Stormy Weather...

For the fourth weekend running here in Northern Ireland, we have experienced very wet and windy weather.  This time, it was Storm Jorge, which passed over on Saturday, and I therefore stayed at home.  Anyhow, I had to remain at home for most of the day anyway, as I was expecting a parcel through recorded delivery.  By the time it arrived in the early afternoon, very strong winds and rain, prompted me to stay put at home.

This gave me another opportunity to work on the Black-headed Gull database, belonging to Adam McClure's former project.  As well as transferring sightings to my own spreadsheet, several selected sightings were submitted onto the BTO's Ringing Database.  It will take me months to submit all of the re-sighting data.  I've also transferred sightings from my own spreadsheet to Adam's database, in the event that he would decide to re-continue the project at a future date.

Sunday was a much better day, though the tides were not really in my favour, I spent the day around Belfast, with very little reward.  My weekly visit to Antrim Marina, took place on Monday morning.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 2nd March 2020

With Storm Jorge, having passed over Northern Ireland on Saturday, I made full use of Sunday to birdwatch around Belfast, therefore my latest weekly visit to Antrim Marina, took place on Monday morning.

I arrived at the Marina, just after 8am, to discover that between 80 to 100 Black-headed Gulls were already present, a total that I was not really expecting to see.  An overall total of 37 colour-ringed birds, belonging to my study here, have either been re-sighted or newly ringed this winter.  By 8:19, I had recorded 15 of these colour-ringed birds, and the 25th and final gull recorded, was   2ACV   at 11:26.

Numbers easily reached the 150 mark within my first hour at the Marina, a total which was not surpassed, though judging by the colour-ring sightings, gulls were clearly coming and going.  As already recorded elsewhere, some Black-headed Gulls are clearly on the move towards their breeding sites, and one or two of these, will be birds that were absent from the Marina during today's visit.

There was no sign of the colour-ringed juvenile Black-headed Gull - (White 2122), which appeared here last week, or the metal-rung Swedish bird spotted a fortnight ago.  Later this morning, I spotted an Icelandic rung Black-headed Gull at Antrim's KFC outlet, which I reckoned was the same bird which I recorded a partial number on, on the 12th January 2020 (read below). 

The highlight of the re-sightings today, was the third appearance of late, of   2CSS .  This gull had been ringed as a juvenile/1st Winter bird at the Marina, on January 7th 2018.  Having been recorded on a fairly regular basis here during it's 2nd winter, until recently, it had not been recorded since the 25th March 2019.

It re-appeared back here on the 3rd February 2020, and was then photographed by Graham McElwaine, during his visit to the Marina, on the 19th February 2020.  Today's third sighting of this winter, was a welcomed sight.

Black-headed Gull  -    2CSS   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (02 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 7th January 2018, at Antrim Marina)

Another Black-headed Gull -   2ADD , may well appear here at the Marina on my next visit.  The earliest return dates for this bird, have been around the 5th or 6th March in previous years (6th March 2016 & 5th March 2017).    2ADD   winters at Carrickfergus Harbour, but stops by Antrim's KFC outlet for a couple of weeks, before moving on to Antrim Marina.  Indeed,   2ADD's   return to the KFC outlet was recorded a fortnight ago (17th February 2020), though it was not present there last week.  The gull may have been in one of the nearby housing estates.  After my visit to the Marina today,   2ADD   was again recorded at the KFC outlet.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 2nd March 2020

2BRA	2AAR	2CJT	2AAK	2ABK	2ABN	2CSA	2CSH	2ABL
2CTC	2AAA	2ABS	2CSJ	2CSL	2AAB	2CSK	2AAN	2AAP
2FDJ	2AAV	2ABA	2CTB	2CSS	2ACV	2CSR

Black-headed Gulls Re-Sighted or Ringed at Antrim Marina This Winter, but Not Recorded Today

2ADV	2AFD	2BRD	2ANS	2CSB	2CSX
2CTA	2CTR	2FBA	2FDK	2FDL	2FDN

Other Species at Antrim Marina

3 Mute Swans and the usual cygnet, were on the slipway when I arrived, with two further pairs of adults, arriving from upriver at 9am and 10:12.  Last week, saw a total of 12 'White' Mute Swans, the highest total recorded this winter.  Today's birds, were the usual regulars, and there is still no sign of two metal-rung birds, which are well overdue to appear again.

Common Gull numbers were slightly better this week.  A single adult was present on my arrival, with two juveniles arriving next at 8:44 & 9:21.  These two remained throughout my visit.  The second adult arrived at 9:37, with the 3rd and 4th birds appearing at 9:48 & 10:14.  The next two arrived together at 10:37, and the final bird, the 7th, appeared at 11:32.  None of these were ringed.

The usual adult Herring Gull, along with the 3rd calendar year bird, recorded in recent weeks, plus a Lesser Black-backed Gull, were all present on my arrival.  The Lesser Black-backed, and the Herring Gull, again began their courtship disply together, until the arrival of a second Lesser Black-backed at 8:27.  The original bird, must have realised what species it actually was, as she began to display to the second LBB Gull.  Barring the 3rd Calendar year bird, the others remained at the Marina throughout my visit.

The first Mallards to appear, were two drakes at 8:50.  By 11:16, 6 birds were present, which included two females, and when I departed around midday, the total fell back to the two drakes.  What's going on with the Mallards are a complete mystery.  Birds should be around the 100 mark at this time of the year.

Other species were 7 Jackdaws, a pair of Pied Wagtails, a male Grey Wagtail, and a juvenile Moorhen.  At 10:39, three Buzzards soared high above the Marina.  The gulls were slightly un-settled by their appearance, but the Buzzards were too high, to cause any serious problems.

Other Sites in Antrim Town

Leaving Antrim Marina at midday, this gave me an hour to visit two of the other three sites around the town of Antrim, which I would usually visit.  As   2AAV   was recorded at Antrim Marina today, there was no need to visit the Elim Church in the Parkhall estate.  As I was driving along the avenue from the Marina towards the town, I decided to call by the Castle Way car park in the town centre, to see if I could locate   2AFD , which we know goes to Latvia.    2AFD , has become an infrequent visitor to the Marina, but I would like to record him again before he departs.

On reaching the car park, there were few open spaces in which to attract the gulls, but throwing out bits of bread, around 25 to 30 Black-headed's appeared.  Many of them landed close to my car, but these did not include   2AFD .  However, one gull flew past me which did carry an Orange Darvic, but I was unable to read the code.  After a while, I was no further forward, so drove on to the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

At the outlet, I was hoping to re-sight   2ADD , whose return I recorded  a fortnight ago.    2ADD , winter's at Carrickfergus and on his way to Antrim Marina, where he'll spend the summer, he stops by the KFC outlet for a couple of weeks, before finally moving on to the Marina.  Although I went looking for him here last week, he was not present, but may well have been in one of the local housing estates.

Once again, throwing out bits of bread, the Black-headed Gulls which numbered around 40 birds, came flying over to where I had parked.  Around 5 minutes later   2ADD   landed beside my car, and at the same time, I noticed a second bird which was ringed with just a metal ring.  My first priority, was to take a photo of   2ADD , before trying to work on the second bird.  Having   2ADD   sorted, I quickly realised the second bird was from Iceland.  

Black-headed Gull  -    2ADD   -  Antrim KFC, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (02 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 29th November 2013, at Carrickfergus Harbour, Co. Antrim)

A 'Cat and Mouse' game began, with this shy and nervy Icelandic bird.  Every time I moved the car closer to it, it would take flight and I would have to chase after it.   Always having to re-position my car, a nearby taxi driver, who was obviously waiting for his next call, must have thought I'd 'Lost my Marbles'.

Knowing, I needed to capture six digits on the ring, after a while, I sat back to look at my photos.  Writing down the digits, I successfully captured the number -   589640 .  On returning home, I ran '  589 ' through my spreadsheet, with amazing results.  I had three Icelandic birds listed, which began with those first three numbers.

The first of the three, coloured in grey to define a partial number, was that of a bird which I recorded at Antrim Marina on the 12th January 2020 (blog).  I reckon, in all probability, this is that very same gull, despite today's bird seeming to sport an injured left leg.  Before going to my bed at 2pm, to get a couple of hours sleep to set me up for tonight's shift at work, I edited my photos and then sent an email to Iceland.

At 4:10pm, came the reply.    589640 , had been ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at Brekka, in the Álftanes area of south-west Iceland.  Interestingly, the ringing date and location, was the same for two other Icelandic Black-headed Gulls recorded by John Clarke.  These were   589598 , which was spotted on the 1st August 2018, at the east strand car park in Portrush, Co. Antrim, and   589599 , recorded on the 8th March 2018, at the Strand Road jetty in Coleraine, Co. Londonderry.

Black-headed Gull  -  Iceland    589640   -  Antrim KFC, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (02 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, at Brekka, Álftanes, SW Iceland)

Now having both gulls sorted, I was about to leave for home, as by now the time was getting on.  With all the gulls having settled throughout the car park, I took one final look through them all, and suddenly realised, there were two gulls bearing Orange Darvics.  Looking at the nearest bird through my camera, it was   2ADD , and then looking at the second gull, this one was   2ANB .    2ANB  , did not register with me, so I thought I might have just found a new bird from Adam's former project.

Back at home, I checked my spreadsheet to find that I had indeed recorded this gull on three occasions in the past.  All three sightings had been made at Whitehouse Lagoon, situated beside Belfast Lough - 4th September 2016, 11th September 2016, and on the 30th September 2018.    2ANB  , had been ringed as a chick, on the 15th July 2015, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve, on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim, which is 20 kms / 12 miles (NE), of Whitehouse Lagoon.

As   2ANB   is now of breeding age, the latest re-sighting of the gull here at the KFC outlet is interesting.  Could it be possible, that it will nest in the area of Antrim town.  There are two possibilities - the first is the former 'Torpedo testing platform' on Lough Neagh, or the derelict buildings behind the towns Asda outlet, where a rooftop colony was discovered last summer.

The duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 7 months and 16 days.  The distance from Blue Circle Island to Antrim KFC, is 29 kms / 18 miles (SW).

Black-headed Gull  -    2ANB   -  Antrim KFC, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (02 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th July 2015, on RSPB Blue Circle Island, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

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Sunday 1st March 2020

Having spent most of my day today around Belfast, the tides were not in my favour, as low tide was very early this morning.  I spent the whole day moving backwards and forwards between sites, especially Whitehouse Lagoon on the north side of Belfast Lough, and Kinnegar Beach on the southern side.

Just four colour-ringed birds were recorded, which included two unconfirmed Icelandic Oystercatchers, which I could not find on Kinnegar Beach last week.  I say unconfirmed, as I could only see one leg on each bird, both of which the coded rings were visible.  The plain colour-rings on the other leg were not visible at any time.  Both were spotted on the pond, where gulls and waders would roost at high tide.

The first with the White coded ring 'NC', on it's left leg, would be White (NC)-RR (Red over Red on the right leg).  Normally the coded ring is fitted onto the right leg and the plain colour-rings are fitted to the left leg.  This bird was ringed as breeding adult in May 2017, and has been recorded here at Kinnegar for the second winter running.

Oystercatcher  -  W(NC)-RR  -  Kinnegar Pond, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (01 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Breeding Adult, on the 22nd May 2017, at Sandgerði, Gullbringusýsla, SW. Iceland)

The second Oystercatcher had the ring code - White UA.  Doing a search on my spreadsheet for (UA), gave two results.  One of which belonged to an Oystercatcher recorded on the Bann Estuary in County Londonderry, the second belonging to a bird previously recorded here at Kinnegar.

YL-W(UA), Yellow over Lime on the left leg, and White UA on the right leg, has also been recorded here at Kinnegar for the second winter running.  YL-W(UA), was also caught and ringed as a breeding adult, this time, it was on the 23rd May 2018.

Oystercatcher  -  YL-W(UA)  -  Kinnegar Pond, Belfast Lough, Co. Down  (01 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Breeding Adult, on the 23rd May 2018, at Stokkseyri, Arnes, Árnessýsla, Iceland)

I also made two visits to the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, situated in Belfast's Harbour Industrial Estate.  Viewing nesting platform two from hide one last week, not a single gull was to be seen - just Shelducks.  Today, was a completely different story, as around 60 to 80 Black-headed Gulls were now present.  No colour-rings were spotted on my first visit.

Arriving back around an hour later, looking through my telescope, I noticed an Orange Darvic.  Zooming in with my camera, I captured the code of   2BAL , a Black-headed Gull which I know winters along the north coast of County Down, at Donaghadee.

  2BAL , had been ringed as a chick, on the 22nd June 2014, on the Copeland Islands in County Down.  It was recorded wintering at Donaghadee at least once each winter from 2015 to 2018.  On the 10th May 2018,   2BAL   was spotted by David Nixon, most likely breeding on platform two, here on the WoW Reserve.  I also recorded   2BAL   there two days later.  The gull was not recorded back in Donaghadee in the winter of 2018/19, but once again re-appeared on the same nesting platform, on the 13th April 2019.

This was the only summer sighting during 2019, but I went specifically looking for the gull at Donaghadee on the 19th January 2020, where I located the gull resting on the beach.  It's appearance back on the platform today, just shows that Black-headed Gulls are on the move from their wintering sites.  The duration since   2BAL   was ringed, is 5 years, 8 months and 9 days.

Black-headed Gull  -    2BAL   -  RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, Belfast  (01 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 22nd June 2014, on the Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

The second of two visits to Whitehouse Lagoon, saw the number of gulls and waders gradually being pushed towards me by the incoming tide.  Of real interest, was a flock of over 200 Knots, where I thought a ring or two, would be spotted among them.  These birds were tightly packed together, but every so often, they had to make a run to drier ground.

With the Lagoon, slowly being swallowed by the tide, good views were being obtained, but having waited for so long, disaster struck.  I had parked my car in front of the gateway of a house, as there was nowhere else to park.  The inevitable happened, as a lady came out and opened her gateway, so that she could drive out.  With the Knots now being so close, they all took flight and flew over the adjacent motorway.  I too, had to drive off, to let the lady out.

While I was waiting on the Knots, I did record the Icelandic rung Oystercatcher - GW-GfN, (Green over White - Green Flag over Black).  This bird was among the earliest of the colour-ringed Icelandic Oystercatchers, belonging to a new project there.  They soon realised, that the Oystercatchers frequently 'lost' the colour-flags, and later resorted to the use of a colour-coded ring on one leg, with two plain colour-rings on the other leg, such as the two birds mentioned above.

GW-GfN, was ringed as a breeding adult, in June 2015, in Iceland.  The bird has been recorded every winter at Whitehouse Lagoon, since the winter of 2015.  This winter, I recorded it's return on the 3rd August 2019, and spotted it again on the 23rd November 2019.  Despite several visits to the Lagoon since November, I had failed to re-sight the bird until today.  The duration since ringing, is 4 years, 8 months and 25 days.

Over the years, I've documented the loss of it's flag, as well as it's plain 'Green Ring', which had managed to slip underneath the 'White Ring', making the bird appear to be rung W-N, (Niger = Black).

Oystercatcher  -  GW-GfN  -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (01 Mar 2020)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Breeding Adult, on the 5th June 2015, at  Mjóanef, Eystri Rangá, S. Iceland)

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Ringing Details Received

So far, nothing has come back to me about two colour-ringed birds recorded last week.  The wait continues for the German Black-headed Gull - X17L, and Cormorant (White) BZJ.

Having received a new email address to try, kindly forwarded by Jan Rod from County Dublin, a Nigel Buxton, replied to me on Tuesday, concerning the Scottish colour-ringed Oystercatcher - R(Y1)-R.  Nigel confirmed, that the Oystercatcher was caught at a nightime roost, on the 17th March 2018, when the bird was fitted with a new metal-ring, and a colour-ring.  Nigel said he would look into the birds earlier re-sighting history, and get back to me.  My thanks to Nigel for responding, and to Jan, for pointing me towards the new contact address.  R(Y1)-R, had been originally ringed over 23 years ago.

On Thursday 5th March, I received an email from Camille Duponcheel, concerning the Mediterranean Gull - White 3PRT, which I recorded at Kinnegar Beach, on the 28th April 2019.  At that time, this was a first re-sighting of the gull since it had been ringed, in June 20018 in Holland (blog entry).

3PRT, has been re-sighted again, this time, back in Holland.  On the 4th March 2020, a Marcel Klootwijk, spotted the gull at Koude  en  Kaarspolder;  Yerseke;  Reimerswaal;  Zeeland; in Holland.  My thanks goes to Camille for the update.  It's always good to hear about further sightings of birds which have been spotted in Northern Ireland.

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