| Antrim Marina |
|---|
Due to ill health I had to cancel my weekly visits at Antrim Marina over the past two weeks and it is looking likely that I will have to miss this week's visit as well. This is not ideal, but, as old age sets in, all sorts of problems can occur.
In previous posts, I have highlighted the problems at Antrim Marina and Lough Neagh concerning the high density of the 'Blue/Green' Algae. Recently, I came across a video on YouTube giving the history of Lough Neagh and the neglect that over the year's has led to the problems of today. It is an interesting watch - Click onto the link below.
| Black-headed Gull - Orange 2CTA |
|---|
On the 13th October 2026, I was delighted to receive an email from Jasmine Davies, which had a photo attached. Earlier that day, Jasmine was at Fendrod Lake in Swansea (Wales) when she spotted a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull. Having took a photo, she realised that part of the code was missing due to damage to the ring. Having checked for a project, Jasmine noted my email address did not match the email address on the colour-ring, but she decided to contact me anyway.
I explained, that those colour-rings belonged to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study (2012 to 2018), and I now respond to sightings. As a ringer myself, I used the last of Adam's Orange Rings before moving onto Blue Rings.
The gull concerned, 2CTA , is a winter visitor at Antrim Marina and was ringed on site on the 10th December 2018 as an unsexed 2nd calendar year bird (hatched in 2017). With no summer sightings, I always suspected that 2CTA could be breeding in a foreign country due to it's return dates at Antrim Marina (mid to late October or early November). Once back, the gull is not a regular visitor at the Marina, but remains in the area of Antrim Town.
With this Welsh sighting, it might be possible that 2CTA breeds somewhere in Wales. On the other hand, due to date of this sighting, the gull could be breeding further afield and passing through Wales enroute to Northern Ireland. A breeding season record would still be useful.
Regardless, this is a nice sighting record and I thank Jasmine for her email and photo.
The duration since being ringed is now 7 years, 10 months and 3 days. The distance from Antrim Marina to Fendrod Lake is 374 kms / 232 miles (SSE).
)%20Swansea%20(Jasmine%20Davies).jpg)
Black-headed Gull - 2CTA - Fendrod Lake, Swansea, Wales (13 Oct 2026)
(Ringed as an Unsexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 10th December 2018, at Antrim Marina)
(Photo Courtesy of Jasmine Davies)
************************************************************************************