What is the eerie sound coming from my pond?!

[kbn316]

Quick background: I'm in southern Wisconsin, temps are still cool (50s), pond is about 12x20 and 4' at the deepest end.

Awhile ago I was in the house and heard what sounded like an alarm bell, similar to cicadas but not as shrill. Same cadence as a cicada call, though. Kinda creepy and intermittent, and LOUD. Went to let the dog out and realized it's coming from the pond area.

It's 10 pm, so this is a night creature. There are no plants grown up yet around the pond, so it's not something lurking in the reeds. I've seen no sign of critters, although my hubby says he heard a frog yesterday.

Any ideas?? This is our third year with the pond and I've never heard this before! It's cool, and I'm dying to know what it is!

 

[zinjy]

I had something like this last year right outside my door, and it turned out to be a tree cricket (it was sitting close to the ground, not on a tree)! Tiny little insect with a REALLY loud noise. I looked over the area multiple times with a flashlight before I realized it was making the noise. It did not look like a regular cricket at all.

 

[addy1]

We get a ton of different noises, this time of year the frogs bugs are going crazy.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Maybe a toad?

 

[kbn316]

That's it! I looked up the tree cricket call online, and it's pretty close to what I heard. It was so loud, I even heard it upstairs, which is on the other side of the house. Mystery solved!