It sounds like a Mockingbird. We have them here in NW Florida and they do the same thing - drives you to distraction sometimes!

had to go look that up. kay's suggestion sounds right on the money.

:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mockingbird call

Well, I had to reread Marita's post again and can't see anything in her description that makes me think of a Mockingbird...other than the fact that she hears it at night.

My first thought is that it's not a bird at all but one of the many species of tree frog or other amphibian that make really wierd noises all night long. And very unfrog-like sounds, too.

Maybe a chipmunk if they are around your area. Here one will sometimes chirp for minutes on end- don't see how it can get a breath. But I've never heard them at night.

I bet it is a locust or cicada!

There are 17 year periodical cicada's hatching out now. That might be your annoyance! :)

No, nothing like a cicada! I know all about those.

I did some research and now believe it is a great horned owl.

I think if it was a GHO, you'd hear a lot of hooting. While they do make other noises, the TCHK noise is not one of them. I'm providing a link to Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It's a great place to research birds and there's a great variety of bird calls. Take a stroll through it.

Mockingbird or frog is a likely candidate but the behavior is atypical. We have mockingbirds that sing their heads off all night long. I don't know too many that just sit there and TCHK all night long. I've heard them do that for a short period but they do like to sing. Frogs can make the strangest noises at night so don't rule that out, especially if you've had a rainy season. There may be more of them out than you realize.

There are several nocturnal bird species. One that comes to mind is the Nighthawk (which is not a raptor). It makes a nasally "peent" sound that can be annoying.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Marita, I'm aware of some of the calls that GHOs make....and could certainly fit into what you've described. Have you looked for signs of nesting in the tree? Or roosting? Other owls have little known calls, too. Most think of hooting when it comes to owls, but that's only a portion of the sounds they make.

Ok, more research and I was wrong! I'm now 95% sure the sound is made by a barn owl. I went to the Cornell Orinthology site and the exact sound appears under the barn owl's "territorial screech." It is nothing like hooting.

I also listed to the mockingbird calls and it is nothing like that.

I am sure it is not a frog as it is clearly coming from high up in the oak tree. It is a single screech, incredibly loud, every 5 seconds or so--all night long!

We used to have a whippoorwill that would sit in the tree outside our bedroom window and call for hours. Those things are really loud when they are close by and it used to keep me awake a lot. I found that turning on a few floodlights would run him off. Maybe that would work for you, also.

I'm glad you feel like you've found your critter. But, according to your state's DNR, Barn Owls are "extremely rare" in Minnesota. If not the barn owl, there are other owl options.

Since you hear this sound for a long time every night, and think it might be an owl, you should really examine the ground underneath the tree very carefully for tell-tale owl pellets . Those are the tidy regurgitated packages that consist of all of the pieces and parts of their prey that are not digestible: bones, teeth, hair, etc. They are pretty interesting little parcels! If that's an owl in your tree for all that time, pellets would be on the ground. And feathers.

FYI, tree frogs hang out in trees. And they are some of the dang loudest things, especially when right outside the bedroom. :-)

Thanks rhizo. I also read the statement that barn owls are rare here. I'll keep up my research. Meanwhile I hope I can get some sleep tonight!

We have mockingbirds here that sing all day, and practice all night for the next day, but if all you are hearing is TCHK, it would have to be the least imaginative mockingbird ever. :-)

A nighthawk is a possibility. They fly in circles going steadily higher, making some sort of short sharp squawk every 5 seconds or so, then when they reach their desired height, they dive, and you often can hear a vroom sort of noise as they pull out of the dive at the bottom. They then go back to circling climbing and squawking.

I'll check out the nighthawk sounds. As mentioned in my earlier post, this screech is like a turning radar--loud, then more distant successively as if going around in a circle. That's why an owl with the turning head seems plausible.

Now I'm back to the Great Horned owl. Here's an audio of the sound I'm hearing:

http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/50544

Can you reach any of the tree branches from your window? We would occasionally get birds chirping incessantly in a tree that was planted too close to the house and until we took it down, I would grab any branch and shake it and the birds would fly away.

Marita, you might read this link and listen to the four species of birds that make night noises at night in your state.

Here is a link that might be useful: Minnesota birds that make noise at night

I found this video of the nighthawks call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-_CDXH9qhY

Its somewhat similar to the sound you posted. Except for the annoying guy talking.

Yup, Bob, the sound I'm hearing sounds a LOT like the nighthawk in that clip!

A site I read stated that the nighthawk is active at dusk and dawn, but whatever it is that is keeping me awake literally goes all night. Maybe a disturbed nighthawk :)

Enjoying hearing the cicada!

They are loud and clear :o)

Well if that turns out to be the culprit, I give dees the credit, since she (or he) first suggested the nighthawk. I'm not very good at onomatopoeia: TCHK or "peent" . I have enough trouble spelling actual words, much less trying spell random strange animal noises. :-)

I remember watching nighthawks in Ohio, climbing into the sky and diving, over and over, late into the night until all you could see was the two white bands on their wings. I also remember seeing (and hearing them) in Minnesota when we lived there. I don't think they live in Virginia near me.

Here where we live, Robins will chirp all night if there is a light source near by. Usually start after the young have left the nest.

You could call your closest ag. extension office and ask - they will be able to i.d. it for you.

Can you record the sound, then post the clip here?

I love that idea chloe. Good one!

I asked Renee-FL's DH (the smartest man I know) and he said-
100% no doubt. A Mockingbird doing his "chack" call.

It sounds like a bat. They make a call that can sound like a bird, a short sharp chich sound and they circle very fast round and round. Skimming dipping and diving, in the half light or darkness, they look like a bird late home to roost. Hope this helps with your discovery of this bird like critter

Susan Wood - this was a thread from 2 years ago.