Below you will find tracks of each owl's calls. You can download these tracks and burn them to a CD, which
you can use in the surveys. The format is .wav. We use Windows Media Player to burn CDs. If you need a
different format, send us an email.
Here is a link with instructions on how to burn CDs.
We ask that, unless you are experienced in owl monitoring using call playback, that you use our tracks to
make sure that you are using high-quality recordings of the correct species. These tracks have been used for
years and we have found them to get very good responses. All of these species are very easy to tell apart via
their calls with just a few minutes of practice.
All tracks play a series of calls followed by 20 seconds of silence. We've found this to be a good mix to allow
you to time to listen in between broadcasts. Each track is about 10 minutes long, so for one night's work just
play a track once and you're finished.
you can use in the surveys. The format is .wav. We use Windows Media Player to burn CDs. If you need a
different format, send us an email.
Here is a link with instructions on how to burn CDs.
We ask that, unless you are experienced in owl monitoring using call playback, that you use our tracks to
make sure that you are using high-quality recordings of the correct species. These tracks have been used for
years and we have found them to get very good responses. All of these species are very easy to tell apart via
their calls with just a few minutes of practice.
All tracks play a series of calls followed by 20 seconds of silence. We've found this to be a good mix to allow
you to time to listen in between broadcasts. Each track is about 10 minutes long, so for one night's work just
play a track once and you're finished.
Juvenile screech owls (late spring - summer) respond to adult calls with a distinctive hissing call, a raspy variation on the
adult call, so if you hear this noise you might have some young screech owls on your property. In most cases the parents
will be around so you will hear adults too.
adult call, so if you hear this noise you might have some young screech owls on your property. In most cases the parents
will be around so you will hear adults too.
Screech owls have 2 main calls: a "whinney" -- a quavering call of rapidly descending pitch (like a horse's whinney) --
and a "bounce" -- a 2 - 5 second call of very quick notes on roughly the same pitch. Both are included on the track
above so you can hear what they sound like.
and a "bounce" -- a 2 - 5 second call of very quick notes on roughly the same pitch. Both are included on the track
above so you can hear what they sound like.
Barred owls have a mnemonic pattern of "Who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you-all" or a series of accelerating
"hup, hup, hup, hup, hup-aww!" hoots (both are on the track). They call very readily, often even in the daytime. They
are very loud, so do not worry about missing these guys.
"hup, hup, hup, hup, hup-aww!" hoots (both are on the track). They call very readily, often even in the daytime. They
are very loud, so do not worry about missing these guys.
Great-horned owls are a bit shyer than barred owls (in terms of calling, anyway), but when they do call they are quite loud.
Their hooting call typically follows the pattern of "Who's awake, me too!"
Their hooting call typically follows the pattern of "Who's awake, me too!"
Download Eastern Screech Owl Track right-click and "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."
Download Barred Owl Track right-click and "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."
Download Great-horned Owl Track right-click and "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."
Lastly, here is a link to the Cornel Bird Lab's page on the Mourning Dove sound available). Mourning Doves' calls are
often mistaken for owl calls, so listen to its call once before you start surveying for owls. If you think you are hearing an
owl in the daytime, it might (probably) be a mourning dove. A mnemonic pattern that you can use for the morning dove is
"Ooh-waaa-hoo, hoo, hoo." You won't hear them at night so they won't mess up your surveys.
(Mourning doves aren't part of our program, they are included here just for
comparison)
often mistaken for owl calls, so listen to its call once before you start surveying for owls. If you think you are hearing an
owl in the daytime, it might (probably) be a mourning dove. A mnemonic pattern that you can use for the morning dove is
"Ooh-waaa-hoo, hoo, hoo." You won't hear them at night so they won't mess up your surveys.
(Mourning doves aren't part of our program, they are included here just for
comparison)
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| "Who's Whoo-ing" In Your Backyard? |
| A Citizen Science Study of Suburban Owls |
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