# Identify this sound? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2018, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079 "2018-07-17T11:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/1 "2018-07-17T11:06:01Z")
It was a dark and moonless night, with no wind. Just before midnight, I was awakened by a loud noise outside. I know that some animals (like rabbits) can make strange squeals if they are captured by a predator, and that was my first thought. I grabbed a video camera, turned on the porch floodlights, and looked out the window. Nothing visible. The sound didn’t change, so I stepped outside with a strong flashlight and went towards the sound. The sound didn’t seem to care about my presence. I was able to trace the source from somewhere in the trees, perhaps 20 ft off the ground, but was unable to find anything visual, so the video shows nothing useful. I kept the camera running for a few minutes, but the sound continued for at least 3 hours, diminishing, but never changing the apparent source direction. [So what is this sound?](http://doorbell.net/stuff/07-17-18bird320.mp3) (The first 3 minutes are the best.) And why would it do this from midnight to 3AM, never moving? The white noise you hear is from the Lake Michigan waves nearby, and the loud bangs are my screen door closing. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/2 "2018-07-17T11:54:28Z")
> [@](#): > > It was a dark and moonless night, with no wind. Just before midnight, I was awakened by a loud noise outside. I know that some animals (like rabbits) can make strange squeals if they are captured by a predator, and that was my first thought. I grabbed a video camera, turned on the porch floodlights, and looked out the window. Nothing visible. The sound didn’t change, so I stepped outside with a strong flashlight and went towards the sound. The sound didn’t seem to care about my presence. According to all the teen-slasher movies I’ve seen, you did everything exactly _wrong_. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/3 "2018-07-17T12:13:30Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > According to all the teen-slasher movies I’ve seen, you did everything exactly _wrong_. 🙂 Aha! A new plot twist! Just when you’re expecting something, nothing happens! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/4 "2018-07-17T13:04:30Z")
Now that I’m on my home computer and can listen to your audio… Sounds like a duckling or some other fowl(ish) creature. Probably lost their mother. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/5 "2018-07-17T13:58:16Z")
Sounds like someone in a hockey mask fucking a rubber ducky. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/6 "2018-07-17T14:00:02Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Sounds like someone in a hockey mask fucking a rubber ducky. Now _that_ would have shown up in my spotlight. Are rubber duckies in season? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/7 "2018-07-17T14:05:09Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Sounds like someone in a hockey mask fucking a rubber ducky. “[I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHc288IPFzk)” ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/8 "2018-07-17T15:34:10Z")
I have no real knowledge of bird calls and am just taking a stab. I’m going to say it’s a mom tree duck trying to call her ducklings out of the nest hole. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/9 "2018-07-17T15:40:26Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > “[I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHc288IPFzk)” That was terrific! I managed to do something similar in a Petsmart with a bin full of screaming chimpanzee plushes–it was LOUD; it was LONG; it was funny; I ran for my life! ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/10 "2018-07-17T15:54:35Z")
What it is ain’t exactly clear. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/11 "2018-07-17T16:25:03Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I have no real knowledge of bird calls and am just taking a stab. I’m going to say it’s a mom tree duck trying to call her ducklings out of the nest hole. At midnight? For three hours? More likely a tree octopus. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/12 "2018-07-19T01:11:45Z")
Sounds like the [squeaky froggy](https://youtu.be/HBxn56l9WcU) to me. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/13 "2018-07-19T06:22:55Z")
FWIW, my kitten looked attentive and offended when I played the recording. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/14 "2018-07-19T06:53:39Z")
My cats hated it. I think there is a sick cat up your tree. Call the fire dept. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/15 "2018-07-19T06:56:17Z")
The lil’wrekker has decided it’s a ‘wendigo’. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/16 "2018-07-19T15:30:12Z")
Porcupine! [Porcupine sound (cry) at night! Cute - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdA4y1ql9lM) [Teddy Bear, the talking porcupine, likes pumpkin, too! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dnB3IapeAA) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/17 "2018-07-19T15:48:11Z")
That second YT link sure sounds the same as my example; the first link, not so much. The second verifies the source of the sound (“Teddy Bear”), the first is only speculation. Still, why for three hours? I rarely find pumpkins 20 ft up trees. We certainly have porky pines around here; that’s not in doubt. A porky up a tree should be quite visible in a spotlight, but the foliage might have been too thick. Porky pines visit my bird feeder near the ground frequently, also chew on my porch, but never make that sound. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/18 "2018-07-19T16:00:14Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > That second YT link sure sounds the same as my example; the first link, not so much. The second verifies the source of the sound (“Teddy Bear”), the first is only speculation. > > Still, why for three hours? I rarely find pumpkins 20 ft up trees. We certainly have porky pines around here; that’s not in doubt. A porky up a tree should be quite visible in a spotlight, but the foliage might have been too thick. Porky pines visit my bird feeder near the ground frequently, also chew on my porch, but never make that sound. Maybe a baby calling for mom? ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/19 "2018-07-19T16:53:29Z")
The dog, I believe to be a bird dog, was quite fascinated by the sound. Went running about the house. And was looking outside. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079/20 "2018-07-19T18:32:18Z")
That sounds very much like the squirrel that lives in my back yard. Almost. That’s all I got. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-sound/818079.md?page=2)