Just found this post. I am studying barn owls in NZ and they have been reported from Northland down to Auckland, as well as down into the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Barn owls main call is a harsh Shheeeeeeeet or Hhissssssssst often repeated every few seconds for up to 10-15 mins. Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust in Rotorua is monitoring their spread, has a database of sightings so very interested to hear and log all reports.
beebb3,
Sep 6, 8:29am
Excellent programne to watch on owls. TV On Demand. nature section, amazing magic little birds! Facinating to watch. Highly recommend.
_peas,
May 23, 4:13pm
Assumption it being a bird call, its from up a tree. Most mornings we have a fairly harsh single screech that repeats. Its not for long. maybe 5 minutes but its during darkness before dawn. Is it a Morepork? Sounds nothing like the normal soft Morepork call but maybe I'm unaware of another call that they make.
We have them here, just another noisy Aussie intruder! Lol.
rainrain1,
May 23, 7:13pm
Could be a Little Owl, they make a screech a bit like a cat meow.
hulloitsme,
May 23, 8:36pm
Pheasant?"
wembley1,
May 23, 9:22pm
Setting? Urban; country; bush?
And don't assume that just because it's night it must be a night bird. We back onto a patch of bush and the tui and kaka are up and about well before dawn.
There's a story about the early settlers in Wellington who used to sleep out on moored ships because they found the local fauna too noisy.
rainrain1,
May 23, 10:36pm
Actually I'm not so sure they are found in the North island :-)
erra,
May 23, 11:01pm
A couple of weeks ago I went out at night to check a funny screechy noise and it was a small owl in the kowhai tree.It was plainly visible as the outside light was on and I stood and watched it for a while. Definately not a morepork. I am on the Kapiti coast.
wembley1,
May 23, 11:09pm
Are you sure it isn't a morepork? They don't just make the "morepork" call.
Thank you guys. suspiciously like a Morepork "Cree". We've seen then around the garden (suburban Auckland). I had a hunch it may have been but never able to find anything online to confirm it until I used patxyz/wembley1's link.
trade4us2,
May 24, 3:47am
How can I identify a bird only by its bird call? I can't see it.
Best bet would be to use the birdsonline website and a bit of deduction. Is the call I heard likely to be a royal albatross or a kokako? No? Then I wouldn't check those on the website. Etc.
trade4us2,
May 24, 10:15pm
The bird call I am hearing has about 6 alternating notes about three notes apart, in one second.
ruralmum,
May 26, 5:34am
We had little Japanese Quail which would let out a single screech before daylight. They are very cute but very noisy.
woody89,
May 26, 5:49am
Can you try to record it on your phone, someone else could recognise it.
The bird call I am hearing is not one made by pigeons. It is hard to photograph the bird making the noise. Perhaps it is flying to where pigeons are.
patxyz,
May 31, 3:23pm
Tui? They have a lot of different 'calls', birdsonline is unlikely to have them all. Good at mimicking other calls and sounds too.
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