Antrim Marina - 19th November 2025...

Antrim Marina - Wednesday 19th November 2025

This week's weekly visit to Antrim Marina was made on Wednesday 19th November 2025.  Arriving at 10:45am, I had intended to stay until 2pm, but, with a lack of birds about I departed at 1:30pm.  The temperature gauge in my car read a chilly 4ºC, with 50/50 blue sky and cloud.  There was a light breeze though I knew the Marina was being shielded from a stronger northerly wind due to the trees on the opposite side of the river which flows into Lough Neagh.  There were three quick but heavy showers, the first at 11:45 was rain, the second at 12:38 was of sleet and the third just after 1pm was of snow.  The dredging operations that began last week were still ongoing and will take several weeks before completion.

Studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, I undertake a once weekly visit to record the colour-ringed gulls that were ringed at the Marina.  So far this winter, 23 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded with a number of birds still to return.  The last returnee was that of -  2FJX  on the 14th October 2025.  Today's visit turned out to be another disaster due to the lack of all species present.

Around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, with numbers ranging from just 25 to 60 birds during my visit.  The first ring read was that of -  2CSK  at 10:48, and my 11th and final ring read being the above mentioned -  2FJX  at 11:10, leaving me with 12 absentees today.  No further colour-rings were read over the next two hours and twenty minutes, and once again, no new returnees.  An unknown number of gulls rested on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre' which did not help.

Long gone are those days where two to three hundred Black-headed Gulls could be seen on most weeks.  In recent years 'Bird Flu' seems to have taken its toll on the gulls, and locally, the breeding population has suffered due to a lack of insects (especially Mayflies) after eggs have hatched, this caused by the pollution of Lough Neagh (Blue-Green Algae) killing the submerged insect life.  I used to enjoy the challenge of reading as many colour-rings as possible on my weekly visits, but these days, visits are long and boring.

As I parked up beside the small concrete jetty, I could see the Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335  on the ground on the other side of the security fence.  A quick look through my binoculars, I could see the digits ' 335 ' on the upside-down ring, which was enough to confirm the sighting.   543335 , is back for it's third winter here since being ringed in southern Iceland in July 2023.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Wednesday 19th November 2025

2CSK	2FJT	2FJA	2FKA	2CJT	2BRA
2FFX	2ACV	2CSR	2FIL	2FJX

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

2AAN	2ABN	2BRD	2FDK	2FFA	2FFT
2FHV	2FIF	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As I approached my parking spot beside the concrete jetty, a pair of Mute Swans along with 3 cygnets could be seen swimming away from the slipway, making their way upriver.  I had know way of knowing, if this was the resident pair, which until a couple of weeks back, had six cygnets - their mother being ringed -  X4707 .  No other swans appeared during the visit, and as I was preparing to depart at 1:30, the pair along with three cygnets returned.  As soon as they landed onto the slipway, I was able to confirm the female -  X4707 .  What has happened to the other three cygnets?

On parking, not only did I record the Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , but among 4 adult Common Gulls, was the small Scottish-rung female -  EY64036 .  This is now my fourth sighting of her this winter, having returned on the 31st August 2025.  She first appeared here as a juvenile in February 2014, and has returned every winter since then.  Ringed as a chick on the 20th June 2014, in Hunterston, North Ayrshire, the duration since being ringed, is now 12 years, 4 months and 30 days.  Today's total of four adult Common Gulls was not exceeded, but a high of eight has been recorded so far this winter.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Nov 2025)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2014, at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland)

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was present throughout today's visit and it's father arrived at 11:10.  He is still limping slightly.  A second 'bulkier' juvenile appeared briefly at 12:50.

Mallard numbers have gone down again.  Around 30 were present at first, and by 12:45, just 8 birds remained.  As usual, most legs were checked for rings.

The adult Moorhen was also present throughout the visit, making it's way backwards and forwards between the concrete and long wooded jetties.  As noted during my last two visits, this bird is foraging on the droppings from the gulls.

A female Sparrowhawk flew low over the Marina at 1:22, flying from the woodland opposite and heading towards the golf course directly south.  All of the gulls lifted into the air, but they soon settled down again.

One pair of Jackdaws, a single Hooded Crow and a male Pied Wagtail, were the only other birds noted today.

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