# What nighttime beast makes this sound?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 14, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418 "2010-05-14T13:07:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/1 "2010-05-14T13:07:50Z")

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On mild, humid/damp springtime nights here in the deepest central Ohio suburban outback, I hear some creature making a loud whickering noise.

That’s about the best I can describe it - a rapidly repeating, whickering sound that lasts on average about a second and a half and has a couple of pitch variants. It seems to be coming from a relatively low level in the shrubbery/tree canopy, as low as a few feet off the ground.

It is not coming from crickets or other insects I’m familiar with. It does not sound like spring peepers. Some kind of tree frog? Bird? Tentacled extraterrestrial?

Suggestions are appreciated.

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/2 "2010-05-14T13:22:36Z")

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[Cicada?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpCiIYc5nkg)

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**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/3 "2010-05-14T13:25:34Z")

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Too early for cicadas in Ohio, I’m pretty sure.

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**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/4 "2010-05-28T14:43:43Z")

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OP, did you ever find out what was making that noise? Because i’m starting to hear, again, an awful lot of weird sounds at night myself. I’m 99% sure it’s some kind of bird, I’ve heard birds yammering in the middle of the night. Poor things are all disrupted by the glaring light pollution all night at the used car lot. Just one more little gift to mother nature from humans…

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**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/5 "2010-05-28T16:03:57Z")

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Could be a Screech owl. Check out the recorded calls on [this page](http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/view_default.asp?sortBy=has+audio&viewType=list&curFamilyID=241).

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-nighttime-beast-makes-this-sound/539418/6 "2010-05-29T11:41:10Z")

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I have never seen somebody whicker and am not sure what you describe, but I’ll bet it’s a tree frog.