On the evening of the 8th of April 2009 at 2 a.m. I recorded 5 minutes of a series of screams. Sadly they were at a distance and the quality of the recording was poor.  Most researchers thought that the sound maker was a fox.

Update –

On the 1st of May at about 4 a.m. I again recorded this Red Fox.  This time he was very close to the recorder.

To listen to the sound clip, click here – Not So Distant Screams

I took this  picture several years ago of another Red Fox at a distance with a point and shoot camera.

Red Fox

Red Fox

Many readers contacted me that they thought this sound was a fox.  One of those that helped identify this sound was Doug Von Gausig of Naturesongs.com.

Doug wrote –

On my website (http://www.naturesongs.com) I offer to help people identify unknown sounds they hear, and the Red Fox is the number one culprit! It’s such an unusual and scary sound, and people seldom actually see the perpetrator. I always know just from the initial description what it is. Also, the reports peak in the Spring each year, during the breeding season. The second most reported “mystery” is the Barn Owl, and Great Horned Owlets come in third or so.   Doug

Also, for an excellent website of many fox sounds you can visit –

Sounds of the Fox