Antrim Marina - Sunday 21st September 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 21st September 2025

Today saw me making my eighth weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.  Each week from the beginning of August until the last weekend in March, I aim to read as many of the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls over a period of four hours.  I arrived at the Marina at 9:57am, and though I was due to depart at 2pm, the last minute arrival of a small flock of gulls, meant I stayed on for an extra half hour.

On arrival, the sky was clear and there was a light northerly breeze, but the tall trees on the opposite side of the river sheltered the Marina.  The temperature gauge on my car read 11ºC.  As the morning wore on, the sky darkened somewhat and there was three heavy showers of rain, each accompanied by stronger winds.

So far this winter, I had recorded a total of 22 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, but no new returnees were recorded today.  It was a strange day, with numbers fluctuating widely.  Around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, and there were times when non were present at all.  The reading of colour-rings was spread out during the whole of the visit.  You always no that you are having a poor visit, when the ever faithful resident -  2CJT  is late appearing, this time, at 12:26.  With the late arrival of a small flock of gulls, the Icelandic -  543335  arrived at 13:42,  2FJT  at 13:58 and  2ABN  at 14:06.  When I departed at 2:30pm, around 60 Black-headed Gulls were now present - the high for the day.

16 colour-rings were read altogether, leaving me with 6 absentees.  Looking at my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, there is still no sign of two gulls that were recorded during random summer visits, these possibly nesting on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.   2FJL , was last seen on the 2nd July 2025, and looking at it's past history, should have been recorded weekly since August.  The second gull -  2FIJ , was last seen on the 26th May 2025.  The previous history for this gull suggests it is more of a summer visitor to the Marina, with the odd few autumn and spring sightings.

One other Black-headed Gull that should have been here since the start of August is -  2FHC .  Ringed at the Marina in December 2020 as an adult, it has never been recorded here during any breeding season, but it was always present by the time I begin my weekly winter visits.  It is now looking more likely, that I have now lost another of the study birds.

In a way, it was just as well that no new ringed gulls turned up today, as I forgot to bring my camera with me.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 21st September 2025

2FFA	2FJK	2FKA	2FJN	2FFX	2FHV	2FIF	2FJA
2CSK	2AAN	2CSR	2BRA	2CJT	2FJF	2FJT	2ABN

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

2ACV	2BRD	2FDK	2FFT	2FIL	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Driving across the car park towards the small concrete jetty, the first birds that normally catches my attention are the Mute Swans.  Today, five adults were resting on the slipway.  After taking a count of the birds present, I then checked the swans for rings.  Although non were ringed, I was able to identify last week's female due to the orange streak on top of her head.  There was no sign of the resident pair along with their six cygnets, and they were still absent when I departed at 2:30pm.

With the swans checked, I then went looking for the juvenile Mediterranean Gull which was present during my three previous visits.  The Med Gull colour-rings that Sean Kingston posted to me did not arrive before the weekend, which was just as well, as there was no sign of this juvenile today.  The colour-rings have since arrived, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for my next visit.

Just 30 Mallards were present and numbers decreased over my visit.  Just 13 were present when I departed.  Once again, most, if not all legs were checked for rings.

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout my visit, though there was no sign of his partner or their youngster.  The second calendar year Herring Gull arrived at 10:50, and was soon chased off by the resident male.  I'm still fairly certain that this bird was last year's chick belonging to the resident pair.

An un-ringed adult Common Gull made a brief visit at 11:00, and the same bird returned at 13:50, making a another brief visit.  The head of this gull was so distinctive, meaning it was the same bird.  A Lesser Black-backed Gull landed on one of the highest lampposts at 11:09.  It stood there for around an hour.

5 Jackdaws, 2 Hooded Crows, 1 Rook and a male Pied Wagtail were also noted.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 14th September 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 14th September 2025

Today marked my 7th weekly visit this autumn/winter to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which are colour-ringed.  I arrived at 9:57.  It was cloudy, with a light breeze and the temperature gauge in my read 14ºC.  As the morning wore on, the wind speed strengthened and I had to end my four hour visit early, as heavy rain began falling at 1:30.

Around 50 Black-headed Gulls were present when I arrived and this turned out to be the high for the day.  Numbers fluctuated widely during the morning and at times, not a single gull was present.  The lack of gulls therefore made this another poor visit.

So far, 22 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded since I began my weekly visits on the 3rd August.  The reading of rings was quite steady with 16 read by 11:25.  Over the next two hours, no further rings were spotted leaving me with 6 absentees and no new returnees were recorded.

As I parked beside the small concrete jetty, the metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335  walked up to my car from the slipway.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 14th September 2025

2FFA	2FJV	2CJT	2FFX	2FJA	2FHV	2FIL	2FJF
2FJN	2BRA	2FJT	2FIF	2FKA	2AAN	2ACV	2FJK

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

2ABN	2BRD	2CSK	2CSR	2FDK	2FFT

Other Birds Recorded at Antrim Marina

On parking beside the small concrete jetty, as always, I take a note of the birds present at that time.  With this done, I began to look for the juvenile Mediterranean Gull that first appeared here two weeks ago.  I soon found it resting on the long wooden jetty.  As stated in my previous posts, I'm very keen to catch this bird to get a colour ring fitted to it.  Very few Mediterranean Gulls breed in Northern Ireland, which makes these birds a species of interest.  It would be fantastic to follow this young gull's movements in the future.

I paid a lot of attention to this 'little guy' during the morning.  It has really settled in well around the Marina, and quickly joins in to feeds being offered by passers by.  Walking right up to these people, they are unaware of the rarity directly in front of them.

Later, I began to 'toy' with the youngster and it's confidence.  When the bird was in front of my car, with the driver's door open, I crumbled some bread directly onto the ground.  As hoped, the gull appeared under the door to grab some bits.  Repeating the process, the youngster came in quicker and remained to get as much bread as possible despite me sitting in the drivers seat beside it.  I reckon that this gives me the best chance to catch it.  One thing that I noticed today, was the tail is missing.  I looked at my previous photos, but whether it had a tail then was not clear.

After this visit I received an email, with concerns about me using my colour-rings to ring this young Med Gull.  My colour-rings are registered for use on Black-headed Gulls only, but my way of thinking was to contact the BTO for them to arrange a 'stand alone' colour-ring to be added to the cr-birding site under Mediterranean Gulls.  On cr-birding, only Italy and Spain, use Blue Darvics on Mediterranean Gulls so my colour-codes would not clash with there's.  Anyhow, the sender of the email had copied Sean Kingston in, and he then contacted me later.

Sean is registered to colour-ring Mediterranean Gulls in the Republic of Ireland, hence having his own colour-rings.  Sean stated that a Renaud Flamant is responsible for European Med Gull colour-ringing projects.  Sean knows Renaud quite well and said Renaud would not be amused with the use of a single colour-ring.  I accepted the offer of three of Sean's colour-rings, which should arrive by post before this weekend.  As Sean says, with Med Gull populations on the rise, I might need one or two more rings in the future.

Back to the subject of birds present, the resident Mute Swan family, which did not appear at all last week, were spotted on the small sandy beach.  All six cygnets are doing well, and later on, when they were on the slipway, I took a photo of them.  Their mother -  X4707 , was ringed in April 2024, at Barton's Bay 21 kms SW from the Marina.

The Six Mute Swan Chicks along with Mother

An adult female Mute Swan swan in from the Lough at 10:40.  I had to intervene several times as the resident male tried to chase this bird away.

Around 60 Mallards were present at first, but by the time that I departed at 1:30, just 18 birds remained.  As always, most if not all legs were checked for rings.

The resident pair Herring Gulls and their juvenile chick were also present on my arrival.  None of these three were present last week.  Whilst working with the young Med Gull, the juvenile Herring Gull also came right up to the door of my car to grab some bread.  At 10:40, a 2nd calendar year Herring Gull landed on the decking in front of my car.  Looking quite at home, I wondered if this was last year's youngster belonging to the resident pair.

In no time at all, the resident male chased it off towards the nearby playpark where it landed on top of a lamppost.  Around 5 minutes later, it flew down onto the car park and I then took a photo.

2nd Calendar Year Herring Gull  -  Last year's Chick?  

An adult un-ringed Common Gull was also present on my arrival.  It flew off around 10 minutes later and no other Common Gulls appeared.  An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 11:15.  Landing on top of one of the highest lampposts, it was still there when I departed at 1:30.

Three Jackdaws were present throughout my visit.  1 Rook, a male Grey Wagtail and a male Pied Wagtail made brief visits.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 7th September 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 7th September 2025

Today saw me making my sixth weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which have been colour-ringed in order to track their movements.  I arrived for my four hour visit just before 10am, the weather being cloudy with a fairly strong westerly wind blowing in from Lough Neagh.  The temperature gauge in my car read 19ºC.

Parking at my normal spot beside the small concrete jetty, a count of the Black-headed Gulls gave me a total of 53 birds.  So far this winter, I have recorded 22 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls and by the time of my departure, there were no further returnees.

Just 13 colour-rings were read, which meant I had 9 absentees today.  The first ring read at 10:00, was that of -  2FFA , with -  2FJK  being the 13th at 11:26.  That meant, for a whole two and a half hours, no further ringed gulls turned up.

Over the past two weeks, numbers were really good, with around 100 gulls present.  Numbers today never exceeded the 53 mark, and even dropped off slightly before I departed.  This meant I had a largely boring visit.  When I first started visiting Antrim Marina in the winter of 2013/2014, numbers ranged between 200 and 300 gulls during my weekly visits.  Since the serious outbreak of 'Bird Flu' during the breeding season of 2023, numbers here have never recovered.  That winter, roughly half of my colour-ringed gulls failed to return.  

Amongst today's sightings,  2FHV  is one of my 'star' birds.  Having been ringed as an unsexed adult in November 2021, this bird has been spotted at a breeding colony in Iceland (June & July 2022).  Each winter, it returns to the Marina in early August, but over the last three winters, it leaves in late October, which means it is moving on to another site for the winter.  Where it goes to is unknown, though it does return to the Marina in early spring before moving on towards Iceland.  This means the gull is using the Marina as a 'staging post' where it remains for a short time.  

Last winter,  2FHV  was last seen on the 19th October 2024, but this time, it failed to return in the spring.  This left me worrying about it's survival, until I recorded it's return on the 3rd August 2025.  It is now 3 years, 9 months and 30 days since I ringed this gull.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FHV   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (07 Sep 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

The metal-ringed Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , arrived at 11:48 today.  It was caught and ringed in southern Iceland in July 2023, arriving at the Marina the following month.  This winter, it has returned for the third time, having been recorded on the slightly later date of the 24th August.  I have tried to catch this bird over the past two winters, and now have another chance to fit a colour-ring to this gull.  This would mean it will have a greater chance of being spotted back in Iceland.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 7th September 2025

2FFA	2FJV	2FJA	2AAN	2CSR	2FIL	2BRA
2CJT	2FIF	2FHV	2FFX	2FJT	2FJK

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

2ABN	2ACV	2BRD	2CSK	2FDK	2FFT	2FJF	2FJN	2FKA

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On parking beside the small concrete jetty, there was no sign of the Mute Swan family with the six cygnets.  By the time of my departure, there was still no sign of them.  A count of the Mallards gave a total of around 50 birds, half of the total last week.  A further count around 1pm gave me a total of 63.  As usual, most legs were checked for rings.

After counting the Black-headed Gulls, I then began looking for the juvenile Mediterranean Gull which was present last week.  I soon found it resting on the long wooden jetty.  This youngster is very confident being around people to take it's share of bread and pellets being thrown out to the ducks.  The way things are looking, this juvenile seems to be quite at home and may possibly remain for the winter.  This will give me a greater chance to catch and colour-ring the young gull.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (07 Sep 2025)

There was no sign of the resident pair of Herring Gulls or their chick on my arrival, but the youngster finally turned up at 13:05.  An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 11:38, and was still present on my departure.  No Common Gulls appeared today.  Last week saw the return of the small Scottish Common Gull -   EY64036 .

An adult Hooded Crow, along with a juvenile, made a brief visit, as did an adult Rook.  5 Jackdaws made repeated visits.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 31st August 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 31st August 2025

Today, I made my fifth weekly visit to Antrim Marina where I am studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which have been colour-ringed over the years to track their movements.  Some of these gulls have been spotted in several foreign countries, other are known to be year round residents, and the summer destinations of others are not known.  After last week's visit, a further three colour-rings were added to this winter's list, which took the overall total to 22.

Arriving at 9:54 this morning, it was cloudy with a very strong westerly wind blowing in from Lough Neagh.  The temperature gauge in my car read 17ºC.  Looking at the Lough, you would think that you were on the coast looking at the waves.

With around 100 Black-headed Gulls present, I had read 16 colour-rings by 10:42.  I finished the visit with a total of 20 and no new returnees were recorded.  The final ring read, was that of -  2FJK  at 13:27.  The only highlight among today's sightings, was seeing -  2BRD  for a second week in a row.  Having returned last week, it is not too often that this bird is recorded here two weeks in a row, though I do believe that it spends most of it's time somewhere in the town of Antrim.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BRD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (31 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 1st February 2015, at Antrim Marina)

Overall numbers remained around the 100 mark throughout today's visit, but again, judging by the number of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls present, there seemed to be a fairly large turnover of birds coming and going.  A really uneventful day otherwise regarding colour-rings.

On Saturday 30th August 2025, I received an email from Suzanne Belshaw, concerning a Black-headed Gull that had been ringed at Antrim Marina.  The previous day (29th), Suzanne was at Whiteabbey Beach on the shore of Belfast Lough, where she had a re-sighting of -  2FFN .

I caught and ringed -  2FFN  as an unsexed adult at the Marina on the 14th December 2020, and there were no further sighting that winter.  It returned to Antrim Marina on the 11th October 2021, which happened to be the last sighting there.

I then fell in with -  2FFN , on the 27th August 2022 at Whiteabbey Beach.  Further sightings were recorded there in October 2022 (myself), January 2024 (Steven Fyffe), February 2024 (Suzanne Belshaw) and January 2025 (Suzanne Belshaw).

I think that -  2FFN  may well be nesting in the north-west, possibly in County Donegal and would pass through Antrim on it's way to Whiteabbey where it has been wintering.  As always, I need sightings during the breeding season.  Whiteabbey Beach is just 23 kms / 14 miles (ESE) from Antrim, and the duration since being ringed, is now 4 years, 8 months and 15 days.

I'm sure that this gull will be recorded at some point again at the Marina, whilst on it's travels in the future.  My thanks goes to Suzanne for her sighting report.

In my previous post, I mentioned that the year round resident -  2AAB , had not been seen since last March.  With no sightings during random summer visits to the Marina, and it's absence this autumn, I now presume this gull has died.  Whilst looking over my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, I noticed that two Black-headed Gulls that were recorded during my random summer visits, have also failed to show up over these last five weekly visits.  They are -  2FIJ  and -  2FJK , but I will not be writing them off just yet.  As far as I know, no cases of 'Bird Flu' were recorded on Lough Neagh during the breeding season.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 31st August 2025

2FIL	2ACV	2CJT	2FHV	2FJV	2FFA	2CSK	2BRA	2ABN	2FJN
2FKA	2FFX	2FJT	2FJF	2AAN	2BRD	2FJA	2FIF	2FFT	2FJK

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

2CSR	2FDK

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Once parked alongside the small concrete jetty, I began to take a count of the birds present which result in roughly 100 Black-headed Gulls, 100+ Mallard and a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull.  I then started to look for colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls and at 10:15, I noticed a rather special bird.

Just in front of my car and on the other side of the security fencing (in place due to a missing board beside the concrete jetty), there was a juvenile Mediterranean Gull.  I took a few photos just in case it would fly off, but these were not great quality as the camera repeatedly tried to focus on the fence itself.

It soon became clear that this juvenile was not going anywhere.  Throwing out bits of bread beside my car, this little 'chappie' along with several juvenile Black-headed Gulls appeared right beside me.  This little Med Gull constantly chased the juvenile Black-headed Gulls away.  I kept an eye out for this bird right through my visit and it was still there by the time of my departure. 

Over the course of the morning, I could see that it was already at home here, and may have been at the Marina for several days.  It even knew to check the ground for pellets beside the dispenser.  The dispenser discharges the pellets into a fixed dish where people would scoop them out by hand should they have no dish to catch them in.  There is usually some spillage onto the ground, where the gulls know to check.  I was also able to obtain a few better photos than those taken earlier.

It got to a stage, where this young gull would walk up to me while I was sitting on the drivers seat with my feet on the ground outside.  It had quickly learnt, that I would throw it bits of bread.  I do not have Mediterranean Gulls on my 'Colour Ringing Permit', but if I get the chance to ring this young Med with a colour-ring, I'm sure the BTO will not condemn me.  The colour-rings I use here are registered to be used only on Black-headed Gulls.  Recently, both German and Polish colour-ringed Mediterranean Gulls have been reported in Northern Ireland, therefore this bird could be foreign.  Once a colour-ring is fitted, we can track it's future movements. 

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (31 Aug 2025)

The juvenile Herring Gull appeared without it's parents at 10:30, with both parents arriving at 11:45.  This was the first time that the female has appeared since the breeding season ended.  Over the past few weeks, it's usually just the male and the juvenile.  A short time afterwards, I managed to get a photo of all three together.  At 11:03, a second calendar year Herring Gull landed on the walkway in front of my car.  It seemed to be right at home, and I wondered if this was last year's chick which was last seen back in March.  I was going to photograph the bird when a man stopped for a chat.  He wondered if I was watching the 'seagulls', so I then explained exactly what I was doing.  By the time that conversation ended, the gull was gone.

Herring Gull Family (male in the middle)  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (31 Aug 2025)

Due to the very strong wind blowing in from Lough Neagh, very few gulls used the long wooden jetty, but I would check it every so often.  Another check at 12:10, saw an adult Common Gull preening itself at the end of this jetty.  Looking at it through my binoculars, I was overwhelmed with delight on spotting the metal ring, as I knew this had to be the return of the small female -  EY64036 .

I returned to the car to grab my camera.  All I could get on the ring was ' 36 ' preceded by the curvature of the digit ' 0 '.  The slight overlap of the 'ring butts', was enough for me to confirm this bird.  Soon afterwards, people walked along the jetty and my gull flew off.  Luckily it returned a short time later where I was able to get a decent photo of the gull itself, as well as capturing ' EY64 '.

 EY64036 , first appeared at Antrim Marina as a juvenile bird on the 9th February 2014, and has returned to Marina every year winter since.  It had been ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in North Ayrshire, Scotland.  I believe that the Hunterston colony no longer exists, so there is very little chance of finding -  EY64036  during the breeding season wherever that may be.

As already stated, this gull returns every winter, and today's sighting was my 73rd for this bird altogether.  Antrim Marina is situated 141 kms / 87 miles (SW) from Hunterston, and the duration since being ringed, is now 12 years, 2 months and 11 days.

As always, it gives great pleasure to record returning birds.  No other Common Gulls appeared today.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (31 Aug 2025)

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

The Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335  arrived at 10:46.  I recorded its return from Iceland last week (24th August 2025), which was slightly later than normal.  Ringed in July 2023, this is it's third winter back at the Marina, though I reckon it had been coming here for years beforehand until it was caught and ringed.

As mentioned above, there were over 100 Mallards and that total remained constant throughout my visit.  Over my four hours, most legs were checked, but still no rings on these.

The Mute Swan family arrived at 10:55 from upriver.  All six cygnets are doing well, but a couple of them are still wary being around people.  The female is rung -  X4707 .

A single adult Hooded Crow made a brief visit, as did a juvenile Rook.  5 Jackdaws made up today's other bird sightings here.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 24th August 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 24th August 2025

Today, saw me making my fourth weekly visit to Antrim Marina to record the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which, are colour-ringed.  Arriving at 9:57, it was overcast with no wind, and the temperature gauge in my car read 21ºC.  As the morning wore on, it became sunnier with the wind turning into a light westerly breeze, with the temperature rising to 24ºC.

Around 80 Black-headed Gulls were present, and for once, numbers remained around that figure throughout today's visit which kept me busy.  So far this winter, my list of colour-ring sightings had risen to 19 after last weeks visit.  Today, three more were added to that list taking the total of colour-rings to 22.  I also recorded the return of the Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull (read below).

Over my four hour visit, I recorded 20 colour-rings altogether, with two absentees -  2ACV  &  2FDK .  Judging by the colour-ringed gulls present, there appeared to be a fairly large turnover of gulls coming and going, so I was really pleased the overall numbers remained constant.

The first of the three gulls added to this winter's list, was a bird with pale legs, so I guessed straight away that it was the only juvenile/1st winter bird that I caught and ringed here last winter.  Zooming in for the photo, it was that very same bird -  2FKA .

 2FKA , was caught and ringed on the 1st December 2024, and was last seen on the 10th March 2025.  With no summer sightings at the Marina, could this possibly be a foreign bird?  Sightings in future years may answer that question.  I was really pleased to see it back again alive and in good health.  Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but juveniles at the Marina have an excellent chance to survive the winter due to feeds they receive from the public.  Another good thing about colour-ringing juveniles, is that they are of known age.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FKA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 1st December 2024, at Antrim Marina)

 2FKA , was my 13th sightings at 10:48, and I had to wait for an hour before recording my 14th sighting at 11:50, which turned out to be a second returnee -  2BRD .   2BRD , was ringed as an adult male bird at the Marina, on the 1st February 2015.  An infrequent visitor here over the course of each winter, I'm fairly certain that it remains in the Antrim Town area, but exactly where would be nice to know.

Each spring, prior to the beginning of the breeding season, it can be found at the lake in Lurgan Park, Co. Armagh, some 28 kms / 17 miles (SSW) from the Marina.  Last spring, it was recorded on just the one occasion there, when spotted on the 13th March 2025 by Suzanne Belshaw.  Prior to that, my last sighting at the Marina was on the 12th January 2025.  The breeding site for -  2BRD  is still unknown.  The duration since being ringed, is now 10 years, 6 months and 23 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BRD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 1st February 2015, at Antrim Marina)

The 3rd gull to be added to this winter's list was my 16th sighting at 12:18.   2FIF , is a year round resident in the Antrim area, and was ringed as an unsexed adult bird at the Marina, on the 29th November 2021.  During this past summer, I recorded the gull on four occasions during my random visits to record the resident Black-headed Gulls.  The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 8 months and 26 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FIF   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 29th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

I have now given up on the hope of recording -  2AAB .   2AAB , was among the first Black-headed Gulls to be ringed belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study.  A year round resident to the Marina, it was the oldest gull living from Adam's study when last seen on the 3rd March 2025 - the duration being, 12 years, 2 months and 20 days since being ringed.  It was ringed at the Marina as an unsexed adult, on the 11th December 2012.

 2AAN , which was recorded today, is now the new oldest from Adam's project.  Ringed as an adult female at the Marina on the 21st December 2012, the duration for this one, is 12 years, 8 months and 3 days.

There are far more juvenile Black-headed Gulls at the Marina now.  I know from the 'Live' camera on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform' during the breeding season that very few chicks were being raised, therefore it seems likely that these juveniles are coming in from other sites.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 24th August 2025

2CJT	2FJN	2FFA	2FJA	2FFX	2FHV	2CSR	2AAN	2FIL	2FJV
2CSK	2FJK	2FKA	2BRD	2FJT	2FIF	2ABN	2BRA	2FJF	2FFT

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

2ACV	2FDK

Other Birds Recorded at Antrim Marina

Normally when parking beside the small concrete jetty, the Mute Swans would be the first birds to grab my attention, but today, there were none to be seen.  What I did notice straight away, was the large number of Mallards.  Two quick counts, took the total to the 100 plus mark (102 & 105), by far the highest total here for quite a while.  With most birds resting, I managed to view most legs as the morning wore on, especially when people arrived to feed them.  The pellet dispenser has been filled since my previous visit, with the ducks and gulls obtaining frequent feeds.

After the Mallard count, I then focused on the Black-headed Gulls.  With around 80 birds present, there were a few around with colour-rings.  After the first four colour-rings were read between 10am and 10:07 ( 2CJT ,  2FJN ,  2FFA  and  2FJA ), I noticed a Black-headed Gull on the ground beside the door of my car, which had a tall metal ring on it's left leg.  I instantly knew this was the return of the Icelandic bird which I been looking for during the past couple of weeks.  The ring number -  543335 , was soon confirmed after a few photos.

 543335 , was ringed as an unsexed adult bird on the 14th July 2023, at Laugarvatn in southern Iceland.  It was caught in a Whoosh net whilst the ringer was trying to catch smaller birds.  I reckon the gull was already on the move southwards from the northern breeding colonies when caught.  By the 8th August 2023, it had reached Antrim Marina where it remained for the rest of the 2023/2024 winter.  I strongly believe that this gull had been coming to the Marina for years before being ringed.

The final sighting during the 2023/2024 winter was made on the 24th March 2024.  Unsurprisingly, the gull was not spotted in Iceland during the breeding season, but returned to Antrim Marina by the 11th August 2024, remaining until the 10th March 2025.  During the past two winters, I had on number of occasions, came within inches of catching it to place a colour-ring onto it's right leg.  There is a far greater chance that it would be spotted in Iceland with a colour-ring.  The chase is now on again this winter.

 543335 , has a habit of walking up towards my car, as it knows I will throw bread to it.  Even now it seems to realise that this is me parked here.  The duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 1 month and 10 days, and the distance from Laugarvatn, is 1,332 kms / 827 miles (SE).

Black-headed Gull  -  Iceland   543335   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 14th July 2023, at Laugarvatn, S. Iceland)

No other gull species were present on my arrival.  A Common Gull arrived at 10:33, and the same bird made several visits over the morning.  With some brown on the flight feather's, this was a second calendar year bird and was easily distinguished by the small yellow tip on the end of it's beak.  A full adult Common Gull appeared briefly at 13:48. 

A Lesser Black-backed Gull arrived at 11:10, and seems to be the same 3rd calendar year bird spotted during my previous two visits.  The juvenile Herring Gull arrived at 12:45, but there was no sign of it's parents.

The Mute Swan family finally arrived from upriver at 12:05.  All six cygnets are doing fine, and their mother is rung -  X4707 .

1 Hooded Crow, 3 Rooks (including 1 juvenile) and 5 Jackdaws (including 1 juvenile) were the only other species recorded.  A distant bird looked like an Osprey, but by the time I got to my binoculars, it had disappeared from sight.

A first for the Marina, was the sighting of a Racing Pigeon.  It was a young bird which likely hatched out in January.  Most Racing Pigeon owners time their birds to hatch so early due to the release date of the closed rings which shows which organisation the bird belongs to, as well as an unique code.  The code would read something like :- GB25B45973.  GB would stand for Great Britain, 25 the year in question (2025) and B45973 identifying the bird.  The Irish Homing Union, would be IHUN or IHUS which relates to North and South.  Birds ringed in the north, would race from south to north, and birds ringed in the south, would race from north to south.  As the rings are a closed circle, they have to be fitted onto the legs of the chicks a few days after hatching, and before the ankle grows too large to fit the ring.  Once on, the ring cannot be removed.

This young bird today, had a rubber ring on it's left leg, so it was being raced.  Once returning home, the rubber race ring is removed and placed into a special clock which times the birds arrival.  Afterwards, the owners would return to their clubs where the velocities are worked out (distance divided by time / yards per minute), to place the birds into their winning positions.  Most clubs place the birds into the top ten prize winning positions from hundreds of birds sent out to each race.

Watching this young bird today, it had landed to take a quick drink of water before flying off again.  It had me worried at first, as it looked as if it was going to drop down onto the river from the small concrete jetty.  Had it fallen onto the river, it might not have took off again.  Shortly afterwards, it flew onto the slipway where it safely took a good sip of water.

Juvenile Racing Pigeon  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (24 Aug 2025)

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 17th August 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 17th August 2025

Today saw me making my third weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.  With the breeding season over, the non resident gulls will slowly return in numbers.  Some of these gulls have been colour-ringed over previous winters, and I'm eager to see the return of these birds.

Before I go any further, I must make mention of an email that I received on Wednesday 20th August.  It was sent by Eimear Rooney who is one of the 'leads' of the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group.  Eimear called by Antrim Marina on Friday 15th August, where she recorded four colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls by the picnic tables.  Three of these were already on this winter's list of sightings, being -  2ACV ,  2CJT  and  2FFA .  The fourth on the list was that of -  2BRA , which was not recorded during my first two weekly visits, or during my third visit today.   2BRA , is actually a year round resident to the Marina and was recorded during my random summer visits to specifically identify which gulls are residents.

 2BRA , was ringed as an adult female on the 1st February 2015, at the Marina.  The duration since being ringed, is now 10 years, 6 months and 14 days.  Although I have yet to record this gull during my weekly visits, I will add it onto this winter's list.  My thanks goes to Eimear for sending me her sightings.

I arrived at Antrim Marina just before 10am this morning.  It was very sunny with the temperature gauge in my car reading 21ºC, and there was a light westerly breeze.  Around 50 Black-headed Gulls were present, and this was actually the highest count of the visit.  Numbers fluctuated from just a handful of birds to around 40 thereafter.  The arrival of two paddleboarders at 12:05, had the gulls fleeing.  The paddleboarders made their way upriver, and the gulls began to return just after 12:30.

Over my previous two visits, I had recorded 15 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls forming the basis of this winters list of re-sightings.  With a total of 13 colour-rings read today, 3 of these were added to the list and I had 5 absentees.

The 3rd of these additions was the 12th ring read at 11:48, but this was a bird I really needed to catch.  Despite my sighting of it, the gull soon flew off.  The gull concerned was -  2FDK  which is a year round resident to the Marina and the surrounding town of Antrim.  I recorded it at Antrim Marina during a random summer visit on the 8th June 2025, but on the 16th July, I received a rather disturbing email.  The gull was photographed at Antrim's Junction One Shopping Centre, the colour-ring having slipped over the bird's ankle and toes - which is not ideal.  Although colour-rings are used by many birdwatchers, it is extremely rare for these to slip.

I told Emma Tweed who sent me the photo, I would try to catch -  2FDK , though my best hope would be at Antrim Marina once I begin my weekly visits in August.  Although the gull flew of within minutes of me spotting it today, just as I was using the last of my brown bread to feed the swans before my departure,  2FDK  landed beside me on the slipway.  Dropping some bread onto the ground beside the male Mute Swan, the gull edged it's way in.  Standing up slightly, I could see the bird disappearing as I looked over the back of the swan and I made a lunge for it, and caught it.  

Happy days, I moved the ring back into it's normal position and cleared the debris compacted around the toes which I spread out.  Unfortunately, the toes looked 'slightly wasted', but I'm now hoping with them having been freed, they will improve.  The leg otherwise, looked to be quite healthy.  I informed Emma that I had caught the gull and it had been freed from it's predicament, much to Emma's delight.  She was glad to hear that it was still alive.  I will try to get a photo whenever possible.

The first of today's new birds, was that of -  2ABN , my third sighting of the day at 10:20.   2ABN , is a winter visitor at Antrim Marina.  Two sightings away from the Marina, were reported in March 2022 and in May 2024, at Peatlands Park in the south-west corner of Lough Neagh.  No breeding colonies are known in the area of Peatlands Park, but by continuing the line south-west, it may possibly see this bird nesting somewhere in the County Fermanagh Lakelands or further still into the Republic of Ireland.

 2ABN , was among the first gulls to be ringed belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study (2012 to 2018).  Ringed at the Marina as an adult female, on the 23rd January 2013, the duration since being ringed, is now 12 years, 6 months and 25 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2ABN   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (17 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

Following on from the sighting of -  2ABN , my fourth sighting of the day at 10:26, was the return of a gull which I regard as slightly special, as I had colour-ringed it here as a juvenile/1st winter bird on the 12th November 2023.  Ringed -  2FJF , my final sighting during the 2023/2024 winter was made on the 31st March 2024.

Despite no sighting's during random visits to the Marina during the breeding season,  2FJF  had returned by the 4th August 2024.  Having then recorded it through to the 12th January 2025, an email arrived on the 17th January 2025.  Sent by Scott Black,  2FJF  was photographed earlier that day at Strathclyde Country Park near Motherwell in Scotland.  This was an extremely early movement, and seeing as this gull had reached maturity, it was obviously making a move to it's breeding site.  Many young gulls return to their natal colonies to breed, but the question now - was  2FJF  breeding in Scotland, or moving further north-east which could take it into Scandinavia?

I had hoped for further sightings, but nothing came in.  What makes this bird special, is that it is of known age and the fact that it is breeding outside of Northern Ireland.  Really pleased to record it's return and I also informed Scott of the sighting, which was appreciated by him.  It is now 1 year, 9 months and 5 days since being ringed here.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJF   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (17 Aug 2025)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 17th August 2025

2FJA	2FJN	2ABN	2FJF	2FJK	2FFA	2FFT
2FHV	2ACV	2CJT	2FJT	2FDK	2AAN

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

2CSK	2CSR	2FFX	2FIL	2FJV

I kept a close watch for any Black-headed Gulls that were ringed with just a metal-ring.  An Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , is already due back, but there was no sign of it today.

With the addition of three returning gulls today, and Eimear's sighting of -  2BRA , my winter list has now increased to 19 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.

I noted that several people tried to obtain pellets from the dispenser to feed the ducks, but the dispenser was obviously empty.  Due to this, many of the gulls and ducks were especially eager to get a feed when folk arrived with bread.  Perhaps in the next few weeks, it may be easier to catch some new gulls to be ringed.  Last winter, I found it to be quite difficult trying to catch the gulls after the dispenser had been installed.  I reckon the pellets seem to fill the gulls easier than bread.

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On my arrival, the Mute Swan family was already present on the slipway, the female is ringed -  X4707 .  I once again tested to see how confident the six cygnets are when taking bread from my hand.  Three are very confident, with the other three slightly more cautious.

A count of the Mallards on arrival gave a total of 51 birds, and a second count around 1:30 gave me a total of 52.  Most of the ducks spent their time lying on the jetties enjoying the sun, therefore not many legs could be checked for rings.

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout my visit, but there was no sign of his youngster today.  The female made a brief appearance around 11am, standing alongside her partner.  Just the one Lesser Black-backed Gull today - a 3rd calendar year bird which could be the same gull seen last week.  It remained for around 20 minutes before flying off.

The first Common Gull for this winter arrived at 12:40.  An adult bird, it was still present when I departed at 2pm.

The Sand Martins that were nesting in the 'Swift Holes' in the wall of the 'Gateway Centre' have gone.  Five Jackdaws which included one juvenile were noted on several occasions, and two Rooks arrived to drink some water from the river before flying off again.

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