[Tweeters] Saw-whet owl wails???

[Kellie Sagen]

Hello Tweets!

Over the past week I have been hearing some strange wail/whine calls after dark in my backyard that I have never heard before. It has happened on four occasions with 2 or 3 wails in succession and then silence. The first time I heard it around 9:30pm last week, some Great-horned owls responded. This morning at 5:46am a Barred owl responded to it. I was able to record one of the wails on my Merlin app and it came up as a Peregrine falcon. I do not believe what I’m hearing is a falcon, although I could be wrong. If there is anyone who is familiar with NSOW wails (not toots) and wouldn’t mind listening to my 5 second recording please contact me and I will send you the audio file. I live in the burbs but on a wooded creek and my property backs up to several acres of dense mixed forest.

I have never heard nor seen a Saw-whet before but I have been listening to dozens of recordings online and that seems to be the closest to it. Although the pitches are higher than what I am hearing in my backyard, the quality seems mostly the same. Whoever is making this noise has not responded to playback of Saw-whet audio so far which leaves me questioning, what exactly am I hearing? 

Thanks for any input!

Kellie Sagen 🦉
Lake Stevens