Hello birders,

I am not a birder, although I love birds as I love all wild critters (and most tame ones). I've joined the list and am posting in the hopes that someone here can help solve a mystery.

I live in Everett, Washington, not far from Forest Park, and I've seen some pretty nifty birds in my yard in the year I've lived here - a mountain quail and a pileated woodpecker top the list. The bird I'm writing about, though, I haven't seen. It flies at night, only in the late summer - I heard it last summer, and waited for it this year, and started hearing it about a week ago. Its call is very strange; actually it sounds like two or more birds. The sound goes something like this: "SKR-RAAWK!! tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet SKR-RAAWK!! tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet " and on and on like that all night, starting probably around 9:30, once it's full dark, and continuing until....oh I don't know, I can hear it when I'm going to sleep around 11 or later. It also sounds like it's circling; I can hear it far away, I hear it up close, but I've never seen who's making this noise.

So does this sound like anything anyone can identify? Wish I could provide more clues, but this is all I know! Thanks in advance for your help!

Ren?e Gagnon
Everett, WA (rs.gagnon at comcast.net)