At about 9 pm this evening I surprised something that had apparently been on
a large open lawn very close to a narrow row of trees and bushes. It gave
what I can best describe as a muted squawk. I saw it for a fraction of a
second in flight, but it was in shadow and very dark, and I can't be sure of
the size, although I would estimate it was somewhere between a robin and a
crow. I didn't see enough of it to get any sense of shape or flight
pattern.

The best candidate I can think of is northern flicker, and its alarm call
would seem to be a reasonable fit. But I wouldn't expect to encounter one
in a place like that three and a half hours after dark. I frequently flush
killdeers in the vicinity, but of course they are very shrill when
disturbed; it certainly was not a killdeer.

Does anyone know to what extent flickers are active at night? Can anyone
think of any other plausible candidates? This was on high ground, a half
mile from any water at all and nearly a mile from any extensive marsh
habitat, and a couple of hundred yards away from a modest forest tract.

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA