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johnkr_gw

Strange noise from my pond.

johnkr
15 years ago

My pond is being visited by something that is making a strange sound every night. It's only strange because I've not heard it before, but the sound is starting to become annoying. I hope it's a mating call that will end soon. It's a noise resembling the sound of a whistle. It last for about 15 to 20 seconds and repeats from dusk until well into the night. It's very loud and can be heard from a distance. I think the sound is annoying the green frogs as well. They try to compete with their "banjo" calls, but give up relatively quickly. I'm familiar with the sounds of crickets and some tree frogs, but I have no idea what is making this weird noise.

Comments (20)

  • johnkr
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Catherine, I enjoy the croaking of frogs and the sound of crickets, but this thing sounds like someone blowing a whistle in your ear all night. It's kind of eerie.

  • pikecoe
    15 years ago

    Maybe those aliens, watch your fish that they don't start turning up dead with their stomachs missing. LOL Glenda

  • hbwright
    15 years ago

    Definitely toads. I'm very familiar with that sound.

  • frogged
    15 years ago

    Could it be bats? I hear a whistle/chirp in the bush lots around my area and thought it to be bats echo becuase they chrip over and over then pause then start again. You can hear them for miles. Their are also frogs chirping quiet different from this other, (less harsh) anyway just a thought- Frogged

  • asun1
    15 years ago

    I agree with hbwright. Definitely Toad. The first time I heard that noise my husband and I went outside with baseball bats, expecting to find an alien creature of some sort. All we found was a small toad with a bubble at the throat. Very LOUD. You would never expect such an ear piercing noise to come out of something so small. After about 4 nights of the noise, we found strings of eggs in the pond, and later tadpoles. Then the noise started again a week or so later. Continued on and off all summer.

    Good Luck.

    Amanda

  • goodkarma_
    15 years ago

    We are blessed with two toads this year! We rarely get toads so we are thrilled. They are loud but the sound is pretty.

    Lisa

  • horton
    15 years ago

    John, try the link below for a recording of a toad call.
    Toads let out a long sharp trilling sound and if you have many toads, the noise from them at night can become very loud and annoying to some people.
    I had to remove about fifty toads from around our pond two years ago because of the noise they were making. My neighbours brought it to my attention!!!
    Now the toads are at a small lake near us where they can 'scream' all night.lol
    "Horton"

    Here is a link that might be useful: American Toad sound

  • johnkr
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions.

    Horton, your link is exactly what the noise sounds like. I don't think its the exact species, because I'm out of its range, but it must be a close cousin.

    I enjoy visitors to my pond, but the calls of this toad are not the usually pleasant sounds of which I'm accustom.

    If you haven't already, I'd encourage everyone to turn your computer speakers way up and click on Horton's link.

    I'm afraid my neighbors are going to start asking me about the sounds very soon. I think I'll stick with the alien creature story.

  • nancyd
    15 years ago

    Repeating everyone here, but definitely toads. You can't believe a sound like that can come out of something so small. They are aliens! We call them our Screaming Toads. I had read it's either a mating call or the male toad announcing that your pond is his territory. Mine were early this year. They're a hoot. When I let my dog out, I catch them lazily swimming back and forth in the pond and when they see me they let out a little "chirp." It's like their own personal hot tub. I hope you have fish because pretty soon you're going to see thousands of tadpoles! If you're lucky you might be able to catch them mating in the pond. Otherwise toads live on land.

  • sheepco
    15 years ago

    Ooooh, good link Horton, thanks.

  • newyorkrita
    15 years ago

    Really does sound like aliens, I just listened to the recording.

  • txgdnr
    15 years ago

    Good link Horton, Thanks for all the great responses you give on this forum!! I have learned a lot from you!
    Dianne

  • horton
    15 years ago

    Thank YOU all very much, I'm glad the information was of interest to you.
    Keep an eye on your pond if you have a great number of toads coming around to breed, as they produce masses of spawn and subsequent tadpoles,so many in fact,that their numbers can diminish the oxygen content in the water.
    Birth control, by netting out the spawn before it hatches can keep the number of tadpoles down to a sustainable level.
    The collected spawn can be moved to a creek or another pond somewhere else to develop.
    "Horton"

  • Scott Hnatowicz-Warner
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    It's not toads. Not regular ones, at least. Toads whistle to find mates but it's more of a reverberated tremolo than a whistle and you definitely wouldn't confuse the two.

    My wife and I had to relocate over 50 toads that had bred in puddles on our pool cover because that many toads, all calling every night, was like a coach's whistle hooked up to an amplifier. We couldn't sleep at all. So, we caught every last one of them, drove to an isolated pond 5 miles away and dumped them all in.

    We haven't had the problem since.

    The Gray Tree Frog also has a trill tone, but it's call is so powerful that from a distance, it can sound like a spooky nearby whistle.

    The Spotted Owl has 13 different calls, one of which has been described as an eerie whistle. If the pitch has a sudden upturn near the end, this could be your culprit.

    It really depends specifically what your whistle sounds like.

    Good luck finding your answer!

  • HU-462507898
    last year

    What get loud like burping noise and like cough

  • HU-462507898
    last year

    Supposedly have a bear. Know have mountain lion picture sleeping on my moms yard.

  • HU-462507898
    last year

    Daytime

  • HU-462507898
    last year

    Want to know what kinda animal sound like barking every night goes to pond

  • HU-462507898
    last year

    My brother says

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