Antrim Marina - Thursday 19th February 2026...

Antrim Marina - Thursday 19th February 2026

Another Thursday for this weekly visit to Antrim Marina.  I would preferably visit on a Sunday or Monday, but as I stated to one of my contacts, at home we have a cat which seems to have the feline version of senile dementia.  To have someone at home keeping an eye on 'Rusty' is a good option.

I arrived at the Marina just before 11am.  It was cloudy but dry, with a slight breeze and the temperature gauge in my car read 7ºC.  Parking at my usual spot beside the Small Concrete Jetty, I noticed that the adjoining decking has been shifted due to the high water levels.  The water is still covering the jetty, but the levels here have dropped slightly from my previous visit, as the Black-headed Gulls were able to stand in the water.  

Damaged Decking beside the Small Concrete Jetty, Antrim Marina  (19 Feb 2026)

Each winter from 2013, I have undertaken weekly visits to the Marina from the start of August until the end of March to study a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.  Some of these have been marked with colour-coded rings (Darvics), so as their movements can be tracked.  Some of the gulls are residents and therefore breed in the area.  Others have been reported in several foreign countries during the summer breeding season, and then return to the Marina again for another winter.

When I first started the study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls numbered in the hundreds, but these days numbers are well under one hundred.  It is clear that 'Bird Flu' is a major factor in the reduced numbers.  I often wonder about Wind Turbines on migration routes - is it possible that these are also killing gulls?

So far this winter, I have recorded a total of 28 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls belonging to my study, and all were ringed at the Marina.  At least six others have failed to return.  I had complained about the low numbers of gulls present during my recent visits, and my last visit was the worst of all with just 27 gulls present.  Having said that, on my departure, I noticed between 80 to 100 gulls on the flooded pools on the adjacent golf course.

Today, I fared slightly better, as numbers ranged from around 40 to 60 throughout the visit.  Out of the 28 colour-rings read this winter, only 12 of these were read today, leaving me with another large total of absentees - (16).  Looking at my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, it seems as if many went absent around the same time.  Although it is normal for some to be absent for whatever reason, a few of the regulars are among those that have been absent for several weeks.  One thought I had, did this coincide with one of the major storms that Northern Ireland experienced this winter.  

With a wrist problem now sorted, I made an attempt to catch one or two gulls today.  Dropping bread among the swans, gulls came agonizingly close, but just out of reach.  I might take a landing net with me next time.

Whilst checking the Long Wooden Jetty for colour-rings, I spotted a 'Green Darvic'.  With my camera already in hand, I zoomed into the Black-headed Gull concerned, and with the ring-code starting with a ' J ', I knew I had a Norwegian bird.  On returning home, I made a check on my Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet, and -  JJX5  was not on it.

I then went onto the 'Live' Norwegian Ringing Database, and after submitting my sighting details, I was then able to view the birds history.   JJX5 , was ringed as an adult male, on the 25th July 2025, at Lake Mølledammen, Bryne - not far south from the city of Stavanger in the south-west of Norway.

My sighting was the first since being ringed.  The distance to Antrim Marina was given as 851 kms / 528 miles (WSW), and the duration since being ringed, was 6 months and 25 days.

Another good sighting record following on in recent weeks of a Polish colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull and a Swedish metal-rung Black-headed Gull.  They have certainly brightened up a few poor visits to the Marina of late.

Black-headed Gull  -   JJX5   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Feb 2026)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 25th July 2025, at Lake Mølledammen, Bryne, Norway)

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Thursday 19th February 2026

2FJT	2CJT	2BRA	2FFA	2AAN	2FJX
2FJA	2CSR	2CSK	2FIL	2FIF	2FKA

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

2ABN	2ACV	2AFD	2BRD	2CTA	2FDL	2FDK	2FFN
2FFT	2FFX	2FHV	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJP	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

8 adult Mute Swans and a single cygnet were around the slipway on my arrival.  Within a couple of minutes, I established that two were the resident pair (female rung -  X4707 ), and the cygnet belongs to them (the only one of six still present).  I remember three of the six disappeared after one of those big storms.  A pair arrived from up-river at 11:19, taking me to 10 adults.  Three others slipped in un-noticed, as a count at 12:37, gave me 13 adults and 1 cygnet.   X4707 , was the only ringed bird among them.

23 Mallards on my arrival, soon went up to the 30'ish mark.  Numbers dropped off again slightly before I departed.  Most legs were checked for rings.

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was present throughout my visit.  A second juvenile arrived at 12:51, quickly followed by a third at 12:57.  The resident juvenile was not too fond of the two arrivals and it did not take long to drive them away.  The resident male arrived at 1:29.  It has been a number of weeks now since the resident female appeared last.

The first adult Common Gull appeared at 11:44, and a high count for the day of 4 adults was made at 12:54.  A juvenile Common Gull made a brief appearance at 12:10.

The adult Moorhen was also present throughout the visit, and it is still eating the gull droppings.

Wow, a first - no Jackdaws.  When I first started coming here, I can remember at least 14 birds from week to week.  Has something happened to the Jackdaw population as well?

The pair of Hooded Crows made two brief visits, and the male Pied Wagtail made numerous visits.

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