"It was a blood-curdling scream, like a woman in distress," she recalls.

After quickly waking her husband, Linn, the couple listened intently to the continuing shrieking coming from the direction of Jugiong Creek, which runs just 200 metres from their back door.

After realising the screaming wasn't of human origin (phew!), the couple did what most of us would do these days. They headed straight to the internet.

"Initially we thought it may have been a fox taking a lamb or even a barn owl," explains Linn, adding "but Google eventually put us onto the bush stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius), a large ground-dwelling bird which stalks slowly at night in search of invertebrates such as insects.

"Although the sound was like nothing I'd ever heard before, the screaming sound closely resembled recordings of the curlew's call."

The startled couple eventually got back to sleep. However, the same noise woke them again the next three nights. "It got fainter as the nights went on, so we assume, whatever it was, it was only passing through," explains Linn.

When presented with details of the Armours' abrupt wake-up call, bird expert Geoffrey Dabb, warned "we must tread carefully attempting to identify unseen night screamers".

According to Geoffrey, a retired CSIRO scientist and long-serving member of Canberra Ornithologists Group, the noisy culprit comes down to a handful of suspects. "Barn owl reports are common at the moment, and they have a harsh screaming call," he explains, "and then there is the barking owl, but actual screaming sounds from them, rather than barks, are more rural mythology than fact."

So Geoffrey's verdict? He agrees with the Armours. "Given they heard a sustained call, rather than the relatively short cry of an owl, even though they are rare in these parts, a bush stone-curlew is the most plausible explanation," he says.

Just how rare are these birds? Well, according to Geoffrey, "they are thinly spread and can turn up anywhere, but it would be a most unusual record for the Yass area". In fact, the only place within our region that you are likely to spot one is at Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve where they were reintroduced in 2014.

"Maybe it's a wanderer from Mulligans," speculates Geoffrey.

Whatever the creature, the Armours hope it returns so they can take a photo to confirm its identity.

Did You Know? In August 2009, NSW police admitted the blood-curdling shriek of a Barking Owl may have sparked a search for a body in northern NSW.

While no one has (yet) reported another case of a rare double bower, Gordon Fyfe of Kambah recently discovered an out-of-place spanner in a far-away bower.

During a pre-lockdown camping trip to Purnululu in Western Australia, Gordon spied "a shiny Sidchrome spanner" in the bower of a great bowerbird.

Gordon admits he was tempted to pocket the tool "because the bird didn't have opposable thumbs [so] the spanner would never be used for its intended purpose". However, "on the basis that other campers regarded it as ever so cute for a bowerbird to collect (steal!) a spanner for his bower", Gordon decided to leave the spanner where he'd found it.

Interestingly, after posting about the spanner on several 4WD forums, Gordon says he was inundated with fellow 4WD adventurers claiming the spanner belonged to them.

Oh, if you are a tad confused why a male bowerbird would collect something that isn't blue, that's because, unlike the satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) which is found around Canberra and which likes to decorate its bower with blue objects, the great bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) prefers to decorate its bower with red, green or white objects.

Many of this column's readers agree that the milepost currently residing in a Lyneham front yard originally stood on the Kings Highway, about six miles east of Braidwood and 32 miles west of Batemans Bay. Michael Szabo of Garran even recalls seeing it in situ in the mid to late 1960s.

"Although measurement metrication in Australia began in 1971, according to Michael "it was not until 1974 that Australia changed all road and speedo signage to metric". Michael also reports "you could purchase stick-on metric scales to help you adhere to your old speedo for accuracy".

While the proliferation of lockdown cubbies created from fallen branches and bush rock in our nature reserves continues unabated, so too, thankfully, do activities which cause far less harm to the environment.

In a recent walk up Mt Rogers in Belconnen, Janis Norman of Spence noticed several welcome distractions. "First, there was a large cut-out of the Where's Wally character in front of a house, then on the concrete path between Melba and Spence were several chalk-drawn affirmations as well as a hopscotch," she explains.

Further along her walk, Janis "encountered a family blowing party whistles and singing Happy Birthday from a driveway to the resident peering out of a window. What a lovely thing to do in these Covid-challenging times." Indeed.

Meanwhile, it seems Mother Nature is doing her best to put a smile on our faces too. Check out the tree Debbie Cameron found while recently walking in Callum Brae Nature Reserve. That's a cheeky grin if ever I've seen one. Oh, and the tongue sticking out reminds me of a popular emoji.

Back in October 2013, amid much pomp and ceremony, an avenue of ''almost 1000 trees'' was planted between Queanbeyan and Canberra. The trees were planted along the verges of Canberra Avenue and in the median between Hindmarsh Drive and Woods Lane as the ACT's 175th birthday gift to Queanbeyan.

But eight years on and several readers have commented that the grand avenue of trees isn't looking as impressive as you might expect. "The current state of this commemorative grove is hardly a reflection of Canberra's close and warm relationship with Queanbeyan," says Bill Weatherstone of Chapman. While another reader dared to ask, "Do all the dead trees reflect a deteriorating status in the relationship between our two cities?"

So just how many trees have survived? Well, according to an ACT government insider, "Of the 861 trees that were planted in 2013, just 617 trees have survived". That means 28 per cent have wilted and died.

Despite this less-than-ideal survival rate, a government spokesperson says, "This program has seen some great success despite unfavourable weather conditions - with many of the original plantings progressing well. The surviving trees are now providing increased shade and amenity for commuters who are making their regular trip from Queanbeyan to Canberra."

My insider further reports, "Not all of the trees can be replanted as some of the original locations are no longer suitable, due to proximity to other establishing trees and infrastructure such as fencing", meaning only "228 of the 244 dead and missing trees" will be replaced.

But this replanting may take some time, with only 96 trees (subject to available stock) planned for replacement next year and "with opportunities in the future to be investigated for further trees to be planted in the area".

Perhaps this is a timely reminder to avoid anything living, whether it be plants or pets, as presents.

Clue: The location is also featured somewhere else in today's column

Degree of difficulty: Easy - Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Sarah McDougall of Lake George who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as faux rail lines outside the Canberra Glassworks, former home to the Kingston Power Station. The ''replica'' steel rail line and timber sleepers were installed in 2006-07 as an interpretative feature to represent the location of original (installed circa 1913-14) rail lines which trains travelled along to deliver coal and other stores to the power station.

Sarah just beat Frances McGee of Curtin, Lynn Nerdal of Bonner and John Moorland of Curtin to this week's bragging rights. The photo was sent in by Graeme McKie of Narrabundah who wondered for many years whether the heritage consultants "got the gauge of the lines correct". To satisfy his curiosity, he recently "took his tape measure along" and while waiting for a Brodburger, measured the gap between the lines. And his findings? You guessed it. "They incorrectly represented a narrow gauge of just 4' 4" whereas the original lines were standard gauge 4' 8.5". Gee, how could the heritage advisers have got it so wrong?

Meanwhile, according to Barry Snelson of Calwell, "the rail line also ran past the old Canberra Technical College near the Government Printing Office", where, as an apprentice in the early 1960s, Barry remembers "watching the trains shunting past his classroom window and not paying any attention to the teacher". It can't have been too distracting for Barry who passed his horticultural course with flying colours.