Strange whistling near pond?

[ClevergirlB]

Hi everyone. Newbie here with a question.
I live in NI and these last 2 nights have heard a strange "whistling" sound coming from the area near a large pond. It changes pitch a lot, down then up again. It almost sounds unnatural, like a child's toy even. I am going to try to record it on my mobile but am not sure how to post it. I think there were two of them talking to eachother(!). I listened to otters online as I thought it might be them but they sound nothing like my ones. The word whistling isnt right for it but is the nearest word I could think of. It is really strange and I've never heard it before. I can't decide if it is a bird or mammal.
Thanks for reading,
B

[Jim Ford]

Midwife Toads?

Apparently they make a chirp like a 'trimphone'.

Jim

[ClevergirlB]

Hi Jim.

Thanks for replying.
Just listened online and its not a midwife toad unfortunately.
Any other suggestions?

B

[RobinP]

Ducks such as Teal, Wigeon and Pintail all whistle, maybe it is one of these.

[Jim Ford]

Let's hope that it's not 'The Seven Whistlers'! Mind you, with the cloud of volcanic dust approaching us ......!
;^)

Jim

[BloomingMarvellous]

Bet it's a Blackbird.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by ClevergirlB

Hi everyone. Newbie here with a question.
I live in NI and these last 2 nights have heard a strange "whistling" sound coming from the area near a large pond. It changes pitch a lot, down then up again. It almost sounds unnatural, like a child's toy even. I am going to try to record it on my mobile but am not sure how to post it. I think there were two of them talking to eachother(!). I listened to otters online as I thought it might be them but they sound nothing like my ones. The word whistling isnt right for it but is the nearest word I could think of. It is really strange and I've never heard it before. I can't decide if it is a bird or mammal.
Thanks for reading,
B

Could be a drumming snipe. Try this one, ignore the chipping call:

Top 10 UK bird songs: snipe | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Cheers
Jonathan

[dampflippers]

I was going to suggest a snipe. We heard some camping at Keilder and it was a really unusual sound.

Or how about an otter?

[ClevergirlB]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I've listened to them all but alas there is nothing even close to it. Was out again tonight and I've realised it's like the sound of tuning a old fashioned radio (not static tho), like a siren but the pitch varies. I teach science and we have a signal generator which produces sound, and you turn a dial to adjust wavelength and therefore pitch. This sounds very like that, so the word whistle is wrong for this. The pitch goes up and down, a few short sounds then a longer up and down. I am just stumped by this B

[Naturenutz]

Could it be bats,you say you went out tonight.Bats can make some strange noises and favour ponds for hunting over ,but they are only audible to the younger ear.