When I was staying on the West Coast of Ireland we decided to walk to the local pub about a mile down this country lane. As we passed the cemetary we heard this strange wailing sound which was a bit eerie but carried on our way pretending to be very brave. We had just started down the hill when to our horror on the opposite side of the dip, silently, there came gliding towards us this old man's head and then the wailing sound started again. We were scared stiff by this point but after a few seconds (that seemed like eternity) it turned out to be an old chap on a bicycle with his torch stuck in the front basket so that it shone on his face. We breathed a sigh of relief as the wailing noise stopped when he reached the bottom of the hill so we assumed it had been his brakes. We laughed nervously said hello and said we were sorry we'd thought he was a ghost but I think he thought we were just mad. We had a good laugh about it and carried on down the road. Suddenly the wailing noise started again this time even closer like it was alongside. We didn't stop to find out but bolted to the pub. Only there did the landlord tell us that what we heard had been a kind of plover and the noise was it's wings beating to warn predators away from the nest. Needless to say someone gave us a lift home - what might we have heard after 4 pints of guinness ???