| Antrim Marina - Monday 30th December 2024 |
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I opted for another Monday visit to Antrim Marina as yesterday was fairly dark and there was rain for the best part of the day. Arriving at the slightly later time of 10:25, it was dull with heavy cloud cover and light rain. The rain would start and stop throughout my visit, but never heavy enough to cause any problems. The temperature gauge in my car was reading yet another mild day at 10ºC, but I had to cope with a strong westerly wind.
After last week's visit to Antrim Marina, my overall winter total of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls remained at 30, as there were no further returnees. The first colour-ring to be read at 10:30 belonged to - 2AAN . Further rings were read at a steady pace and by 12:14, 20 colour-rings had been read. My total for the day ended at 22. The 15th ring sighting saw the return of - 2FJP .
Last winter, I caught and colour-ringed 8 Black-headed Gulls, one Juvenile ( 2FJF ), one 2nd Calendar Year Bird - ( 2FJJ ) and six adults. Unfortunately, 2FJJ did not survive through to the end of last winter, as it was found dead at the nearby Castle Gardens on the 12th February 2024. The cause of it's death was not determined, though when tested for 'Bird Flu', the results came back negative.
Of the remaining 7 gulls, 5 were recorded during my initial weekly visits which began on the first weekend of August. By the end of November, I was on the verge of giving up on the return of the final two birds. However, 2FJH arrived back on the 8th December 2024, and ironically, it was recorded for the second time today. The return of - 2FJP , now completes the set of gulls ringed here last winter. 2FJH , had been ringed here in November 2023, and - 2FJP , was ringed here on the 3rd December 2023. It is looking very likely that both may well be foreign breeders.
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Black-headed Gull - 2FJH - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (30 Dec 2024)
(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)
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Black-headed Gull - 2FJP - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (30 Dec 2024)(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 3rd December 2023, at Antrim Marina)
After the return of 2FJP , my next sighting was of the Latvian - 2AFD , which returned on the 1st December 2024, and was absent during my previous two visits. 2CTA is continuing to surprise me. It arrived back to the Marina on the 13th October 2024, and despite being absent over the following two weeks, today's sighting made it the 9th week in a row since then. In past winters, 2CTA would be an occasional visitor to the Marina once it returned from it's breeding site, wherever that might be and I reckoned that it spent most of it's time somewhere around Antrim town. Between December 2018 when it was ringed, up until the 18th February 2024, it was only recorded at the Marina on 21 occasions in a little over 5 years, whereas it has knocked up an impressive 10 sightings so far this winter.
Of today's 9 absentees, 2ACV , 2FJL and 2FJN , are regularly recorded, whilst some the others are occasional visitors, barring 2FIF and 2FHV . The Icelandic - 2FHV has not been seen for a while now, but this has happened in the past. I reckon it uses Antrim as a 'staging post', and should return to the Marina for a couple of weeks before going back to Iceland for the summer. 2FIF , has me guessing at present, though I will have to wait and see what happens to this one over time.
The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull - 543335 was recorded at 10:32, but disappeared shortly afterwards, arriving back again just before I departed at 2:30pm. Despite having swans on the slipway, I could not catch any gulls to be ringed. I still think the mild weather means they are finding enough food which means they are not eager enough to grab food whilst I'm trying to catch them.
Around 80 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, though numbers remained around that mark throughout my visit. It was clear but the presence or absence of my colour-ringed birds, that there was a fair turnover of gulls coming and going. With the return of - 2FJP today, I will be on the lookout for 31 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls during my next visit.
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 30th December 2024
| 2AAN | 2FFA | 2FHC | 2CJT | 2FIL | 2FJT | 2FKA | 2FJH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2CSR | 2ABN | 2FJX | 2FFX | 2FJV | 2BRA | 2FJP | 2AFD |
| 2FJF | 2CSK | 2CTA | 2FJA | 2AAB | 2FJK |
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina This Autumn/Winter but Absent Today
| 2ACV | 2BRD | 2FFH | 2FFT | 2FHV | 2FIF | 2FIJ | 2FJL | 2FJN |
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Other Birds at Antrim Marina
Today was interesting, as there was a welcomed increase of birds visiting the Marina, especially around the jetties.
On my arrival, two adult Mute Swans and an immature were standing on the slipway. A pair joined them at 11:54 having swam in from Lough Neagh. Once on the slipway, I could see that - X4707 was one of them. A 6th Mute Swan arrived on it's own from the Lough at 12:26. Despite having all six birds on the slipway, I was unable to catch any gulls to be ringed.
Mallards numbered around 50 birds on my arrival, increasing to around 70 shortly afterwards. Later, having had a few good feeds of bread and pellets, numbers dropped back to around the 50 mark again. As usual, most if not all legs were checked, but still no rings.
2 adult Common Gulls were also present on my arrival, with a third appearing at 10:46, and a fourth at 12:07. A count at 12:26, saw six adults present. A juvenile arrived 13:21, followed by a seventh adult at 13:40. With a total of 8 present, the metal-rung Scottish and Finnish birds were not among them.
The resident adult male Herring Gull appeared at 10:48, and his juvenile youngster arrived at 11:32. The female, which is an infrequent visitor these days arrived at 12:43. I had a further three Herring Gulls today, with a 3rd Calendar Year Bird arriving at 13:16, followed by a further two juveniles at 14:07. All except for the female were still present when I departed at 2:30pm.
Every winter, a Moorhen or two would appear, and today saw the first for this winter. A juvenile was spotted on the low wooden jetty at 11:43. It walked around all of the jetties, picking at food which just happened to be the droppings belonging to the gulls. This trait has been observed in the past. It seems to find hard lumps in the droppings and I have no idea what these are. It cannot be a good thing to do, especially when there is always the possibility that some gulls could be carrying the 'Bird Flu Virus'.
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Juvenile Moorhen - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (30 Dec 2024)
At 11:46, I spotted the 'blue flash' which was a Kingfisher flying low over the concrete jetty towards the breakwater at the entrance to the Lough. I did not see it again, but this was the first to be seen or heard this winter. Some passers-by would inform me of sightings further up-river, but only Otters have been reported to me so far.
Two pairs of Jackdaws were present today, along with the small 'noisy' juvenile. A quick visit was made by a Magpie, and the pair of Pied Wagtails were present throughout today's visit.
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