There was a very weird noise coming from the backyard last night–about an hour after sunset. I thought the aliens had landed or the neighbours were fooling around.
I called my husband to listen with me in the kitchen. I asked him, “What is that sound?”
He said, “It’s a horse!”
We went out the back door to take a look; which was probably a mistake, because the noise then ceased.
He went to bed and I googled, “nocturnal animal or bird that sounds like a horse.”
I then discovered that my equine friend was in fact an eastern screech owl.
It’s a wonderful new bird I can add to my birding list. But maybe some more experienced birders can tell me; can I add it to my list if I only heard it?
My Wylde Lyfe 
Hi Adele, I am not an expert birder, but I think you can at least count it as an encounter. Maybe not a species sighting, but definitely an encounter. It’s pretty cool to know that you have an owl in your neighborhood.
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Thank you for your answer to my question, Mark. Greatly appreciated. It felt like an encounter of the third kind, lol. It had such a strange and unusual call. Apparently they like appreciate the water we have in our bird bath and the holes in our trees; but I haven’t heard it again yet.
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It sounds like you have the perfect habitat for them. Maybe they will come back when they are thirsty again!
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Yes; hopefully! At least we will know what it is the next time we hear it!
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