What’s in my yard?

[Tech Tonics]

We live on a couple of acres at the edge of city limits in Durango CO. It’s a couple acres of gamble oaks, pinions and junipers. Beyond our property line is State Wildlife Area which borders National Forest that stretches into infinity. It’s a sloping east-face at 6800’. Our backyard faces west, up-hill.

It’s a wildlife corridor, as the ridge behind the house is developed on both sides. Tons of deer, of course. Bear, too. Some friends up the street (whose property doesn’t even border open-space) have seen a mountain lion on their Ring camera snooping around their back porch (at like 9PM). So, we have lots of wildlife around us.

Every so often we hear an animal and we don’t know what it is. Always at night. It’s a repeating sound, like a repeating dry-cough. Each burst is about 1 second on, one second off, maybe 15-30 bursts. It makes our dogs upset, but they sure as hell aren’t running into the woods to see what it is, they’re freaked out by it . So, I know it’s not the UPS man. It could be a bird, which would be a little anticlimactic and disappointing.

What can it be? I’ve searched YouTube for sounds of lions, bobcats, bear and deer but haven’t found a match.

Anyone?


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[dannynoonan]

Chupacabra

[rideit]

Jackalope

[Tech Tonics]

You guys are slipping

I expected “neighbor cougar with Covid” from the regular smartasses.


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[hatchgreenchile]

When you said “bird” , I thought cougar



Also...grizzly bear, because I want to believe there are a few left in the San Juans

[Lone Star]

when I think of dry cough I think of a deer, antelope, elk etc. dont recall ever hearing it consistently at a regular rate though. that kinda seems more bird-like. at night -> owls

in other words nothing you didnt already think of but now I am curious so I hope you eventually have your phone or a camera on you and can capture a little sound bite.

[SKIP IN7RO]

It could be a bird, which would be a little anticlimactic and disappointing.

more than likely this

[JayPowHound]

Fisher Cat?

[Harry]

^^ I saw a Fisher this summer, cool animal.


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[GoldMember]

I was thinking Heron. Definitely not song birds; miniature pterodactyls that sound something like what you're describing.

[glademaster]

when I think of dry cough I think of a deer, antelope, elk etc. dont recall ever hearing it consistently at a regular rate though. that kinda seems more bird-like. at night -> owls

in other words nothing you didnt already think of but now I am curious so I hope you eventually have your phone or a camera on you and can capture a little sound bite.

Do we know if owls can get The 'Rona? Maybe it's an owl with a dry cough.

[Tech Tonics]

I don’t think it’s an owl. And I think I’m too far away from the river for it to be a heron. Plus, we hear it every couple of weeks and I would notice a regular heron back there.

[Wrecked]

Is it Specific to a particular time of year?

[muted]

if you see a small red glow, it's a peeping tom with a bad smoker's cough.

[Tech Tonics]

Is it Specific to a particular time of year?

I don’t think so

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Could be a barn owl, they have a pretty raspy repetitive call.

[wooley12]

Could be a Southwest Coco or Cuca looking for misbehaving children to eat. Or maybe a fox?

[stealurface831]

possum

[Tech Tonics]

Could be a barn owl, they have a pretty raspy repetitive call.

Not a match based on YouTube videos

[BCMtnHound]

^^ I saw a Fisher this summer, cool animal.

They are very cool.
Amazing climbers, they can reverse their wrists so they can climb equally fast down as up.
Red listed here, mostly due to habitat loss, exacerbated by the pine beetle salvage harvesting. They need rather large territories and very specific den trees to secure their young - entry holes into tree cavities that allow females in but too small for the males to carry out infanticide tendencies.

Good thing the heavy snow regions I like to ski (and mostly work) are not their preferred territory - they prefer the dry winters of the fraser plateau. We are working on protocols for industry to recognize and preserve their preferred denning habitat. Only ever seen a couple in the wild, they both hissed at me like an annoyed cat.

[stealurface831]

apparently a fisher will fuck shit up.

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

10-4, there are lots of other raspy sounding owls out there, and this is the season they start to sound off looking for mates.

[Buster Highmen]

[Soups]

I saw a fisher years ago up in a tree in the U.P. near the Little Two Hearted. Thing was pissed hissing at me. Pretty cool.

[JayPowHound]

apparently a fisher will fuck shit up.

For sure. They take cats and even small dogs in suburbia all the time. Vicious little things...