Thank you to all those who responded to our query; I love having the resource of all of your collective knowledge and interest! Al Maley was the first to respond with the young barred owl suggestion and several more reiterated that. It is exactly what we are hearing. We have always had barred owls in the neighborhood but never happened to hear this particular call. I'm including Al's response for those of you who, like us, may have heard this but not been able to identify.
Again, thank you, and happy listening and watching!
Lois Hasbrouck
Begin forwarded message:
> Dear Hasbroucks,
>
> It's hard to be sure from your description, but you may be hearing a young Barred Owl. I can describe a little bit about what they sound like at this time of the year.
>
> First of all you should know that the female Barred Owl has a "begging" call that she gives once her eggs have hatched and she no longer has to stay on eggs or brood the young. It sounds like a "listless Sora" and if it weren't coming from the woods you might mistake it for a Sora. This call is given to remind the male to bring food, and is given often and continuously (even in the daytime) when food is scarce or when there are a lot of hungry owlets. It is audible for humans up to a couple hundred yards and to owls, much further. It may be given as often as every 20 seconds and for half hour at a time.
>
> Once the young fledge they have a hissing call that lets the mother know where they are and that they are hungry. It is very, very similar to the call of young Barn Owls, although the two species are superficially quite different. This call evolves over the first two months or so that the young are flying, and, oddly, begins to resemble the begging call of the female, at about this time of the year. It starts with the rising "listless Sora" part and snaps over like a Parula Warbler into the hiss at the end. At a distance the hiss may not be audible. They give the call every minute or so. If there are several young owlets you would hear calls more frequently, but usually from the same general location as they young tend to stick together.
>
> There is yet another flavor of this that you would be unlikely to hear but which I've been lucky enough to hear on two occasions. That's when the female has arrived with food for the fledged young. It's a very soft version of the begging call, followed by an EEK like a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I've seen the female give this call quickly four times in a row, turning her head each time in a different direction. The young all respond with a hiss. The intensity of the hiss may indicate how hungry the owlet is, so the female knows who to feed and where they are.
>
> Like I say, this may not be what you are hearing, but it's grist for the mill.
>
> Regards,
>
> Al Maley
> Hampstead, NH
>
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