Antrim Marina - (Sunday 8th October 2023)

Antrim Marina - Sunday 8th October 2023

By the time that I departed from Antrim Marina today, this was another disappointing visit.  I arrived at 10:00am, and planned to leave at 2pm, to catch the incoming tide in Belfast.  With birdlife around the Marina being so poor, I departed at 1:50pm, checked three sites around Antrim Town, before moving on to Belfast.  Such was the day I was having, not a single ring was recorded at any of the other sites that I visited.

On arriving today, the last spits of morning rain was falling, leaving a calm, cloudy day, that brightened up as the morning wore on.  The temperature was reading 15°C, rising to 22°C on my departure.  So far this autumn/winter season, just 23 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded out of a total of just under 50 from last winter.  No further returnees were recorded today.

Not a single gull was to be seen on my arrival at 10am.  At 10:13, a group of 4 Black-headed Gulls arrived, which included the Icelandic metal-rung -  543335 , having first appeared here on the 8th August 2023.  From 10:17 onwards, further Black-headed Gull began to trickle in, including -  2ACV .  By 12:40, the sighting of -  2FHV , was my 13th colour-ring sighting, and I had to wait for just over an hour later, when I recorded my 14th and last sighting of the day, when -  2AAN  arrived at 1:46.

With it being a calm day, some of the gulls decided to park themselves on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre', but I had no idea as to how many birds were up there.  On the ground, counts were very low throughout my visit - none on arrival, 11am - 39 BHGs, Midday - 41 BHGs and 1pm - 9 BHGs.  These numbers are terrible, as at this time of the year, they should be at least around the 100+ mark.

As the weeks have slipped by since my return at the beginning of August, the Black-headed Gull numbers have definitely crashed, and even the lack of juveniles proves the point.  Just two juveniles were seen today.  Seeing as there is a breeding colony less than a mile away, things must have been pretty bad out there.  I know there was a 'Live' camera on the 'Torpedo Platform', most of the time that I viewed the footage, very rarely did I get to look at the whole platform.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 8th October 2023

2ACV	2AAB	2FIA	2FFA	2FIK	2CJT	2FHC
2FIP	2FJA	2FFX	2CSR	2FIF	2FHV	2AAN

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

2ABN	2BRA	2BRD	2CSK	2FDK	2FHT	2FFT	2FIJ	2FIL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned at the start of this post, my arrival at the Marina today, saw practically no birds about at all.  Not a single gull of any species was to be seen, and just 5 Mute Swans and 19 Mallards were counted.  A further 4 Mute Swans swan in from the Lough at 10:20, with 5 more arriving from the Lough at 11am.  A head count at this time confirmed 14 Mute Swans and 36 Mallards.  Another count at midday, gave me 16 Mute Swans and 43 Mallard, meaning two swans arrived unnoticed.  At this point,

I recorded the metal-rung swan -  Z78580 , which returned to the Marina last Sunday, having been last recorded at the Marina back in March 2023.  A final count of the swans and ducks at 1pm, gave 14 Mute Swans and around 50 Mallard.

Again, no sign of Common Gulls, and no sign of the resident Herring Gull.  A Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 12:03, this bird likely to be the same gull that has been here over the past few weeks.

A pair of Rooks paid a brief visit at 10:13, as did a male Grey Wagtail at 11:11.  6 Jackdaws came and went throughout my visit today.

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