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 21st 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)

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