Antrim Marina - Sunday 1st December 2024...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 1st December 2024

Recently, I wrote about the mild weather conditions this autumn perhaps playing a role in the delay of returning foreign Black-headed Gulls.  With a few birds well overdue, last week I was hoping to see the return of -  2AFD , who, under normal circumstances would be the last of the foreign gulls to return.  There was no sign of him, but today he arrived back.

Recently, the weather has changed, as we have had a few frosty nights and also a little snow.  Arriving at the Marina today just before 10am, it felt mild again.  The sky was around 80% cloudy, with the sun peaking through the blue patches.  The temperature gauge in my car was reading 12ºC, and there was a light westerly breeze which strengthened slightly over the morning.

Around 70 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, and numbers easily topped the 100 mark a short time later, this being the highest total so far this winter.  With 25 Colour-ringed gulls to look for, by the time of my departure at 2pm, 17 had been recorded, leaving me with 8 absentees.

The first to be recorded at 9:59, was -  2FJF .  This gull was the only juvenile that was caught and ringed here last winter.  Not so long ago, I had wrote this bird off as having died, as it was missing for 8 visits in a row, but todays sighting makes it three in a row since it's 'reincarnation'.  It is a bit of a bully and normally stays quite close to my car, therefore, you can easily miss it when it is not about.

By 10:18, I had recorded 12 colour-rings, with big gaps between the final five sightings of the day.  The 13th ring was that of -  2FHC , which is a not a year round resident at the Marina.  Ringed as an unsexed adult on the 28th December 2020, as yet, there have been no summer sightings.  Each autumn since being ringed, it has always returned to the Marina by the time of my first weekly visit at the beginning of August.  Such an early return may well suggest it breeds not too far away, but as always, I need someone to spot it on it's travels.  The duration for this one, is now 3 years, 11 months and 3 days since being ringed.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FHC   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (01 Dec 2024)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 28th December 2020, at Antrim Marina)

My 14th sighting was that of -  2CTA .  I made special mention of this gull in my previous post.  Reckoning that it is a foreign breeder, after returning to Antrim Marina, sightings are normally few and far between as I think it spends most of it's time somewhere around Antrim town.  Hard to believe it has now appeared for the 5th week in a row, but better still, for the first time ever, it took bread from my hand as I held it up above my head.  This proves to me that it is very confident to be around people, and therefore increases it's chances of being seen when travelling to or from its as yet unknown breeding site. 

My 15th sighting had me reaching for my camera.  At 12:30, the Latvian -  2AFD  landed on the rails of the small concrete jetty in front of me.   2AFD , was ringed as an adult male, here at the Marina, on the 12th February 2014.  Over the years since being ringed, it has been spotted on four occasions in the Riga area which is the capital of Latvia - April 2015 (3 times), April 2016 (2 times), March 2022 (once) and June 30th 2023, July 1st 2023.

The June 30th 2024, was made by a German tourist who spotted -  2AFD  at the Central Market in Riga where the fish merchant throws out scraps to the gulls, and the same tourist spotted the gull again the following day, 200 metres away at Riga's Central Station.  Ten days later on the 11th July 2023,  2AFD  was then spotted on the beach in Cromer, Norfolk, England.  This particular sighting was of special interest, as it tells me that the gull was spending a few weeks (staging) in England before returning to Antrim Marina, hence the late November return.

Last winter,  2AFD  announced his return by landing on the bollard directly in front of my car (19th November 2023).  My final sighting of him last winter was made on the 25th February 2024.  Unfortunately, he was not spotted on his travels during this past summer, but with his return, I now know he is alive and well.  The duration since being ringed, is now 10 years, 9 months and 19 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2AFD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (01 Dec 2024)

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

My 16th sighting was that of -  2FFX , who breeds at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve in Belfast, and my 17th and final sighting was the fourth appearance this winter of -  2BRD .  Although -  2BRD  was ringed here at the Marina, sightings here are few and far between, as I reckon it spends most of its time around the town of Antrim.  This winter -  2BRD  appeared for the first time on the 18th August 2024.  Every spring prior to the oncoming breeding season,  2BRD  would turn up at the lake at Lurgan Park in County Armagh.  As yet, we do not know exactly where it breeds at, but it could be somewhere along the southern shore of Lough Neagh.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 1st December 2024

2FJF	2FFA	2FJA	2CJT	2BRA	2CSK	2FJN	2FJT	2ABN
2FIL	2CSR	2AAN	2FHC	2CTA	2AFD	2FFX	2BRD	2AAB

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

2ACV	2FFH	2FFT	2FHV	2FIF	2FIJ	2FJK	2FJL

Despite the gulls having had their share of bread being fed to the ducks, with the presence of the Mute Swans on the slipway, I decided to try and catch a couple.  As mentioned in my previous post, the gulls were beginning to take risks, and today I caught my first three gulls for this winter.

The first caught was an adult, now colour-ringed -  2FJV , whilst the second two were both juveniles, now colour-ringed -  2FJX  and -  2FKA .  Juveniles, as well as 2nd winter gulls are good birds to catch, as they are of known age and their longevities can easily be monitored over time.  The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , was spotted at 9:59 this morning, but by the time I tried catching a few gulls, it had already managed to obtain a few feeds and did not come near me at this time.

Having ringed three new birds, I kept an eye out for them to obtain some photos for my records.  The only one relocated afterwards was the adult -  2FJV .

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJV   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (01 Dec 2024)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, Today, 1st December 2024, at Antrim Marina)

With the return of -  2AFD  from Latvia, plus the three newly captured birds, I shall now be on the lookout for 29 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls during my next visit, plus any further returnees.  Although some of my foreign gulls are now well overdue, it may be possible that they have returned, and have not appeared so far whilst I'm making  my weekly visits.

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

A pair of Mute Swans were on the slipway when I arrived today.  Feeding them with some brown bread, I could easily tell that they were the same two that arrived here during my previous visit.  The male of the two likes to grab my skin near my elbow (I always have my sleeves pulled up) and pulls at my arm.  At the same time, I would pet him around his head and neck, and he seems to enjoy the interaction.

At 13:10, a female Mute Swan swam in from the direction of Lough Neagh with a large cygnet following.  They readily came ashore onto the slipway, where both approached me whilst I was waving a slice of bread.  Both fed from my hand, which tells me that the cygnet has gained enough experience to be around people.  None of these swans were ringed, but talking to a young lady going by the name of 'Andie', she told me that a metal-rung swan was here a couple of days ago.  'Andie', has been coming to feed the swans with what looks like 'Bran Flakes' of late.  I should have asked exactly what she was feeding them.  She had the birds feeding from the palm of her hand.

Female Mute Swan Along with her Cygnet  -  Antrim Marina  (01 Dec 2024)

Of late, there has been a welcomed increase in numbers of Common Gulls, and two adults were already present on my arrival today.  A third adult arrived at 10:32, and then a juvenile at 11:43.  A fourth adult landed on the rails of the small concrete jetty at 11:54, and this one was ringed.  Zooming into the ring with my camera, I could read -  EY64 , which was enough to confirm the latest sighting of the small Scottish female -  EY64036 .  This is now my 5th sighting record for this winter, having returned on the 4th August 2024.  Last winter, she was recorded on the one occasion - 14th January 2024.  

 EY64036 , was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in North Ayrshire, Scotland.  I first recorded her here as a juvenile in February 2014, and she has been recorded every winter at the Marina since then.  The duration since being ringed, is now 11 years, 5 months and 11 days.  The Hunterston site no longer exists, so there is very little chance of her being seen at a nesting site now.  The distance from Hunterston to Antrim Marina, is 141 kms / 87 miles (SW).  All 67 sighting records have been made here at the Marina.  The 5th and final adult Common Gull of the day arrived at 12:29.

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout my visit today.  At 10:32, a second adult arrived which appeared to be his mate.  The two stayed together for a long period of time before she departed.  It has been many weeks since she was last seen here.  Their youngster arrived at 11:43, along with a second juvenile Herring Gull and the juvenile Common Gull mentioned above.  The second juvenile Herring Gull only stayed for around 20 minutes.

Mallard numbers continue to be on the low side, with around 30 on my arrival.  Numbers slowly increased to about 50 by mid-morning.  As mentioned before, at this time of the year, the numbers are normally around the 100 mark.

1 Hooded Crow, the pair of Pied Wagtails and three Jackdaws were the only other species noted today.  One of the Jackdaws was the smallish juvenile.

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