Night calling bird in Roscommon

croutonmac

This is my first post so 'Hi' to you all. I moved to Leitrim a couple of years ago and have seen a lot of the local wildlife, sometimes at very close quarters. I got to do a bit of bat rescuing and had a pine marten move into my home for a couple of weeks, dismantling my kitchen twice.

Anyway, I've been hearing a bird calling at night in the fields at night in Roscommon. I think it's calling from quite down low. The call is two raspy, harsh tones without a huge difference between the notes.

Would anyone have any ideas?

whyulittle

Corncrake?

LostCovey

croutonmac wrote: »

This is my first post so 'Hi' to you all. I moved to Leitrim a couple of years ago and have seen a lot of the local wildlife, sometimes at very close quarters. I got to do a bit of bat rescuing and had a pine marten move into my home for a couple of weeks, dismantling my kitchen twice.

Anyway, I've been hearing a bird calling at night in the fields at night in Roscommon. I think it's calling from quite down low. The call is two raspy, harsh tones without a huge difference between the notes.

Would anyone have any ideas?

Corncrake, hopefully!

Listen here:

http://www.corncrake.net/sounds/mnacht.mp3

What do you think?


LostCovey

LostCovey

whyulittle wrote: »

Corncrake?

great minds, etc!

croutonmac

Thanks for that. I think the notes were longer and it just calls once or twice and goes quiet again. I've heard it only about three times so I'm not a hundred percent on it, but I think the second note is higher than the first, in so far as they are notes at all and both are 'fuller' than the corncrake sounds above.

OpenYourEyes

Can I ask what part of Roscommon? And/or what the fields and nearby habitats are like?

croutonmac

It's the Croghan/Finnor area, near Carrick-on-Shannon. It's mostly grass fields with sheep and cattle, lots of hedgerows and trees but not forest land. It's pretty wet and often boggy a lot of the time, due to bad drainage from the clay, and it's within half a mile of two lakes. There's a reasonable amount of rough ground too, the fields wouldn't be too manicured.

Traonach

Might have been a sedge warbler??
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/sedgewarbler/index.aspx . Click on the audio link.

swifts need our help!

Grasshopper warblers sing at night

Sedge warbler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBdF2KT6EtY

Mark

croutonmac

It definitely to harsh to be a warbler. It's a two tone scratchy noise and the corncrake is the closest so far. I haven't heard it the last couple of nights so I can't be sure it wasn't one, but it was just a couple of calls and didn't go on as long as the corncrake seems to. The individual notes of the call seemed longer than the corncrake's too but til I hear it again I just can't be sure.

Thanks for your suggestions. The warblers are lovely.

swifts need our help!

The Corncrake says its latin name. A repeating crex crex, crex crex ....

St. Leibowitz

Phesant maybe ??

croutonmac

Aw, man! That might be it and I seem to be a bit disappointed. For some reason that never occurred to me and I think you might be right. It's certainly closer to the sound I remember: I'll have to listen out for it and play the audio track just after to be sure.

Thanks!

swifts need our help!

croutonmac wrote: »

Anyway, I've been hearing a bird calling at night in the fields at night in Roscommon. I think it's calling from quite down low. The call is two raspy, harsh tones without a huge difference between the notes.

Pheasants don't call at night. Maybe if startled but not every night

Mark

croutonmac

I wouldn't say this thing was startled as such, just calling so maybe not a pheasant after all. I'm holding out for something more exotic...

swifts need our help!

croutonmac wrote: »

I'm holding out for something more exotic...

Don't hold your breath! It has to be a native bird. Cant your record it on your phone/dictaphone ...

You're not playing a game, are you?

Mark

croutonmac

I'd get it on a dictaphone easily enough I suppose, assuming mic on the iPhone is good enough. I'll have to remember to switch it on before I go outside as the calls I heard were short and not really repetitive, so I'd never just catch them.

And, no; not a game. This would be a pretty tame attempt at trolling...

croutonmac

Some one on FB suggested thrush family alarm calls and, while I know it's way too late in the year, the fieldfare alarm call sounds very similar. Maybe it's something like that, but I guess I'll leave it for now. Thanks for the responses.

Ciarán

swifts need our help!

Ciaran, good to have your name now, Mistle thrush alarm is a loud churring chatter, blackbirds have a loud tick, tick, tick more like pink, pink, pink

Mark

croutonmac

Yeah, it was the mistle thrush that was suggested but after listening to a load of calls online this morning the Fieldfare alarm call was the closest. Every thing else was too chittery or musical (excuse my lack of terminology). And sorry for not giving my name earlier, I'm more used to small community fora where we all know each other offline anyway.

Ciaran

swifts need our help!

Ciaran the Mistle thrush and Fieldfare have similar alarm calls.

What time did you hear it? Once? Every night ....

LostCovey

Maybe its a Long-eared Owl