Antrim Marina - Sunday 15th December 2024...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 15th December 2024

I arrived at Antrim Marina at 10:05 this morning.  There was heavy cloud cover making it seem fairly dark, which later had an effect on my camera, as the processor was having trouble when it came to focusing.  The temperature gauge in my car was reading 11ºC, yet another mild day for this time of the year.  The wind was quite calm, but it became stronger as the morning wore on.

With the return of -  2FJH  last Sunday, I was on the lookout for 30 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, plus any further returnees.  The way things panned out today, the Black-headed Gulls did not get my full attention.  The Finnish Common Gull that arrived back last Sunday, was going to be my main target should it appear today, and it did (read below).  I also ended up having lots of conversations with passers-by and the morning between one thing or another flew by.

By the time of my departure at 2pm, 20 colour-rings were read, meaning I had 10 absentees, though some may well have come and gone un-noticed.  No further returnees were spotted.  The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335  was recorded as usual at 10:39.  I had intended to obtain a photo of -  2AAB  when he appeared today, but it slipped my mind by the time he did appear at 11:54.   2AAB , has now surpassed the 12 year mark since being ringed, and is the oldest surviving Black-headed Gull from Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Project.   2AAB  was ringed as an adult male here at the Marina, on the 11th December 2012, which means the duration since being ringed, is now 12 years and 4 days.  Around Northern Ireland, there are a handful of Black-headed Gulls whose ages are not that far behind.

Without the presence of any swans today, no attempt was made to catch any gulls to be colour-ringed.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 15th December 2024

2BRA	2FFA	2CTA	2FFX	2FIL	2FJF	2FJX	2CSK	2FJT	2FJV
2FHC	2CJT	2FKA	2CSR	2AAB	2FJA	2AAN	2ACV	2ABN	2FJN

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina This Autumn/Winter but Absent Today

2AFD	2BRD	2FFH	2FFT	2FHV	2FIF	2FIJ	2FJH	2FJK	2FJL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Normally when I arrive at the Marina at this time of the year I would look out for Mute Swans, as I would use their presence to enable me to catch Black-headed Gulls to be colour-ringed.  However, my thoughts since last Sunday have leaned towards the arrival of a Common Gull from Finland.  Having obtained a partial number -  ST1--.028 , on returning home I realised it was a bird last seen here back in March 2018, at an age of over 22 years old since being ringed in Finland.

I quickly noted there were no Mute Swans present, so before making counts of the Black-headed Gulls and Mallards, I searched for any Common Gulls.  Just a single un-ringed bird was present when I arrived at 10:05, but having just finished a conversation at 11:23 with a passer-by, where I told him about the Finnish Common Gull, there it was sitting on the top rail of the small concrete jetty.

Now the chase was on to confirm the whole ring number.  With the bird now well passed the 29 year mark, I needed a series of time-stamped photos of the ring so that my sighting could be verified.  My problem now was people.  With loads arriving to feed the ducks, the gulls flew all over the place trying to get their share of the bread being thrown out to the ducks.  Not only that, more Common Gulls were arriving at the same time chasing the Black-headed Gulls to force them to drop their bread.

No sooner had I relocated the Finnish bird and took a photo or two, and it was off again.  Time was of the essence, as I needed the photos should it depart.  At 11:31, the small Scottish female -  EY64036  had also arrived.  A quick count of the Common Gulls gave me a total of 11 birds, the 11th being the Finnish gull now standing on the far side of the car park.  Time after time, I took more photos and eventually retreated to my car to check through them.  Amongst them, I had five photos which confirmed the whole ring number -  ST177.028 .

The gull had been ringed as a juvenile in Finland on the 6th August 1995, and today's sighting takes the duration since being ringed to 29 years, 4 months and 9 days.  The full history of sightings at Antrim Marina are listed here :-

When ringed as a juvenile, it had been caught in a gull trap in the town of Maaninka in central southern Finland, and the distance to Antrim Marina is 2,124 kms / 1,319 miles (WSW).

Common Gull  -  ST177.028   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Dec 2024)

(Ringed as a Juvenile, on the 6th August 1995, at Maaninka, Finland)

I needn't have panicked to obtain the whole number, as the bird was still present when I departed at 2pm.  In the past, it never stayed for so long, and even better, the gull was confident enough to walk along with the Black-headed Gulls right up to people throwing bread down, something I've never seen it doing before.  Very few Common Gulls would do that at Antrim Marina.  I wonder if this confidence also applies to the bird back home in Finland?  I have now submitted my sighting to the Ringing Centre at the University of Helsinki.  I am looking forwards to the recovery, as this will list any sightings back in Finland since 2018.

The small Scottish Common Gull -  EY64036  is also surprising me, as today's sighting is it's 7th for this winter - (4th August 2024 to 15th December 2024), with it's previous seven sightings spanning from - (16th August 2021 to the 14th January 2024).  Ringed as a chick on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in North Ayrshire, it first appeared here as a juvenile in February 2014, and has returned every winter since then.  The duration as of today's sighting is 11 years, 5 months and 25 days, and the distance from Hunterston is 141 kms / 87 miles (SW).

After checking for Common Gulls when I arrived, my attention went back onto the other birds present.  No Mute Swans were present, though a pair swam in from Lough Neagh at 12:20.  They eventually came ashore onto the slipway, but neither were ringed.  I tried to offer them some brown bread, but with both birds hissing at me, I knew they were not too used to people.  Around 15 minutes later, they swam back out towards Lough Neagh.

When I entered through the barrier to the car park this morning, a man along with dog walked up to me.  Having noticed me here in the past, he informed me of a dead Mute Swan that he saw yesterday.  He reckoned it was a juvenile as it still had some brown feathers and it was also ringed.  The bird had been seen on the shore a short distance from where I would park car, the bird being found close to the start of Rea's Wood.  I took a walk round but could not find it.  Later, the same man stopped with me again, to say that the bird must have been lifted, as it had been reported to the staff in the 'Gateway Centre' yesterday.

Whilst at the edge of Rea's Wood, I scanned along the eastern shore of Lough Neagh with my binoculars, and noticed a large gathering of Mute Swans in a distant bay, with smaller numbers along the southern edges.  Why are they not appearing here in numbers like they did in the past?

They adult male Herring Gull, along with his juvenile were both present on my arrival.  The female arrived at 12:34, putting in one of her rare appearances over the last number of weeks.

A count of the Mallards gave me a total of 51 birds.  Because of the Common Gulls, I paid little attention to anything else, but I'm fairly sure numbers remained around the 50 mark.

A pair of Jackdaws were ever present, and the noisy small juvenile arrived shortly before my departure.  The juvenile is amusing to watch, as it tries to peck into all sorts of objects.  A pine cone was of particular interest.  Making some headway into pulling it apart, there would be very little to gain there.  A pair of Pied Wagtails were also present throughout today's visit. 

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