Antrim Marina - Sunday 8th September 2024

Antrim Marina - Sunday 8th September 2024

This was my 6th weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls and to record those with colour-rings.  Arriving at 10am, it was a cloudy day, with a slight northerly breeze which increased in strength as the morning wore on.  The temperature gauge in my car read 15ºC though it felt a good bit colder.

Parking by my usual spot beside the small concrete jetty, the gulls were well settled and a count gave me a total of 48 Black-headed Gulls.  The first ring to be read, was that of  2AAN  at 10:15, and the total steadily increased to 14 by 11:31 with the sighting of  2FJF .  After this point, rings were few and far apart, the final three being  2FJT  at 12:10,  2FIL  at 12:24 and finally  2BRA  at 13:13.  With 23 colour-rings recorded so far this winter, today saw 6 absentees.  I am still waiting on the return of another 9 gulls, four of which should have been here since August.

The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335  was spotted at 10:21, having returned for the second winter running, on the 11th August 2024.

Overall, the number of gulls present was pretty low at all times, with the 60 mark seeing maximum numbers.  Judging by the ringed gulls present, there seemed to be a big turnover of birds coming and going.

With several people coming to feed the ducks, the gulls are beginning to make much effort in trying to get their share of the bread being thrown out.  I could do with more swans starting to appear, as it is much easier to catch gulls whilst hand feeding the swans.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 8th September 2024

2AAN	2FJN	2FJK	2FIF	2CSK	2FJL	2FJA	2FFX	2FFA
2FHV	2ABN	2CJT	2ACV	2FJF	2FJT	2FIL	2BRA

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

2AAB	2BRD	2CSR	2FFT	2FHC	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

The juvenile Herring Gull was present throughout today's visit, with his father arriving at 10:34, and the mother appearing at 11:10.  As usual the female ignores her youngster, while father shows a little interest.  No Common Gulls again this week, and a single Lesser Black-backed Gull made a brief visit at 12:12.

Surprise, surprise, there was a pair of Mute Swans on the slipway when I arrived.  Both birds stayed throughout my visit and readily took bread from my hand.  Neither were ringed, but the metal-rung -  X4707  appeared from upriver at 11:05.

Mallard numbers were also well down, with 45 counted on my arrival.  After several feeds of bread, number decreased slightly before my departure at 2pm.  Again, most if not all legs were checked, but still rings among these.

1 Rook and 1 Hooded Crow made brief visits, while 5 Jackdaws made repeat visits.

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