Antrim Marina - Sunday 27th October 2024...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 27th October 2024

Looking at the weather for this weekend, I was in too minds whether to visit Antrim Marina on Saturday.  With heavy rain forecasted for Sunday, looking at the weather maps, I reckoned I could just about complete a visit before the rain started.

I arrived at my normal time of 10am, it being cloudy with a slight westerly breeze which became stronger as the morning wore on, and the temperature gauge in my car read 9ºC.

Parking at my usual spot beside the short concrete jetty, the Black-headed Gulls were fairly well settled with a head count reaching the 80 mark.  The number is still greatly down on winters a long time ago, and shows the overall numbers have not recovered since the outbreak of 'Bird Flu'.

With 25 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded here so far this winter, I was eagerly waiting to record the return of -  2FDJ  from Estonia, which is now due back.  As the morning wore on, I kept thinking - anytime now.  By the time of my departure at just after 2pm, there was no sign of it - surely next week?

As things panned out, no other returnees were recorded either.  In my first hour at the Marina, 12 colour-rings were record with -  2CSK  being the 12th recorded at 10:41.  From then until my departure just after 2pm, a further 5 were recorded with today's total finishing on 17, meaning I had 8 absentees.  The final ring was rather special, as it belonged to -  2FFT , spotted at 12:41.

 2FFT  is proving to be a fairly difficult gull, as regards to it's wintering status.  Having been caught and ringed at the Marina as an unsexed adult on the 21st December 2020, initial re-sightings suggested that this bird could be using the Marina as a 'staging post' between it's wintering and breeding sites.

Although ringed during the 2020/2021 winter, there were no further sightings that winter.  During the 2021/2022 winter,  2FFT  made four appearances - 8th and 15th November 2021, followed by the 31st January and 7th February 2022, therefore suggesting a 'staging status'.

For the 2022/2023 winter, only a single sighting was made here on the 10th October 2022.  Only a single sighting was made during the 2023/2024 winter, with the gull having been recorded on the 1st October 2023.  By this point, only 6 sightings had been recorded since it was ringed in 2020.

By contrast, today's sighting was the 5th for this bird this winter (2024/2025), which now gives me a 'headache' - could it be possible that it is wintering close by, even somewhere in the town of Antrim?  The previous four dates this winter, were made in August - 4th, 11th, 18th and 26th.  It is now 3 years, 10 months and 6 days since -  2FFT  was ringed.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FFT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2024)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 21st December 2020, at Antrim Marina)

The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , was recorded at 10:03.  Ringed in southern Iceland in July 2023, it returned to the Marina for a second winter running on the 11th August 2024.  Since it's return, it has been recorded on all but a couple of my weekly visits.

Black-headed Gulls numbers remained at roughly the 80 mark throughout my visit.  Again, with many early visits by people feeding the ducks and the absence of swans, it proved too difficult to catch any new birds for ringing.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 27th October 2024

2AAN	2FFX	2FJN	2FFA	2BRA	2FJA	2CJT	2CSR	2FJT
2FJK	2FIF	2CSK	2ABN	2FHC	2FIL	2AAB	2FFT

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

2ACV	2BRD	2CTA	2FFH	2FHV	2FIJ	2FJF	2FJL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Are the Common Gulls reading my posts?  Two weeks ago, I made mention of the lack of these gulls visiting the Marina this winter, and then on my previous visit, 6 adults turned up though the small metal-rung Scottish female was not among the.  On today's visit, I had 5 Common Gulls with the 5th being the Scottish female -  EY64036 .  This is now my third sighting of her this winter.  Ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in North Ayrshire, she first appeared at the Marina as a juvenile in February (9th) 2014, and has returned to the Marina every winter since then.

Today's sighting is the 65th for this bird here at the Marina, and she has yet to be recorded anywhere else.  The duration since being ringed, is now 11 years, 4 months and 7 days, and the Marina is situated 141 kms / 87 miles (SW) from Hunterston.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2024)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland)

Two Common Gulls were already present on my arrival, with the next three following in quick succession - 10:15, 10:23 and -  EY64036  at 10:28.  5 Common Gulls was the highest number counted on several occasions, excepting for the Scottish female, the others could have been different birds on each count.

The adult male Herring Gull along with his juvenile youngster was present throughout today's visit, but once again, there was no sign of the female.  A second juvenile arrived at 12:13, but it kept it's distance resting on the long wooden jetty.

What is going on with the Mute Swans?  Although there are birds not too far away from the Marina, it is now several weeks since any have appeared at the Marina whilst I am there.  I really need a few of these swans on the slipway to aid me in catching a some Black-headed Gulls for ringing.

Around 60 Mallards were counted on my arrival, with numbers quickly increasing to around the 80 mark.  After several good feeds from folk, numbers dropped off slightly before my departure.  Again, most legs were viewed, but still no rings on any of these.

1 Rook, 1 male Pied Wagtail and three Jackdaws were noted, with one of the Jackdaws being a very small juvenile.  A Great-crested Grebe was spotted on a couple of occasions diving on the river flowing past the Marina towards Lough Neagh.  I attempted to get a photo, but the bird kept on diving and was covering quite some distance before breaking back on to the surface.

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