Antrim Marina - Sunday 5th January 2025

Antrim Marina - Sunday 5th January 2025

I arrived at the slightly later time of 10:42 this morning.  At home in Ballymena, it was still fairly dark approaching 9am, and a light shower of snow soon afterwards proved to be the reason why.  Once it passed by, I made my way to Antrim Marina.  On my arrival, it was still very dull with light rain falling.  These light showers came and went throughout the visit.  The temperature gauge in my car read 4ºC, rising to 8ºC by the time of my departure at 2:30pm.

With the return of -  2FJP  recorded on my previous visit, today I was on the lookout for 31 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls and any further returnees.  It did not take long to record another returnee, as my 7th ring sighting at 11:00, saw the return of the Swedish bird -  2FDL .  This was one of three gulls whose countries of origin are known, and I have been watching for these since October.  As it stands, I am still waiting for -  2FDJ  from Estonia, and -  2FHT  from Poland.

I caught and ringed -  2FDL  here at Antrim Marina, as an unsexed adult on the 18th November 2019, which coincidently is the earliest date that it has been recorded on.  Since being ringed, the bird's re-sighting history at the Marina has been somewhat patchy, which may possibly indicate that it spends most of it's time around the town of Antrim.  Last winter, the bird was not seen here until the turn of the year - 14th January 2024.  Due to the fact that I undertake one four hour visit per week, it may have visited the Marina several times when I was not here.

Away from the Marina, the only sighting to date was at a breeding colony on the outskirts of Stockholm in Sweden on the 3rd April 2022.  The distance to Råstasjön Nature Reserve, is 1,551 kms / 963 miles (ENE) from Antrim Marina.  It is always very exciting to record a returnee, knowing the bird is still alive and well.  The duration since being ringed, is now 5 years, 1 month and 18 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FDL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (05 Jan 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 18th November 2019, at Antrim Marina)

Full History of Black-headed Gull -  2FDL 

Around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, but over the course of my visit numbers remained low and never exceeded the 60 mark.  The reading of rings turned out to be a long drawn out affair.  10 rings were read in my first hour, with -  2FJP  being the 10th at 11:36.  My total for the day ended at 20, the ring of -   2FJV  being the last to be read at 14:06.  This meant I had a fairly high total of 12 absentees today.

With temperatures being on the low side, I had expected to see far more gulls today.  Despite having several Mute Swans on the slipway, the gulls are still not tempted to take chances to grab some bread.  Throwing large clumps of bread on the ground in front of the swans, just a handful of gulls approached, but not close enough.  Later in the morning several people arrived to feed the ducks, so the gulls managed to get plenty of bread and pellets.

The Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335  was recorded at 12:48, a good deal later than normal.  Last winter, I recorded three metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gulls here including -  543335 , but there has been no sign of the other two so far this winter.

With the return of -  2FDL  today, I will be on the lookout for 32 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls on my next visit.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 5th January 2025

2FFA	2CSK	2FJT	2CSR	2FJX	2FJA	2FDL	2FFX	2FKA	2FJP
2FHC	2AAN	2CJT	2FJF	2FIL	2FJK	2AAB	2FJH	2BRA	2FJV

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

2ABN	2ACV	2AFD	2BRD	2CTA	2FFH
2FFT	2FHV	2FIF	2FIJ	2FJL	2FJN

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

7 Mute Swans were either on or close to the slipway on my arrival.  These included the metal-rung -  X4707 , which was ringed in March 2024, at Barton's Bay on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh.  No further arrivals appeared during my visit.  An early attempt to catch a gull or two among the swans was a waste of time.  The swans enjoyed my bread, but the gulls were taking no chances.

An initial count of the Black-headed Gulls, saw the presence of 4 adult Common Gulls among them.  Having spotted a metal-ring on one bird, I zoomed into the ring with my camera reading -  7.02 .  This was enough to identify the gull as being the Finnish -  ST177.028 .  After an absence of around six years, the gull turned up on the 8th December 2024, when a partial number was read -  ST1--.028 .  The whole number was read the following week (15th December 2024).  With a partial reading today, there was no reason to try and complete the number.  Ringed as an unsexed juvenile in August 1995, the duration as of today's sighting, is now 29 years, 4 months and 30 days.

I submitted my December sighting to the Ringing Centre at the University of Helsinki in Finland, but as yet, I am still waiting for a reply.  A reply would include any sightings since I last recorded the gull here in March 2018.  Due to the age of the gull, I sent copies of my original photos to back up my sighting.

Common Gull  -   ST177.028   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (05 Jan 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Juvenile, on the 6th August 1995, at Maaninka, Kuopio, Finland)

A count at 13:31 gave me a total of 8 Common Gulls, with two metal-rung birds.  The Finnish bird was on the low wooden jetty, and the bird in front of me on the short concrete jetty turned out to be the small Scottish female -  EY64036 .  Ringed as a chick in North Ayrshire, Scotland, in June 2016, this winter, I have had a good run of re-sightings here, this being the 8th.  Last winter, this gull was only recorded on the one occasion (14th January 2024).  The duration for this gull is now 11 years, 6 months and 16 days.  A juvenile Common Gull arrived as I was preparing to leave at 2:30pm.  Just to be sure it was not one of my Rathlin Island youngsters, I had to checks for rings with my binoculars.

The juvenile Herring Gull was present throughout my visit, and it's father arrived at 11:11.  No sign of the female today.

It's been a long time since I had two pairs of Jackdaws here, and the noisy juvenile was also present.  Over previous winters, 6 to 7 pairs of Jackdaws would have been the norm.  The pair of Pied Wagtails were often seen, especially in areas where people had fed the ducks.  No doubt the small crumbs provided a good feed for them.  The blue flash of a Kingfisher was spotted as it flew at speed upriver.

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