Antrim Marina - Monday 3rd February 2025...

Antrim Marina - Monday 3rd February 2025

For this week's visit to Antrim Marina, I opted for a Monday visit.  However, on Sunday evening I received an email from a Angela Faulkner.  Angela had been at the Marina earlier on Sunday and said that there were lots of gulls with rings, and managed to capture photos of two of them -  2AAB  and -  2FIL .  Both of these Black-headed Gulls are year round residents to the Marina, so there was nothing exciting to report back.

I arrived at Antrim Marina today at 10:06.  Parking at my usual spot beside the small concrete jetty, I took a note of the birds that were present, which included a total of around 65 Black-headed Gulls.  It was a cloudy morning with a strong wind blowing in from the direction of Lough Neagh, and the temperature gauge in my car read 10ºC.  As the wind was so strong, hardly any gulls ventured on to the Long Wooden Jetty closet to the Lough.

I was on the lookout for 32 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded this winter, which included three that I had caught and ringed in the Autumn.  The initial total of 65 birds turned out to be the high number for the day, as numbers decreased slightly through to my departure.  Around 12:20, all of the gulls disappeared for around 20 minutes.

13 rings were read up until 10:43, then I had to wait until 11:32 before more were added to the total.  My total for the day ended, with 22 colour-rings being read, the final one at 13:20, being -  2FIX .  I spotted -  2FIX  from my car zooming towards the middle of the Low Wooden Jetty.  The ring was fairly dirty, but even so, I couldn't believe my eyes.  Walking across to take photos at a closer range, the bird was definitely -  2FIX .  On my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, I had wrote this bird off as dead quite a while back.   2FIX , had been ringed at the Marina as an unsexed adult, on the 19th December 2022.  Suzanne Belshaw recorded the gull at the Marina on the 2nd January 2023, and it has not been seen again until today.

In my mind, I thought it may have been another 'Bird Flu' victim.  It is very interesting to see that the gull is still alive and well.  I shall now classify -  2FIX  as being a rare visitor to Antrim Marina, moving to and from it's breeding site.  The duration since being ringed, is 2 years, 1 month and 15 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FIX   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (03 Feb 2025)

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

Another sighting of interest today, was the 4th sighting this winter of -  2FIJ .  My thinking on this bird, is that it is using the Marina as a 'Staging Post' between it's breeding and wintering sites.  The three previous sightings this winter, were made on the 11th & 18th August 2024, and on the 12th January 2025. 

Three sightings during the summer of 2024 - twice in May, and once in June, suggests that it is breeding in the local area, possibly on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.  In contrast, there were no sightings at the Marina during the summer of 2023.  I reckon it will take a number of sightings to work out the true status for this gull.   2FIJ , was ringed at the Marina as a 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 10th January 2022, the duration since being ringed, now 3 years and 24 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FIJ   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (03 Feb 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed 2nd Winter Bird, on the 31st October 2022, at Antrim Marina)

With the winter coming to an end, there is still no sign of the Estonian -  2FDJ , or the Polish -  2FHT , so I'm beginning to think both have succumbed to their fate.  I'm clinging on to the hope, that seeing as this winter has been so mild, neither bird has seen the need to return to Antrim.

Last seen on the 12th January 2025, the metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , is still here.  With a good number of swans on the slipway, the gulls are not hungry enough to take chances trying to grab bread thrown onto the slipway.  It looks as if -  543335  will return to Iceland without a colour-ring being fitted.  Ringed in southern Iceland in July 2023, this is gull's second winter here, though it could have wintered here for years before it was ringed. 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recoded at Antrim Marina on Monday 3rd February 2025

2CSK	2FFA	2FJP	2CJT	2FJA	2FJV	2FJH	2BRA
2FHC	2CSR	2FJX	2FKA	2AAN	2FIF	2FIL	2FFX
2ABN	2FJT	2FIJ	2AAB	2FJN	2FIX

With 11 absentees today, one bird I'm looking out for, is the Icelandic -  2FHV .  I caught and ringed this gull at Antrim Marina as an unsexed adult, on the 8th November 2021.  It was then recorded over the following two weeks before disappearing until the 24th February 2022.  The next two sightings occurred in June and July 2022, when -  2FHV  was spotted in the town of Akureyri on the north coast of Iceland.

During the winters of 2022/2023 and 2023/2024, I went on to discover that this gull is using Antrim Marina as a 'staging post' before moving on to an unknown wintering site.  Towards the end of both of those winters,  2FHV  arrived back to the Marina using the Marina as a 'staging post again' on it's presumed return to Iceland :-

8th August 2022 to 10th October 2022 - (Unknown Wintering Site) - 26th & 28th February 2023

31st July 2023 to 22nd October 2023 - (Unknown Wintering Site) - 7th January 2024 to 25th February 2024

This winter,  2FHV  arrived back to the Marina on the 26th August 2025, then moved on after the 19th October 2024.  Although it was not recorded back this January, I'm still hoping it will return before heading back to Iceland for this summer's breeding season.

During the breeding season in Iceland, Common and Black-headed Gulls could easily be overlooked. Every very five years, a thorough breeding study is carried out, providing a greater chance of colour-ringed gulls being spotted.  2025 should see the latest assessment for both species.

Another of note on the list of absentees is -  2FJF .  Ringed at the Marina as a juvenile November 2023, it was regularly recorded up until my final weekly visit on the 31st March 2024.  With no summer sightings during random breeding season visits, it was recorded at the Marina on the 4th August 2024 when I began my weekly visits to cover the 2024/2025 winter season.

Recorded regularly until the 15th September, it then disappeared for two months, finally returning on the 17th November.  At the time, I feared the worse, but was gland to see it back again.  Sightings continued until the 12th January 2025, then I received an email from Scott Black on the 17th January 2025, along with a photograph.   2FJF , had been seen that day at Strathclyde Country Park in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  There is an Indian Restaurant there, where the scraps are thrown out for the gulls.  Could this have been where -  2FJF  had disappeared to between mid-September until mid-November?  With some gulls making an early move towards their breeding sites, had -  2FJF  nipped over for an 'Indian Takeaway', or could it be heading towards Scandinavia?

With -  2FIX  being added to this winter's list of colour-rings, the overall total is now 33, which includes three Black-headed Gulls ringed this winter.

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

2ACV	2AFD	2BRD	2CTA	2FDL	2FFH
2FFT	2FHV	2FJF	2FJK	2FJL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As I parked beside the short concrete jetty, there were a large number of Mute Swans present.  I counted 17 altogether, with just 8 birds on the slipway.  A further two birds swam in from the Lough at 10:34 taking the total to 19.  On several occasions, all 19 came ashore, and just the one bird was ringed -  X4707  which is regularly recorded here now.  One thing that I have noticed throughout the winter, is the lack of juveniles.  It would appear that the swans have had a poor breeding season in 2024.  I think it may have been possible that chicks did hatch out, but a lack of insects on the water due to the 'Blue-Green Algae' around Lough Neagh, may have contributed to the death of many youngsters.

Around 40 Mallards were counted after my arrival.  As the morning wore on, numbers decreased to around 25 birds.  As always, most if not all legs were checked, but still no rings.  Overall numbers should be higher for this time of the winter, but higher totals have rarely been reached.

It was a poor day for Common Gulls.  One adult was present when I arrived, with a juvenile arriving at 10:22, followed by a second adult at 10:32.  A third adult arrived at 11:11, and there was just the three adults present when I departed.  None of these were ringed, and I'm now wondering if I have seen the last of the Scottish and Finnish birds for this winter.

The regular juvenile Herring Gull arrived at 10:29, with it's parents appearing together at 11:08.  Both adult birds stayed close together today, unlike previous visits where they would split apart soon after arriving.  A very large second juvenile arrived at 11:42.  I wonder where this one has been, as it was so calm it would walk right up to people.  A real 'brute' of a bird, it was more 'people confident' than the juvenile that has been here all winter.

Possibly the same pair of Hooded Crows made repeated visits all morning.  Just one pair of Jackdaws and the noisy juvenile visited today.  A single Magpie and the pair of Pied Wagtails were the only other species noted today. 

*******************************************************