More Chaos...

I did not expect to get out at all last weekend, as I hadn't heard anything from my mechanic, who had my car all week, so as to fit a new exhaust due to a blow out.  Due to being off work with suspected Tendonitis, I couldn't use the car anyway.  The blow out was coming from the Catalytic Converter, and around 4:30 on Friday afternoon, my mechanic phoned me, to say the replacement had not arrived.  So as not to leave my car sitting on the street for the weekend, I went to collect it.  By now, my shoulder pain was beginning to ease, but I spent Saturday at home, and decided to go out on Sunday, and conduct my weekly visit to Antrim Marina on Monday morning.  On returning from Antrim Marina, I left the car back with my mechanic, and walked home.  With my shoulder still giving me some problems, I ended up taking a second week off work.  It's now Friday, and at last, I'm beginning to feel normal again.  I collected my car on Tuesday afternoon, so I'm back in business for this coming weekend.

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Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina - Monday 23rd November 2020

On reaching Antrim Marina this morning, with what I saw in front of me, I knew I was in for a difficult visit.  Having left the wife to work first, I arrived just before 09:10, and there was added security fencing forming a compound around a very large digger.  In no time at all, having had a conversation with the workmen who are repairing the wooden jetties, more dredging operations are about to begin.  Alongside the low wooden jetty, was the pontoon, onto which the large digger, will no doubt have to be lifted by a crane.  I had a similar problem two winters ago, when dredging operations ran alongside the building of the new Gateway Centre.  I had severe problems trying to read rings that winter, not just by the noise that was created, but the gulls kept on landing on the steelwork of the new building.

 

Swans on the Slipway, with the Low Wooden Jetty to the Left of the Digger and the Dredging Pontoon also to the Left of the Low Wooden Jetty

 

View from the New Gateway Centre with the Slipway and Low Wooden Jetty Beyond the Arch

There was no shortage of Black-headed Gulls throughout today's visit, with numbers easily approaching the 200 mark, or perhaps slightly over this figure.  The majority of the gulls were split into two groups, one group standing on the 'deck-less' long wooden jetty, with the remainder parked at the breakwater, on the edge of Lough Neagh.

 

The Gulls Resting on the 'Deck-less' Long Wooden Jetty

Lots of the Black-headed Gulls Decided to Gather on the Breakwater, at the Entrance to Lough Neagh

Scoping the gulls on the long jetty, did not pose any serious problems, but there was no chance of reading rings at the breakwater.  So far this winter, 26 of the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls from my Antrim Marina Study, have been re-sighted on at least one occasion.  Three further birds, all first winter Black-headed Gulls, had been caught and ringed, which had took the overall total here, to 29.  One of these first winter birds, was a 'Control', as that bird had been metal-rung as a chick, at Stockton-on-Tees, in England, back in July.

 

The very first juvenile that I caught this winter, has not been seen here since the week that I caught and ringed it.  Carrying the code -   2FDA , it was spotted the day after I ringed it, by a Kate McAllister, but there has been no sign of the bird since.  It is roughly estimated, that two-thirds of juveniles, die before they complete their first winter, but I'm hoping that   2FDA  is still about, or is alive and has moved on towards a different wintering site.

Another two, of my Antrim Marina Study birds, have also been recorded, though neither have made it back to the Marina so far.  The first, was   2CSS , which was found sick in the nearby town of Antrim, having had suspected Botulism.    2CSS , was in the care of Debbie 'Doolittle' Hanna, who reported that the gull was responding to medication and healthy food.  As far as I'm aware,   2CSS  is still currently in care.  The second of the two gulls is   2AFD , who we know, probably breeds in Latvia.  I came across this gull yesterday, but more of him, can be read below.

With 29 birds at least to look for, I recorded 17 of these during today's visit.  I dare say, that if I had had the chance to look at all of the gulls properly, the overall total for the day would have been far higher.  There were no new additions, though some of these Black-headed Gulls, should have returned long ago.

Despite the workmen being close to the slipway, before leaving, I decided to try my luck at capturing a few new gulls to be ringed.  All through my visit, hardly anyone arrived to feed the ducks, which was not surprising, due to the continuous rain.  With the lack of bread on offer, I thought I stood a good chance, and despite very few gulls attempting to grab their share, I managed to grab and ring another two Black-headed Gulls.  The first was another juvenile/1st winter bird, which now carries the code -   2FDX , and the second, was an un-sexed adult, which was duly rung -   2FFA .  With the addition of these two, I'll be on the lookout for at least 31 colour-ringed gulls on my next visit.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls at Antrim Marina Today - Monday 23rd November 2020

2FDK	2AAN	2ABN	2FDT	2AAR	2CJT	2CSX	2ABK	2FDV
2CSA	2CSL	2AAK	2CSR	2ACV	2CSJ	2CSK	2AAB

Black-headed Gulls Recorded or Ringed This Autumn/Winter, but Absent Today

2AAA	2ABA	2AAV	2ABL	2ABS	2BRA
2BRD	2CSB	2CTA	2CTC	2FDJ	2FDP

These are the Five Gulls Which Have Been Caught and Ringed This Autumn/Winter

2FDP	2FDT	2FDV	2FDX	2FFA

Around 10:50, I spotted a Black-headed Gull resting on the Long Wooden Jetty, with this bird having only a metal ring.  I instantly knew this could not be   2ABL , who managed to loose it's colour-ring some time ago now.  My new sighting did not have the 'Red Legs' of a full adult, unlike   2ABL , so this one was a second year bird.  I now had the problem of photographing the metal ring.  Due to the security fencing, keeping folk away from the ongoing work on the 'Long Jetty', I had to resort to taking pictures from quite a long distance (see photo of the Long Wooden Jetty above).

As it was raining, the poor light was not helpful either.  I took lots of photos, and checked them out after returning home.  Most of these were absolutely useless, but just a couple caught images of the number, which appeared to read   29190 .  Even worse, I did not capture the initial two letters, which preceded the number.  Anyhow, I edited a couple of the photos, and aligned the ring number underneath a previously known ring.  This worked a treat, as the   29 , as well as   61  above it, lined up with the   www.  on the ring.  The same applied for the final two digits, as   90 , and   22  above it, lined up with both   ac , and the '  O ' in London.  The number   29190 , looked good, and later I sent the photo below, to my 'Ring Reading' counterpart in Dublin for his opinion.

The one problem I had now, was to identify the two missing letters.  As this was a BTO ring, the first letter, had to be an '  E '.  I next went onto the BTO DemOn Ringing Database, and entered the ring number using the most recent second letters used on the BTO rings, using   W ,  X ,  Y ,  Z , and   A .  On completion of the '  EZ ' series, the BTO started the series over again, beginning with '  EA ', which we are now using.  My results to the search came up with the following :-

  EW29190  - belonged to a Puffin ringed in 2006.

  EX29190  - belonged to a Black-headed Gull ringed in 2010 (far too old).

  EY29190  - belonged to a Common Gull ringed in 2014.

  EZ29190  - belonged to a Black-headed Gull ringed in 2019 (perfect).

  EA29190  - belonged to a Puffin ringed in 2018.

Comparing Two Sets of Rings

 

I emailed my findings to Graham Prole, who replied in agreement.  However, Graham suggested that I should hold off from submitting my sighting, until my next visit to Antrim Marina, where I could try again for this bird.  I doubted very much, whether this would work, as I'm going to have much disruption at the Marina over the next few weeks, with both the dredging operations, and the ongoing repairs to the jetties.  Some of the regular gulls at the Marina, may cope with all this activity going on, but there's no way that irregular visitors are going to stay on site.  I therefore went ahead, and submitted my sighting.

It did not take long for the BTO to send out the recovery details.    EZ29190 , had been ringed as a chick, on the 17th June 2019, by the Grampian Ringing Group, at the Sands of Forvie NNR, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.  My sighting was the first since the gull was ringed, and the distance to Antrim Marina, is 392 kms / 243 miles (SW).  The duration from ringing, is now 1 year, 5 months and 6 days.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    EZ29190   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (23 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 17th June 2019, at the Sands of Forvie NNR, Aberdeenshire, Scotland)

 

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As can be imagined, it was almost impossible to except to see many, if any, other species of birds at the Marina today.  Although the workmen were busy alongside the low wooden jetty, situated beside the slipway, they did not deter the Mallards or Mute Swans.  Mallard numbers remained fairly constant throughout my visits, with counts of between 28 and 34 birds altogether.

 

9 adult Mute Swans, and 10 cygnets, were also present throughout the visit.  Two weeks ago, I recorded 10 adults and 10 cygnets, and I believe those were the same adults that were here today.  The missing tenth bird, was a female, which had been reported to Debbie 'Doolittle' Hanna, who takes in, and cares for sick and injured wildlife.  Debbie collected the female, who was being picked on, by two males swans, who were seemingly intent on killing her.  Debbie later discovered that the female had a large amount of Polystyrene stuck in it's throat, and once removed, the female made a quick recovery.  Debbie took the swan back to Antrim Marina to be released.  However, two males swans once again attacked her, so Debbie had no choice, but to take the bird away again.  There has been no further updates from Debbie, but she was planning to release the female at a different location.

 

Whilst at the Marina recently, Debbie, along with Aidan, caught and ringed four of the cygnets, with three also receiving colour-rings.  Not all of the cygnets ventured onto the slipway today, which was not surprising, but all three of the colour-ringed youngsters were recorded -   NJX ,   NJY , and   NJZ .

 

The adult and juvenile Herring Gulls, came and went throughout the morning, often alighting onto the long wooden jetty, as did the Common Gulls.  Later in the morning, I counted a high total of seven Common Gulls, these being five adults, and two second calendar year birds.  There was no sign of the small Scottish-rung female Common Gull, who has been recorded here on just the one occasion so far this winter.

 

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Sunday 22nd November 2020

The tides were not really in my favour today, as low tide was forcast to be around 10:06, and the previous high tide was at 04:14.  When looking for rings, I really need to be on the coast around two hours after high tide, but at 06:15 in the morning, it is still dark.  High tide for this afternoon, would be around 4:15, so I decided to visit a couple of inland sites before heading to Belfast.  Lurgan Park Lake, and Kinnego Marina were the two inland sites chosen, but on my way from Ballymena, I stopped by the Castle Way car park in Antrim town, to have yet another go, to see if Black-headed Gull -   2AFD  had returned.

 

  2AFD , was ringed at Antrim Marina, but over the past couple of years, the birds visits to the Marina, have become quite infrequent.  In March 2019, quite by accident, I discovered   2AFD  at the Castle Way car park, which I now know is his new regular wintering location.    2AFD , is one of our special gulls, as we know likely breeds in Latvia, where he has been spotted prior to the breeding season.  If I'm correct, I think today's attempt to look for him, is my fourth attempt over the last few weeks, with the expected return date being around the 13th November.

 

As I turned down the avenue that leads to the car park, I could see a very large number of Black-headed Gulls on the rooftops.  Being a Sunday, the car park was mostly empty, so I parked in a nice open area, and began throwing out bits of bread.  At least 30 to 40 gulls came swooping down, but many more remained on the roof.  Around 15 minutes later, there was still no sign of rings, and I desperately needed more of the rooftop birds to come down.  I decided to crumple up a few slices of bread onto the road beside my car, and then drive round in a large circle, to watch the gulls piling in to feed.

The frenzy did the trick, as most of the rooftop birds came storming down, which included   2AFD .    2AFD , was ringed as an adult male, on the 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina.  The gull was not seen again that winter, but the first re-sighting was made by me, on the 13th November 2014, in my home town of Ballymena.  Two days later, a Paul Lynas, then spotted   2AFD  back at Antrim Marina.

The main re-sighting dates each year for   2AFD , are as follows :-

Ringed - 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina.

Spotted - 13th November 2014, at Ballymena.

Returned - 15th November 2014, to Antrim Marina  -  Depature, after the 22nd March 2015

Spotted - 4th April 2015, at Riga, Latvia by Richard Bonser

Spotted - 5th April 2015, at Riga, Latvia by Richard Bonser

Spotted - 11th April 2015, at Riga, Latvia by Eddie Fritze

Returned - 1st November 2015, to Antrim Marina  -  Departure, after the 6th March 2016

Spotted - 26th April 2016, at Riga, Latvia by Eddie Fritze

Spotted - 27th April 2016, at Riga, Latvia by Eddie Fritze

Returned - 13th November 2016, to Antrim Marina  -  Departure, after the 24th December 2017 from Antrim Marina

Spotted - 14th January 2018, at Antrim Marina  -  Departure, after the 19th February 2018.

Spotted - 10th March 2019, at Antrim's Castle Way car park (only sighting for 2018/2019 winter)

Spotted - 15th December 2019, at Antrim's Castle Way car park  -  Departure, after the 16th March 2020, from Antrim Marina.

Returned - 22nd November 2020, to Antrim's Castle Way car park

As can be seen from the above dates,   2AFD , had become a rare visitor to Antrim Marina, and unknown to me at that time, he had chosen to 'hang out' in Antrim's town centre.  Now that I know where to find him, I'll not pursue him on a weekly basis, as this takes up far too much time, and it is rare for me to get complete peace and quite at the Castle Way car park, to try and read rings.  For now, I'm well pleased to see the return of   2AFD  for another winter.  Perhaps, he'll call by the Marina some day, so that he can be added onto my winter list there.

 

The duration since   2AFD  was ringed, is now 6 years, 9 months and 10 days.

Black-headed Gull  -    2AFD   -  Castle Way, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

 

Moving on, I made the long drive to County Armagh, stopping at Kinnego Marina, before going to Lurgan Park.  At Kinnego, there were far too many people about, much to the dislike of the Black-headed Gulls.  Most were on rooftops, where I had no chance to scope their legs.  I had a similar problem here a few weeks ago, but a visit during the week might be more sensible.  The problem is, I have to work during the week, so the time and distance, is not a good option for me.

Moving on to Lurgan, as I was driving down Castle Lane, towards Lurgan Park, there were a large number of Black-headed Gulls perched on the roof of the B&M store.  I tried to entice them into the car park with bread, but they wouldn't land for me, just swooping in, grabbing the bread and flying off.  I ended up trying to zoom into their legs on the roof with my camera.  Most could not be seen clearly, but one bird had a BTO sized metal-ring on it's left leg, but the distance was far too much for photos.

I gave up, and drove on down to the park.  Unlike my previous visit here, where up to 250 gulls just bobbed about on the water, today most tried to get their share of the bread.  I was on the lookout for a couple of foreign birds with colour-rings, but had no luck.  One bird however, was spotted with a metal-ring.  Having taken a number of photos, which was quite difficult due to the brightness of the sun, and the number of people walking by, I did capture it's number.

The sighting, was my 10th record of   EW57424 , with all sightings having been made here at Lurgan Park.  I checked the ring number on the BTO's DemOn Database, but there were no other dates of sightings, other than those made here at Lurgan Park.

  EW57424 , was ringed as a chick, on the 21st May 2008, at Kingsbury water park in Warwickshire, England.  The first ever re-sighting was made by me, on the 26th November 2015, and the duration then was, 7 years, 6 months and 5 days.  There is no doubting, that the gull, had been visiting Lurgan Park for years, before I came across it.  Between Suzanne Belshaw, and myself, this bird has been recorded at least once every winter since 2015.  Prior to today's sighting, it was Suzanne, who last recorded   EW57424  at Lurgan Park, last, on the 29th November 2019.

The distance from Kingsbury Water Park, to Lurgan Park, is 373 kms / 231 miles (NW), and the duration since being ringed, is 12 years, 6 months and 1 day.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    EW57424   -  Lurgan Park Lake, Lurgan, Co. Armagh  (22 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 21st May 2008, at Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire, England)

 

With no more rings to be seen at Lurgan Park, and this included a colour-ringed Mute Swan that I recorded here on my previous visit, I now headed to Belfast.  I stopped by Kinnegar Beach first, and there were hardly any birds to be seen.  Although the tide was well on it's way in, there were folk all over the place.  This is a real pity, as when the birds have the beach to themselves, they would easily number several hundreds.  Personally, I think the foreshore here, should be turned into a nature reserve, as it really is an important feeding area for many species which winter here.

 

I made my way to the nearby Connswater Mudflats.  Last week, I recorded six colour-rings here, two on Oystercatchers, and four on Black-headed Gulls.  Not one of those birds were present today, but there were sizeable flocks of Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls.  Scoping around 100 Lapwings, one bird was spotted with a metal-ring, but the distance was to great to take photos.

 

At least 150 Black-headed Gulls were spread out along the mudflats, with just one colour-ringed bird present.  I easily captured the code -   2AJV , this being my second sighting of the gull here this winter.

 

  2AJV , was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, in County Down.  On the 30th October 2014, the first re-sighting of the then juvenile, was made by Scott O'Hara, at Belfast's Connswater Shopping Centre.  The gull was then recorded by me on four occasions at Victoria Park, located adjacent to the Connswater mudflats - November 2015, September 2016, December 2016, and on the 25th December 2018.  I next came across   2AJV , on the 25th May 2019, back at Castle Espie, no doubt breeding at it's natal colony.  I had hoped to visit Castle Espie during this past summer, but the centre had to close, due to Coronavirus restrictions.

 

Earlier this year, on the 23rd February, I came across   2AJV , here on the mudflats, where I last recorded the bird more recently, on the 27th September 2020.  My sighting today, makes this the ninth re-sighting record, with the duration since being ringed, being 6 years, 5 months and 3 days.  The distance from Castle Espie to the mudflats here at Connswater, is just 16 kms / 9 miles (NW), but if you drove from here to Castle Espie, the distance would seem far greater, as it really does take a while to get there.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2AJV   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate  (22 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)

 

With no more rings found at Connswater, I then drove round to the mudflats at Dargan.  Here, the tide was well up, and only a small area of the mudflats remained above the waterline.  Only a few dozen gulls and waders were still feeding, but it only took a short time to scope their legs, without any joy.

 

Whitehouse Lagoon, was my final stop for the afternoon, as it was getting quite late, and the light was close to fading.  The mudflats here, were still largely uncovered, as the water was just beginning to pour through the concrete pipes which run from Belfast Lough, underneath the Motorway.

 

There were simply hundreds and hundreds of gulls and waders, though most were a long way off from me.  I remained here for a good hour and a half, if not longer, but only spotted one colour-ring.  Although still a fair distance from me, my camera just about caught the code on a Black-headed Gull -   2BHB .

 

This bird was ringed as a chick, on the 2nd June 2014, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Nature Reserve, on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.    2BHB , went un-recorded until the 11th September 2016, when it was spotted twice within a couple of hours.  Robin Vage, saw it on Kinnegar Beach on the southern side of Belfast Lough, and then I spotted the gull here at Whitehouse Lagoon, where I also recorded it again, on the 27th November 2016.

 

The next five sightings were made at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, on the Belfast Harbour Estate, where   2BHB  may have nested in 2017, as well as 2018 - (March 2017, April 2017, May 2017, and twice in March 2018).  In October 2018, Suzanne Belshaw recorded   2BHB  on the beach at Whiteabbey, just to the north of Whitehouse Lagoon.

 

Although I was at the Window on Wildlife Reserve on several occasions in 2019, there was no sign of   2BHB , but it still may have nested there undetected, but I did come across   2BHB  again on the 27th October 2019, on the shore of Belfast Lough, just over the motorway from Whitehouse Lagoon.

 

This year due to the Coronavirus restrictions, it was not possible to use the 'viewing hides' on the WoW Reserve, so I do not know whether this gull bred on the nesting platforms.  However, on the 29th June 2020, I did record   2BHB  on the exposed mud at the Reserve, which was the last sighting until now.  It has been 6 years, 5 months and 20 days, since   2BHB  was ringed as a chick.  The distance from Blue Circle Island to Whitehouse Lagoon, is 20 kms / 12 miles (SSW).

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2BHB   -  Whitehouse Lagoon, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (22 Nov 2020)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 2nd June 2014, at the RSPB Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

With the tide gradually pushing all the birds towards me, I had to give up, as the available light was so poor.  This was a pity, as there were around 200-250 Knots & Dunlins in a mixed flock, around 80 Lapwings, and perhaps as many as 50 Bar-tailed Godwits.  Black-headed Gull numbers probably exceeded the 300 hundred mark, so I've likely missed a colour-ring or two amongst that lot.

 

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