Antrim Marina - Sunday 22nd June 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 22nd June 2025

Today, I undertook my fourth random summer visit to Antrim Marina to record the presence of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.  The aim is to record the resident gulls which are nesting in the area, especially on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.

Arriving just after midday, I departed at 3:30pm.  Over the course of my visit, I recorded 8 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, all of which have been seen during most of my three previous random visits.  I had hoped to get another sighting (plus photo) of -  2FDK , which appeared on my previous visit.  Although this gull was a proven all year round resident, it didn't appear at the Marina at all last winter during my weekly visits from August through to March.  On my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, I had struck it off a 'Dead', and had to 'Un-Kill' it again.

It was last seen on the 13th July 2024, at the McDonalds Outlet at the Junction One Shopping Centre at the northern edge of Antrim Town.  I'm now wondering, if this bird is frequenting the Shopping Centre more often now.  I must investigate this, as there was a small breeding colony of Black-headed Gulls nesting on derelict building behind the Asda Supermarket there.  I think these buildings were demolished a couple of years ago, but it will do no harm to check.

Over the course of today's visit, Black-headed Gull numbers ranged from around 20 and up to 60, with quite a number of these (up to a third), being juveniles which hatched out last summer.  With no additions to the summer list, I'm becoming more concerned about -  2AAB .  A year round resident, ringed here in December 2012, it is/was the oldest surviving bird belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study.  I last saw it here on the 3rd March 2025.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 22nd June 2025

2BRA	2FFA	2FIF	2FJN	2FIL	2CSR	2CJT	2CSK

With the breeding season well into it's latter stages, I'm still waiting on sightings from other countries.  The way things are looking, the gulls might start arriving back to the Marina having escaped the attention of a multitude of bird-watchers.

Before leaving my home in Ballymena, I took a look online at the 'Torpedo Platform' near Antrim Marina where a 'Live Camera' shows a limited view of the nesting Black-headed Gulls.  I was curious to see if there were any large chicks about since I last looked at the site.  Viewing for around ten minutes, not a single youngster was seen.  This was a bit odd, as at this time of the summer, there should be numerous chicks close to fledging.  Are the gulls having problems out there?  Even birds that appeared to be sitting on nests fairly close to the camera have gone, and the nests are empty.

However, shortly before I departed from the Marina, I spotted a juvenile on the river by the opposite edge.  It appeared to be on it's own with no parents in attendance.  It just watched what was going on, on my side of the river, probably wondering what all of the commotion was all about as folk fed the ducks and swans.

Before publishing this post (Friday 27th June 2025), I had another look at the 'Torpedo Platform', finally, I could see a few large Black-headed Gull chicks on the move.

Below, I have added a link to the camera.  At times, there are 'streaming' problems, but keep trying or follow the onscreen links to previous days viewing.

Torpedo Platform

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Jun 2025)

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On arriving at Antrim Marina, I drove over to my usual parking spot beside the small concrete jetty.  On the slipway beside the jetty, the adult pair of Mute Swans along with their 6 cygnets were present.  They first appeared on the river just as I was about to leave on my previous visit, though they remained on the river.  Once parked, I noticed that one of the adults had a metal ring.  Grabbing my camera, I had to walk around the bird to capture it's ring number, and surprise, surprise, it was -  X4707 .

This bird was ringed as an adult male, on the 5th April 2024, at Bartins Bay further south on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh, from the Marina.  It first appeared here on the 21st May 2024, and has remained here since.  At one point, it's then partner disappeared and the bird went missing for a while before returning on it's own.  Since then, it gained a new mate and this was the pair I was told about nesting a short distance upriver from the Marina.  Although I had always suspected the bird to be a female rather than a male, seeing the pair together today, clarifies that it is a female.  It is now 1 year, 2 months and 17 days since being ringed, and Antrim Marina is situated 21 kms / 13 miles (NNE) from Bartins Bay.  No other swans appeared today, but, if any had approached, they would have been chased off. 

Mute Swan  -   X4707  with 6 Cygnets  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Jun 2025)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 5th April 2024, at Bartins Bay, Lough Neagh, Co. Antrim)

An unusually large number of Mallards were present today, and a count revealed a total of 61 birds, most of which were lying down behind the fenced off area enclosing the short concrete jetty.  This fence has been in place since last autumn, as there is a plank missing on the wooden part beside the concrete jetty, and would pose a safety risk.  Gulls and ducks are offered a bit of peace and quite behind the fence which is great for me when sitting in the car. 

There was a very strong westerly wind blowing in from the Lough today, with a few light showers of rain.  Whilst sorting out my Mute Swan, I noticed three young Mallard chicks keeping tight to the wall of the concrete jetty.  By the look of them, they hatched out earlier today or perhaps yesterday.  With their mother present, it looks as if she was keeping them safe by sheltering them beside the wall.

At one point, I feared for their survival as four Lesser Black-backed Gulls landed on the water close by.  They had been attracted to a large crusty loaf floating on the river, but the mother and her three chicks took shelter underneath the jetty until the danger had passed.

The three ducklings swam beside the jetty the whole time during my visit.  I wondered how long they could do this before coming ashore to take a rest. 

Mallard with 3 Chicks  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Jun 2025)

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout my visit, and his mate made several brief visits.  This is telling me, that she has hatched chicks, most likely on the 'Torpedo Platform'.  Lesser Black-backed Gulls came and went, and the highest total at any one time, was seven birds.

A juvenile Common Gull was also present throughout today's visit.  I'm convinced that it is the same bird that was here previously, as it is very comfortable being around people.  A single adult made brief appearances, but there was no sign of the colour-ringed -  2AJP .

Common Terns frequently flew up and down river searching for fish.  Conditions would be much calmer than out on the Lough with the rolling waves.

Sand Martins are still present, though less obvious than on my previous visit.

Three Jackdaws, were the only other species to be recorded otherwise.

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Antrim Marina - Sunday 8th June 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 8th June 2025

Today saw me undertaking my third random visit to Antrim Marina this summer to record the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls.  The gulls belong to a wintering study, but these random summer visits identify which gulls are year round residents.

Most of the other gulls from my study, leave the Antrim area, with several birds having bee spotted in numerous foreign destinations.  For some of these birds, where they go to nest is still not known.  As I write, no sightings have been reported this summer, since -  2FFH  was found dead in a breeding colony in the Netherlands on the 27th April 2025.  The finder, Maarten Hotting, said the gull was to be tested for possible 'Bird Flu', but having requested a result of the findings, nothing has come back to me so far.

I arrived at Antrim Marina just before 11:25. Having parked in my normal spot beside the small concrete jetty -  2FFA  landed on top of the fence next to me.  Calling at me, he knows me only too well.  I grabbed a few bits of bread and promptly hand fed him where he stood.

After a quick feed, I began to look for other rings, and was gobsmacked when I spotted -  2FDK .  This bird is a known resident, but I wrote it off as 'Dead', as it never appeared at the Marina at all last winter.  It's last sighting was made on the 13th July 2024, when the gull landed on the bonnet of a car belonging to a Liz Payne, who was surprised to see a gull with rings.  The happened at the McDonalds outlet at the Junction One Shopping Centre in the north end of Antrim Town.  Goodness knows where this bird has been, or what it has been doing.  I tried to get a photo of this gull, but it flew off as I was zooming in and did not return.

A total of 8 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were recorded today, the last being -  2FJL  at 1:34pm.  For the next two hours on further rings were recorded, and for my final hour at the Marina,  2FJN  was the only one present.

Black-headed Gull numbers varied widely during my four hour visit.  From a handful of birds, at one point around 1pm, as many as 70 appeared which was surprising.  Even last winter, there were days where numbers never reached that mark.

The absence of -  2CJT  was very noticeable today.  It is not often when you come here and this gull is not about.  The absence of -  2AAB  is starting to cause me some concern, as it was the oldest surviving Black-headed Gull from Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Study.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 8th June 2025

2FFA	2FDK	2CSK	2BRA	2FJN	2CSR	2FIF	2FJL

As I write today, I took a look at the 'Live' camera which overlooks the nesting Black-headed Gulls breeding on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.  Interestingly, there are no chicks running about, which is surprising.  I would have thought that they would be far further into their breeding season for this time of the year.  Unfortunately, the camera offers a limited view of the platform, and a link to the camera can be found on my post published on the 7th May 2025 (link).

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

The resident male Herring Gull was present on my arrival.  Over the course of my visit, he returned on several occasions having managed to obtain feeds from passers by.  No doubt, his mate is sitting on a nest on the 'Torpedo Platform'.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls were frequent visitors, though I'm not sure whether they were the same birds each time.  The highest number of adults were 6, whilst the occasional 3rd calendar year birds would also make brief visits.

A juvenile Common Gull remained throughout my visit, and at 1:05, I could hear an adult calling whilst chasing Black-headed Gulls.  This bird turned out to be -  2AJP , which also appeared during my previous visit (read here).  This was the only adult recorded today, and the juvenile was not impressed, when -  2AJP  went into courtship display (go away, I'm too young).

Common Gull  -   2AJP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (08 Jun 2025)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 29th June 2013, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

The highest count of Mallards gave a total of 24 birds, but still no ducklings as yet.

Three adult Mute Swans were present throughout my visit, with a 4th bird arriving from the direction of Lough Neagh at 3:02.  All four birds remained around the slipway, but as I was about the depart, all 'hell' broke loose.  Having thought I heard a cygnet calling, a male Mute Swan came into view having been hidden by the low wooden jetty.  Wings arched, he began to chase the other four swans out towards Lough Neagh, and then his partner appeared with six youngsters.

I knew this pair had a nest upriver, so it was nice to see these chicks.  Apparently, they hatched out chicks last year, but all (I believe 4 chicks) perished soon afterwards.  It will be interesting to see what happens here over the next few weeks.

Female Mute Swan with 6 Cygnets, Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (08 Jun 2025)

Other birds often making brief appearances, were 1 Hooded Crow, 3 Jackdaws, 1 Rook, 1 male Pied Wagtail and a male Grey Wagtail.  

Two Kingfishers were spotted flying at speed towards the breakwater, but I reckon one was chasing the other away from it's nesting territory further upriver from the Marina.

Common Terns flew silently up and down river whilst searching for a fish supper. 

Sand Martins now appear to be using the 'Swift Nest-holes' close to the roof of the 'Gateway Centre'.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 26th May 2025...

Antrim Marina - Monday 26th May 2025

Today, I undertook my second random summer visit to record the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls to see which ones are year round residents at Antrim Marina.  At this point, I have not received any sightings of my gulls which nest in foreign colonies.

With 12 known residents, I recorded nine of these during my previous visit.  With just six colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded today, one was not seen during my last visit -  2FFA  which takes the total to 10.  The two absentees are -  2AAB  and  2AAN .

 2AAB , is the oldest surviving Black-headed Gull belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study, with the original first birds ringed at Antrim Marina.  Ringed at the Marina on the 11th December 2012, it was last seen here on the 3rd March 2025.

 2AAN , was added as a resident last summer.  Also ringed in December 2012, it would disappear each summer, but a sighting in June 2022 in Larne, Co. Antrim, suggested it could be nesting on Blue Circle Island on Larne Lough.  The reason for it remaining at the Marina last summer, might possibly be due to it pairing up with a local resident.   2AAN , had been ringed as an adult female.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FFA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (26 May 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 23rd November 2020, at Antrim Marina)

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 26th May 2025

2BRA	2FIJ	2FFA	2FJL	2FJN	2CSK

Today's visit lasted from just after 12 noon until around 3:30pm.  Throughout my visit, Black-headed Gull number ranged from just a handful of birds to a maximum of around 50.  There were plenty of feeds from people arriving to feed the ducks.

In my previous Antrim post on the 7th May, I added a link to a 'Live' camera situated on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.  At the time, it was off air, but it is now working properly.

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Having recorded Black-headed Gull -  2BRA  first at 12:39, at 12:48, the appearance of a Common Gull with a Blue Darvic had me excitedly racing to the car to collect my camera.  I knew who this bird would be, but I needed a photo of the ring in case it flew off.  I needn't have worried as it remained for around an hour.

 2AJP , had been ringed as a chick, on the 29th June 2013, on Big Copeland Island in County Down.  As a juvenile, it was recorded on three occasions in March 2014, at Poppintree Park in the City of Dublin.

From then, it was not seen again until the 13th June 2016, when recorded by Suzanne Belshaw here at Antrim Marina.  Over the years since, the gull as accumulated a number of sightings, all in the Antrim area and commonly during the breeding season or early into the autumn.  Interestingly, there were no sightings during the years of 2019, 2020 and 2021.  It may have nested elsewhere during those years.  It would be brilliant if we could get a winter sighting now, just to see where it goes to, or does it still travel down to Dublin.

The distance from Big Copeland Island to Antrim Marina, is 46 kms / 28 miles (W), and the duration since being ringed, is now 11 years, 10 months and 27 days.  It was really nice to see that this bird is still going strong.  I noticed that there is slight damage at the base of the colour-ring.  Should the ring ends up disintegrating, the gull is calm enough around people, that it's metal-ring could be read instead.

Common Gull  -   2AJP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (26 May 2025)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 29th June 2013, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

Full Ringing and Re-Sighting History for Common Gull -  2AJP 

 2AJP , was the only adult Common Gull to put in an appearance.  Probably the same juvenile / 2nd Calendar Year Common Gull made repeated visits.

The arrival of a juvenile Herring Gull, was likely to be the same youngster which was reared locally last summer, spending all winter here usually in the company of it's father, though mother arrived on some occasions.  This juvenile is very comfortable being around folk feeding the ducks.  His father arrived at 12:19 but did stay too long.  He may well have a nest on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform'.

At times, I had up to three pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and at one point, two 3rd Calendar Year Lesser Black-backed's were also present.  I do not have a clue as to where these gulls are nesting at now, as the gulls have successfully been deterred from nesting on the roof of the Tesco Warehouse at Kilbegs on the edge of the town of Antrim.  The colony there easily numbered 100 to 150 pairs formerly, along with smaller numbers of Herring, Common and Black-headed Gulls.  A handful of Common Terns and Oystercatchers also nested on those roofs.

3 Mute Swans were present throughout my visit, though none were ringed.  There are still no sign of any Mallard ducklings, and talking to Danny who is a volunteer with the Lough Neagh Rescue Service, he had not seen any as yet.  With just 17 Mallards present during my visit, 14 of them were males.

The only other species recorded, were three Jackdaws and a single Hooded Crow.  This crow made repeated visits feeding on the remains of a dead fish.  After each feed, it would fly across the river into the woodland surrounding Antrim Boat Club, where it is obviously nesting.

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