Helped needed with nocturnal call

Hi all, any ideas on this one? I live in London but behind our house is a whole set of back gardens for us and our neighbors, which run to a small river. I only hear this call when it's dark, and judging by how it moves around with relative ease I'm assuming it's a bird.

  • Very short clip so not easy to make a judgement. It doesn't sound like an owl which would be the most likely bird to call at night.

    Just a guess but it could be a fox. They have a wide variety of calls. Have a listen to this especially the ones near to the end of the recording to see what you think.

  • I would agree with TeeJay, pretty sure it is a Fox, probably a vixen; a less dramatic variation on the .her bloodcurdling scream, which sometimes leads people to ring the police! When I lived in London I used to hear this so often, especially at this time of year, when there is a lot of courting and mating activity and both sexes are very vocal. The dog Fox has a very distinctive three-note bark. .