Unknown Bird Sound (At Night)

[Ruru]

Hi i'm new to this forum! (My names Danny i'm 26) I live in French Bay, Titirangi, West Auckland. I live in a native tree reserve and also 20 seconds from the water. I have a really diverse range of birds around me, but one sound at night time is unknown to me!

I've only ever heard it at Night, between the times of 1am-3am and occasionally earlier at about 10pm

I have never been able to capture the sound as is very short, and often only One sound is made!

I can only write it as: "Eow!" and it is high pitched

It calls out with gaps of a couple of seconds, but sometimes it makes this sound Once and then i do not hear it again.

I have checked nzbirdsonline.org.nz and checked through many many recordings and can not find Anything similar, I have emailed the website to ask for help. I've searched all over the internet and Nothing. Suggestions made were Banded Rail & Long Tailed Cuckoo but these sounds are far far different to what i am hearing!

I have been hearing it for over a year now and i just can not discover what it is and its driving me crazy

Any help would be great! Cheers

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Welcome Danny
"Eow" could be acat!
Or what about pukeko?

[Davidthomas]

The contact call of the pukeko sounds quite a likely sound as they often make it in the middle of the night. Do you live nearish to a swampy/grassy area with pukekos? if not then im with Neil with it potentially being a cat

[Anne Rimmer]

When a morepork wakes up it often makes one or a few screeches before starting its usual 'morepork' call.

[simon.fordham]

I think Anne has nailed it. 'Eow!' is a very good description of one of the most common of a number of different sounds that a morepork makes.

[Ruru]

Hey! there are 3 Morepork right next to my house but i am almost certain it is not them, i've heard them make a few different sounds but not this one. and the call does not come from the same area. There aren't any Pukeko around here, and there is absolutely no chance this sound is made by a Cat you'll have to take my word for it

This 'eow!' sound is very quick, its sharp, and high pitched.

I know its a pain when i have no recording but i thank you all for your help! all i need to do is come across a recording and match it.

I live surrounded by Kauri (most hundreds of years old), Rimu, Tanekaha, Kowhai, Kanuka, Karaka, Ti Kouka, Nikau about 100 Ponga and all sorts. thats just around the house, and then 1 minute down the pathway you are at the beach with Pohutukawa etc and were all the Kingfishers nest. This is the reason this is hard for me to imagine what this noise is as i have to search Land, forest & Ocean birds

anyways, thanks for the welcome, this forum is great!!!

[FlyingKiwiGirl]

Do possums make a noise? I know they do when caught but do they have a general conversation call?
Maybe it's a roosting bird having nighmares

Ruru, now you have us interested & keen to know what it is too perhaps you could work at getting a recording for us?

"Eow" could be acat!

Hey Neil shouldn't that be ecat?

[Anne Rimmer]

If/when you finally work out what it is, do let us know!

[Neil Fitzgerald]

Possums do a lot of coughing, grunting and gurgling, but nothing that makes me think "eow".

[Nick Allen]

Not a species I've had much experience of on land, but the recording of Grey-faced Petrel on NZ Birds Online sounds high-pitched, sharp and could be a little like a 'meow' at a stretch.

It's strange - I'm sure the birds on Tiri when I heard them weren't making such high pitched calls, though.