automatic door and is completely secure once the door closes (except for maybe a bear, which are thankfully fairly rare here). But it's smaller and I only lock them in during the day if there is a reason (recent attack, hurricane, etc), otherwise they semi free range in their fenced, open run, with access to the closed run as well. There is water outside, but all feed is in the closed run. Outside feed will attract predators as well, possums, skunks, raccoons, etc. Even if you pick it up at dark, they spill it everywhere. Fences, no matter the height, will keep chickens in, but not predators out, unless they have a roof/cover (ie; fully secure), or you have electric wire. Predators will climb over, or dig under. So, free ranging comes with risk. The larger your flock, the more expensive it becomes to keep them fully secure 24/7, and more labor intensive for upkeep, as you need a bigger structure. My coop and closed run are as big as I could afford to go (if memory serves, coop is 8' x 16' and 10' high, and closed run is 16' x 30' approx. with multiple levels of perches and roosts, my fenced open run is about 100' x100' give or take), and I have 40 birds currently (sometimes as many as 50), so free ranging is necessary for me. They do use the entire space, but mostly congregate around the buildings (there is also a shed behind the coop for all my chicken stuff).