Could anyone tell me what the loud screeching almost duck like call is at night? Doesn't sound like an owl.
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Forgot to say that this night call is heard in the hills east of Melbourne, Victoria.
hi there,maybe a masked lapwing???
if your happy when your birding, flap your wings.
The barn owl makes a screechy call so it could be that.
Thank you so much for your responses mrtattoo and cooee.
It is indeed a masked lapwing!! I'm thrilled to have solved this puzzle at last! I'm rather new at this, only joining the site today, but I will study up and hope I too can help someone some day.
Hi Janinek, welcome to the forum! If you live in the hills east of Melbourne,you shouldn't live that far from me. My question to you would be, what makes you think it's a masked lapwing? I haven't seen one in the hills, I have seen them in marshes, at beaches and grasslands. These days they are common around those manmade lakes in the outer urban areas. I see them at Berwick etc. If, as you say the call is at night, there are other birds that do screatching calls.As cooee said, I have heard barn owls around my place, and the most screatching call, is that of the "Barking Owl" it even has the nick name: screaming woman. I live outside of Gembrook, next to the Bunyip State Park, and I have heard them quite often at night. You might want to listen to their calls on the "bird finder" Good luck!
M-L
Araminta even living in the suburbs of Melbourne I sometimes hear Masked Lapwings at night and there doesn't even have to be any water around for them because they also like grassy areas.
Cheers, Owen.
Yes i agree, here in the blue mountains i hear lapwings just out the back of my house on a regular basis in the night. Aswell as observing them at my workplace in wentworth falls higher up in the mountains. But i do agree with Araminta re: checking out some of the other calls on the "bird finder"...
if your happy when your birding, flap your wings.
Yes Owen and mrtattoo,I just did some more reading on the Masked Lapwings, you are right, they seem to call at night. Just that where I live, I have never seen or heard one, day or night.( I never stop learning, the good thing about this forum!) thanks M-L
M-L
The best part about this forum is that we all share info & experiences regarding birds. i learnt today from my wife that an eagles nest is called a Eyrie. i did not know that, & she isnt even into birds. haha
if your happy when your birding, flap your wings.
Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your helpful advice! I am so pleased I have found this forum, and will be learning lots by following these discussions. I am sure that what I've been hearing is a masked lapwing because I did listen to the call, and it's exactly that! Not the owls. I listened to as many of those as I could. When I say I live in the hills east of Melbourne, to be more specific, I've moved from Caulfield to very near to Cardinia Reservoir. So plenty of wetland environment. So not the same environment as Gembrook, Araminta. It's more small horse ranches and bushland. We have lots of birdlife which I am finding a real thrill. Hand feeding king parrots. Loads of resident crimson rosellas, eastern rosellas, sulphur crested cockatoos. An occasional yellow tailed black cockatoo in the pine. My dream is to garden with superb fairy wrens, which I achieved last weekend! Very much enjoying learning about the local birdlife!
Congratulations on the superb fairy wrens, Janinek. I've found that having patches of native shrubs with open areas between the patches provide a really good vegetation structure for the wrens.
Thank you Woko, for this garden tip! I do have some native shrubs going and will keep the open areas in mind when doing some extra planting. I do so love the wrens!
Good stuff, Janinek. Our small birds, wrens in particular, need all the natural protection we can provide.