Antrim Marina - Monday 27th October 2025...

Antrim Marina - Monday 27th October 2025

I arrived at Antrim Marina at the later time of 11am this morning.  It was a cloudy day, which at times broke for a little sunshine to pass through.  The wind was very light and the temperature gauge in my car read 12ºC.

Around 60 Black-headed Gulls were present which was the high for the day.  Numbers fluctuated throughout the visit, ranging from around 25 to 50 birds.  So far this winter, 23 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded, but worryingly, there were no new returnees during today's visit.  With the month of October coming to an end, normally a couple of more gulls should have returned by now, especially -  2CTA .  All I can do, is to keep my fingers crossed.

Of the 23 colour-rings read so far this winter, 17 were read today, leaving me with 6 absentees.  One of these six absentees is -  2FJF , which was spotted in Scotland on the 18th October.  I thought it may have nipped over to Strathclyde Country Park to get an Indian takeaway, where they throw out the scrapes for the gulls.

My 13th sighting today, at 12:27, was that of -  2BRD .  This was the 3rd sighting of the gull this winter.  It arrived back on the 24th August and was also present the following week (31st August).   2BRD , is a winter visitor around Antrim Town, making irregular visits to the Marina.  It was caught and ringed here on the 1st February 2015, as an adult male.

Each spring prior to the onset of the new breeding season, it travels down to Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh.  Where this gull breeds at, is still unknown.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BRD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2025)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 1st February 2015, at Antrim Marina)

At 13:41, I spotted a 'Black-headed' Black-headed Gull.  If memory serves me correctly, I had a 'Black-headed' Black-headed Gull here last winter.  Could this be the same bird?  If so, it's appearance at this time of the year may suggest it is a foreign bird.  Most Black-headed Gulls loose their chocolate brown 'hoods' during the winter months. 

A  -  'Black-headed'  -  Black-headed Gull  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2025)

The Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335 , walked right up to my car as soon as I got parked.  Knowing what it wanted, I threw a few bits of bread out which he caught in his beak. 

One thing that I especially noted whilst feeding the swans on the slipway.  The gulls are really eager now, trying to get a share of the bread.  Coming really close, they should be catchable from now onwards.  I might make an extra visit or two solely for ringing sessions rather than reading rings.  A recent email from Suzanne Belshaw, said, she had seen similar behaviour among the gulls at Lurgan Park Lake.  The birds were coming right up to her looking for feed.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 27th October 2025

2FFA	2FJA	2CJT	2BRA	2AAN	2CSK	2FJT	2FKA	2FJX
2FIL	2CSR	2FJK	2BRD	2FIF	2ABN	2FJN	2FFT

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

2ACV	2FDK	2FFX	2FHV	2FJF	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Parking beside the concrete jetty, three adult Mute Swans were on the slipway.  A fourth adult swam in from the direction of Lough Neagh at 12:53.  Eventually coming ashore on the slipway, non of these swans were ringed.  No sign of the resident female and her six cygnets today.

Around 40 Mallards were present, with that total slowly decreasing over the visit.  By the time of my departure, around 15 remained.  As normal, most if not all legs were checked for rings.

4 adult Common Gulls were perched on the rail of the concrete jetty as I parked up.  These gulls came and went throughout my visit, but a check at 1:10, gave me a total of 7 adults.  One of these, was the small Scottish-rung female -  EY64036 .  This was my third sighting of her so far this winter - once in August and once in September.  Last week, I had a winter high of 7 adult Common Gulls, though the Scottish female was not among them.  This now means, I have at least 8 adults visiting the Marina.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2025)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland)

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout my visit.  At 1:10, as I was counting the Common Gulls, the juvenile Herring Gull arrived.  It landed on the archway where it's father was perched and began begging for food.  Dad was not interested and ignored the youngster. 

For most of my visit, two pairs of Jackdaws were coming and going.  Shortly before 2pm, a new Jackdaw appeared on it's own.  Unlike normal Jackdaws, this one was speckled.

A 'Speckled' Jackdaw  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (27 Oct 2025)

A pair of Hooded Crows and a pair of Pied Wagtails made brief visits.

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