Today I went to the local Forest Service office to speak to the wildlife biologist, a young man who took a few minutes out of his busy day to do some brainstorming with me about what local animal could be whooping and whistling in the forest near Happy Camp.
[Reference: My first post about the whoops and whistles I heard.]
He suggested an owl, egret, or heron. I listened to sound files and YouTube videos of bird sounds. The only one that comes close so far is this fishing heron that does a bit of whistling. The quality of the whistle wasn’t an exact match, but that’s a possibility. This heron’s whistle has a bit of trilling to it, which I didn’t hear. And it isn’t combined with a whoop… so the jury is still out.
Rapids at the bottom of the cliff.
He told me there’s a rookery downriver from Happy Camp. I know there’s one at the end of the human-occupied territory, across from the crushed rock business. I scanned the river at my research location further down and couldn’t see any herons or other birds fishing. I did hear birds twittering in the area today, mostly from a distance, but didn’t see any. I also scanned the trees across from where I sit, looking for nests; nothing found yet.
I enjoyed my talk with the wildlife biologist. He says he doesn’t believe there’s any Bigfoot in our forest. I told him a little about Bigfoot sightings near Happy Camp but got the distinct impression that his woo-woo tolerance level was exceeded by the end of our conversation.
I have now spent eight mornings sitting by the river in this one particular spot and during that time I’ve heard the whoops and whistles only once. Today I was out there again. I had my SanDisk on but it didn’t pick up any sounds except the river. Perhaps I should find another location that isn’t so close to a series of rapids. I also am devising ways to save the money for better recording equipment.
More on this issue if/when there’s anything worth reporting!
My very own blobsquatch!
This has probably been said before, but in one of the BF sounds, ‘The Old Man Alone’, at bigfootsounds.com, doesnt it sound like he’s saying ‘Where you goin ?’ ? (the second vocalization)