@purplerallim I used to hear weird screeches in the trees on the railway embankment behind our old garden - turned out they were juvenile tawny owls! Identified by finding a recording on YouTube. Apparently they call like that to let the parents know where they are. Was lucky enough to be right nearby one night when an adult came in. Just saw this ghostly shape alight on a branch and the juveniles made such a racket! Pretty amazing - could be what you're hearing, although might be a bit late in the year now I suppose
Well it's as good an explanation as any @AndyDean 😁 So we have the possibility of a male looking for a mate , maybe even a young male looking for territory or youngsters spreading out from a late fledging. The area has a good mix of open fields, farmland and coppice/small woods so raptors of many types are seen here. Its lovely to be surprised.
@purplerallim Yes indeed! Our old house was amazing for birdlife - daily bullfinches, nuthatches and woodpeckers, amongst all the more common things, and the occasional rarity like the tawny owls, all because of that wonderful railway embankment. Now we're in a new build estate, hardly any mature trees and virtually no shrubby growth, so much sparser. At the weekend had the most bird sightings since we've been here though, with three species of tit joining the usual goldfinches, as well as robin and dunnock, so hopefully my efforts at improving the wildlife value of our small patch are starting to bear fruit!
Sounds like it to me @AndyDean. Just remember the ground feeders and water. I'm thinking for next year to put in a bit more evergreen shrub , as the garden is a bit bare in winter, mind you the birds don't mind but I would like to give them a bit more cover ( from those raptors )😁
We have a nice spiny berberis next to a pair of feeders and up the garden a spiny pyracantha near two other feeders, the sparrow hawk still gets the occasional song bird.
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I used to hear weird screeches in the trees on the railway embankment behind our old garden - turned out they were juvenile tawny owls! Identified by finding a recording on YouTube. Apparently they call like that to let the parents know where they are. Was lucky enough to be right nearby one night when an adult came in. Just saw this ghostly shape alight on a branch and the juveniles made such a racket! Pretty amazing - could be what you're hearing, although might be a bit late in the year now I suppose
Yes indeed! Our old house was amazing for birdlife - daily bullfinches, nuthatches and woodpeckers, amongst all the more common things, and the occasional rarity like the tawny owls, all because of that wonderful railway embankment. Now we're in a new build estate, hardly any mature trees and virtually no shrubby growth, so much sparser. At the weekend had the most bird sightings since we've been here though, with three species of tit joining the usual goldfinches, as well as robin and dunnock, so hopefully my efforts at improving the wildlife value of our small patch are starting to bear fruit!
I'm thinking for next year to put in a bit more evergreen shrub , as the garden is a bit bare in winter, mind you the birds don't mind but I would like to give them a bit more cover ( from those raptors )😁
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...