Antrim Marina - Thursday 26th March 2026...

Antrim Marina - Thursday 26th March 2026

Seeing as this week's weekly visit to Antrim Marina, is so late in the week, I have decided that today will be the end of this winter's visits to the Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.  Since 2012, a number of gulls have been colour-ringed in order to track their movements.  The codes on the colour-rings are unique to each bird.

From the beginning of August until the end of March each winter.  I undertake one weekly visit to record the colour-rings and if possible, catch new birds to be ringed.  Of the gulls caught in the past, some are year round residents to the Marina, whilst a number of others have been reported during the breeding season in several foreign countries before returning to the Marina to spend another winter here.  Also, the breeding sites for a few other gulls are as yet unknown seeing as they have yet to be spotted on their travels.

After the breeding season each year, some birds do not return for the winter.  Breeding colonies are brutal environments.  Adults constantly squabble around nest sites chasing off intruders, the efforts at finding food for their partners and chicks, which can prove too much for older birds.  Over recent years, 'Bird Flu' is also taking its toll on adults - two of my birds were found dead in breeding colonies in The Netherlands and Germany, testing positive for the virus.

Around December and January this winter, several of my gulls suddenly disappeared.  I think we had three severe storms around that time, and this may cause of their disappearance.  With the winter season ended, I will try and tie down the dates of those storms and try to link those with the disappearance of my birds.

Arriving at 10:56 this morning, it was cloudy and a light breeze was blowing in from the Lough.  The temperature gauge in my car read 7ºC.  Around 30 Black-headed Gulls were present, almost half of which were juveniles from last summer's breeding season.  Numbers ranged between 20 to 40 gulls for most of the visit, but around 1pm, numbers easily reached at least 55 birds, with a large increase in adults.

Only six colour-rings were read during the visit, the first -  2FIF  at 10:59, and the last -  2CJT  at 12:34.  With no further rings read, I was planning to leave at 1:30pm, when I spotted a Black-headed Gull with a tall metal-ring on the Low Wooden Jetty.

Grabbing my camera, the race was on to capture the ring number should the bird decides to move on.  Moved, it did, but happily it remained and I eventually captured the full number.  Taking one particular photo, I could see 'Rek' on the address line, so I knew it was from Iceland, therefore, I needed six numbers altogether.  On checking my photos, I had -  595818 , success.

On returning home, I checked the number on my Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet and found a match.   595818 , had been spotted here at the Marina on three previous occasions, where I recorded it on the 12th November 2023, 28th January 2024 and on the 25th February 2024.  It was great to obtain a fourth sighting of this gull.

 595818  was ringed as an unsexed adult on the 11th July 2023 at Akureyri, a town on the north coast of Iceland.  This is the same location where my -  2FHV  has been recorded on six occasions.  The distance to Antrim Marina, is 1,379 kms / 857 miles (SSE), and the duration since being ringed, is now 2 years, 8 months and 15 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   595818   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (26 Mar 2026)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 11th July 2023, at Akureyri in Northern Iceland)

With the exception of -  2FKA , the other five colour-ring sightings are known to be year round residents.   2FKA , was caught and ringed here as a juvenile bird on the 1st December 2024.  As with the other gulls, I need to build a profile on it's movements.  During the 2024/2025 winter, it was recorded through to the 10th March 2025, but was not seen during random summer visits in May, June and July.  This winter, it was recorded on the 24th August 2025, though I had resumed my weekly visits at the beginning of the month.  Judging by last summers results, it appears, that -  2FKA , is a non-resident.  It now looks pretty good, as it nears maturity.  It is now 1 year, 3 months and 25 days since it was ringed.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FKA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (26 Mar 2026)

(Ringed as a Juvenile, on the 1st December 2024, at Antrim Marina)

Black-headed Gull  -   2FKA   -  As a Juvenile at Antrim Marina - 8th December 2024

As always, I will skip the month of April, as the gulls will be too busy at their nest-sites, building nests and courting.  Random visits will be made in May through to August to record the resident gulls.  No doubt, there will be gulls arriving now to breed here, before returning to their wintering sites.  There is always the possibility that a bird could have been caught and colour-ringed at it's wintering site.  A few years back, a bird colour-ringed in Southport, England appeared here during the breeding season.  Having been recorded back in Southport, the last sighting of that gull was Antrim Marina, so it likely died here. 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Thursday 26th March 2026

2FIF	2FKA	2FIL	2CSR	2BRA	2CJT

The Lough Neagh Partnership, now has a 'Live Webcam' running on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform' where several species breed during the summer months.

The Webcam can be viewed here :- (Torpedo Platform).

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

11 adult Mute Swans and 2 juveniles were present on my arrival and that was the final total for the day.  The resident pair were quickly identified, the female ringed -  X4707 .  The two cygnets were the usual two, one belonging to the resident pair, the other arriving on it's own after one of our severe storms.

Mallard numbered around 20 birds, with male greatly outnumbering females.  Most legs were checked for rings - non at all this winter.

An adult Common Gull, as well as a juvenile were also present when I arrived.  A further four arrived - a second juvenile at 11:07, a second adult at 11:58, a third juvenile at 12:10 and a third adult at 1:19.  No sign of the Scottish and Finnish metal-rung birds, so I will have to wait now until the Autumn.

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was present throughout, and it's parents arrived at midday.  A second unrelated juvenile arrived at 12:30, and was often chased by the resident juvenile.  The adult pair broke into a courtship display several times.

A pair of Hooded Crows, two Rooks and a single pair of Jackdaws made repeated visits.

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