Hi Don:

ref:
"The sound is of something that is half human and half animal"

I know someone who was going to their deer stand one cold November morning before first light. As they were walking along they suddenly were gripped with terror as an extremely loud blood curdling scream was let out seemingly right over their head. Though armed with a powerful rifle they felt completely momentarily defenseless due to the darkness and not knowing what was happening.

It turns out that a screech owl had swooped down over his head from behind him and had let out this screech. I understand that he quit taking naps in the woods for a little while after that....

Anyway, I thought CA was flooded/overrun with people but now realize that alot of it is very sparsely populated...maybe for good reason too!

Imagine that...not hearing any traffic.