screeching at night

[tracymort]

i live next to a wetland basin type thingy and at night we hear screeching. kind of like a cross between a cat and a bird thats being slowly murdered! any ideas what this could be?

[rekstout]

Could be mating foxes - I remember the first time we heard foxes at our place we thought it was a young girl screaming and nearly called the police!

[mikewith]

I'd go for foxes too - we hear them at night in the middle of London, so it's not just a rural thing.

[Cetti]

Because of the habitat it's more likely to be either the scream of a Little Owl or the screech of a Barn Owl. Both calls are pretty unnerving!

It is possible that it might be a mating Vixen ( her screams are out of this world!!) , although the common time for mating is mid December to mid February - some areas as late as March or early April - my bet would be on the Owls.

[Moog]

It's probably just your local madman dismembering the bodies of young school girls with a blunt axe... I wouldn't worry about it!

From my experience in London at least the screechs of mating foxes continue all year round, oh and the cause of much amusement... a friend of mine moved to a flat near Hampstead Heath... about four dyas after moving in called the police to report the unspeakable crime taking place behind her flat... police turned up too and were non to impressed!1