Nearly 3,000 Wigeon spend the winter here at Saltholme, and for me, their evocative whistling is a constant source of amusement throughout the colder months. This is because I have had the pleasure of seeing, quite close, a male Wigeon whistle. It’s something that most people take for granted, that Wigeon make whistling noises, but not many people have actually watched one do it.
The sequence of events is fascinating: The bird opens his bill, then there is a short gap, then the whistle comes out, then there is a short gap, then the bill shuts again. The bill is nothing more than a door to let the sound out and cannot play any part in the formation of the sound. This is in contrast to a singing perching bird such as a Robin, where the bill continually opens and closes by varying amounts. As a bird bill is not really that flexible, I’m guessing that the bill acts as a kind of volume control.
A female Wigeon hoping for a whistle
As well as this experience being quite profound, I also thought it was really funny. My simple brain likened the event to the submarine Stingray travelling along it’s tunnel to emerge from an opened door to the sea. Anyone younger than 50 won’t have a clue what I mean by this, because Stingray was a Gerry Anderson TV programme in the early 1960’s. It just doesn’t seem right that a door should be opened to let a sound out.
So don’t take Wigeon for granted. Watch the males closely, and hopefully you’ll be rewarded with a whistle – you won’t forget it.