And then one night, we were startled to hear the monkeys. "Startled" may be an understatement. Books were flung...eyes widened. Someone may have said "Aaauuuggghhh! What is THAT?!?"
It was an amazing cacaphony of shrieking hooting barking coming from several directions at once, and the sources were very close.
I hoped the doors were locked.
I hoped monkeys didn't eat schnauzers.
I hoped there weren't any bananas in the living room.
As I was trying to decide between calling 911 or Animal Control, the pandemonium suddenly stopped. Someone must have called an emergency monkey meeting at a distant location.
We eventually were able to identify the culprit, and as it turned out, the monkeys were not what they seemed. They were actually Barred Owls (Strix varia), beautiful brown-streaked birds with round faces and ominous eyes. How a noise like that could come from an animal without opposable thumbs, I'll never know.
This is excellent stuff! Gave me a pretty good laugh. I've mistaken squirrels for birds before, frogs too have have pretty crazy voices. The first time i heard (and saw) a sandhill crane, I was so confused. Crazy animals! How cool the owl was right outside though, pretty neat!
ReplyDeleteHi Joy - I love your sense of humor! I think "I hoped monkeys didn't eat schnauzers," is one of the funniest lines I've ever read on a nature blog! Could you tell approximately how many Barred Owls were contributing to the cacophony?
ReplyDeleteAJ, I'm guessing there were no more than 2 or 3. They just make the most ungodly horrifying noise when you're not braced and ready for them.
ReplyDeleteFunny, Joy. What a great discovery - would like to hear those owls some day.
ReplyDeleteI have only seen one of these guys, on a visit out east last spring. A very cool bird - it ended up being my profile photo. What fun to learn that they double as flying monkeys after dark!
ReplyDeleteThey absolutely do sound like monkeys! I currently live in a building that also serves as a raptor rehabilitation center, and the permanent-resident Barred Owls live in a cage practically right outside my bedroom window. The racket the two of them make sometimes is unbelievable. "WHO COOKS for YOU? WHO COOKS for YOU-all?"
ReplyDeleteI sympathize. We moved out into the woods 20-odd years ago. No monkey conventions but plenty of wildlife noises to come to terms with. It's well worth it though. Lots of experiences that city folk will never know.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Joy. You describe one of my favorite sounds to hear in the spring (and sometimes summer) - that cross between monkey and dog, those crazy hoots and awls... I'd love to actually observe with my eyes a Barred Owl making those noises. In my head, I imagine them craning their necks and moving about in an agitated state, but I bet in real life they are just sitting there while doing that, barely moving.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I have seen one calling from about 30 feet away. He (?she?) stretched his neck down, looking right at me. After every call, he looked left, then right, then left again, then back at me. It was wonderful.
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