A bird that barks like a dog?

[Mack]

No, I'm not mad, well not yet.

For the last few weeks, we've had a new barking sound in the evenings and at night. Not during the day. It's quite an eerie noise and spooks the kids and dog and is not something I've heard before. I live in Kent on the edge of a small town.

I thought it was a fox or a badger, it's quite loud for a fox and badgers tend not to make a lot of noise - we have a set in the garden and I've never heard them as far I know. When it's close to the house, it's quite startlingly loud. It's like three or four short sharp barks, quickly one after the other. I think it's a bird, because last night I was out in the garden and could hear it traveling quite large distances, a fox might be able to run that fast, but maybe not over the few hours or so that I was listening.

We get owls, jays, woodpeckers in the garden, so more than just the common or garden species. My wife heard it 'chortling' or 'warbling' in between 'barks' at dusk last night. Which reinforces the bird theory.

We've never seen it. It's mainly going off at night.

It was going off all night last night. It's that loud it'll wake you up - last episode was about 4:00am.

Does anyone have any idea what it might be? Escaped parrot maybe, but could it survive in the -7 degree nights we've had over the last few weeks?

I have a recording of it which I could try and upload if necessary.

[loripo]

Anything like this one? Don't know which owl tho...

YouTube - Barking owl

[Mack]

Thanks for the reply.

No, it's not a screechy as that one, but this one might be it:
YouTube - Barking Owl

It must be an owl to be going all night, but it's a lot louder than this guy and it's usually four, very short sharp 'barks', rather than 'woofs'.

I think I'll need to upload the sound of it. The recording I have is from last night and it's a long way off. I'll try and get a better, closer one tonight.

[aeshna5]

If not a Fox which are pretty vocal at the moment as we are in the peak mating season, perhaps a Muntjac which regularly visit gardens even in suburbs/towns.

[davecatt]

I think considering the time of year that this probably is more than one fox calling to attract a mate and mark breeding territory. They are very active and quite noisy just now.

Dave

[Gill Catton]

Sounds like a fox to me too

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by davecatt

I think considering the time of year that this probably is more than one fox calling to attract a mate and mark breeding territory. They are very active and quite noisy just now.

Dave

I agree. Vixens are very noisy round our way at the mo as mating starts with a wide range of weird and wonderful noises. The dog foxes (at least where I am!) typically give 3-4 short hollow sounding barks when calling to the Vixens. This can be heard from more than one direction at a time too, so multiple calls explains what you heard imo.

[loripo]

I saw the Barking owl one too - but that one's Australian Could it be muntjac, or don't you have them in your area?

[The Woodman]

There are some useful recordings on the British Library website but I can't find the one I want to post on here that sounds like ....ow ow ow.....ow ow ow ow.....etc

Great variety of vixen calls on there e.g. Red fox - Archival Sound Recordings

[davecatt]

Try this Red Fox- British Library Archives
There are other examples listed under Red Fox

Red fox - Archival Sound Recordings

Dave

Sorry Woody I must have had a senior moment there

You beat me to it