One of my Own...

Black-headed Gulls At Antrim Marina (Sunday 16th October 2016)

What a change in the weather, for my latest Sunday visit to Antrim Marina.  The first couple of hours, saw almost constant rain and the wind was quite strong, blowing in from a south-easterly direction.  The thick cloud, while it was raining, made for quite dark conditions and this seemed to reflect on the lack of birds present.

Having recorded at grand total of 24 'colour-ringed' Black-headed Gulls, so far this winter, I was on the lookout for two new arrivals today, as predicted in my last couple of posts.  The 'cr-ringed' gulls appeared in 'dribs & drabs' over the course of the morning.  At 10.30, the first of the two predicted birds and my 6th sighting of the morning, appeared -   2AAR .

The next 'cr-ringed' gull to be recorded at 11.15, was my 2nd predicted bird -   2ADV .  It is brilliant to have both of these back for another winter.  I've added their latest photos and arrival/departure dates below.

Black-headed Gull  -    2AAR   -  Antrim Marina  (16 Oct 2016)

Date	Details	Location
21 Dec 2012	Ringed as an Adult Male by Adam D. McClure	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
12 Mar 2013	Ring Read by Keith Stevens	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
05 Apr 2013	Ring Read by Artur Blad	Pomorskie, Gdańsk-Kowale, Poland - 1592km.
11 Apr 2013	Ring Read by Michal Polakowski	Podlaskie, Hryniewicze, Poland - 1919km.
20 Oct 2013	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
09 Mar 2014	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
17 Oct 2014	Ring Read by Adam D. McClure	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
15 Mar 2015	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
11 Oct 2015	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
15 Mar 2016	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
16 Oct 2016	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.

    2AAR's   History  -  Arrival & Departure Dates at Antrim Marina Each Colour Band Represents First & Last Sightings Each Winter

The Blue Colour Band is the Polish Sightings, the 2nd being at a Breeding Colony

Black-headed Gull  -    2ADV   -  Antrim Marina  (16 Oct 2016)

Date	Details	Location
16 Dec 2013	Ringed as an Adult Male by Adam D. McClure	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
22 Dec 2013	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
02 Feb 2014	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland
12 Oct 2014	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland
15 Feb 2015	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
04 Oct 2015	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
31 Jan 2016	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.
16 Oct 2016	Ring Read by Gareth D.A. Platt	Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Northern Ireland.

  2ADV's   History  -  Arrival & Departure Dates at Antrim Marina
Each Colour Band Represents First & Last Sightings Each Winter

When I arrived this morning, only two BHGs were present and a total of 46 gulls were counted at 11am.  After this, numbers started to increase, the maximum reaching around 100 gulls soon afterwards.  Overall, the numbers were surprising low, with such poor weather conditions.  I thought the gulls would be here in numbers looking for 'handouts'.

Only 14 'colour-ringed' BHGs were sighted altogether today.  With the arrival of   2AAR   and   2ADV , the overall total now increases to 26, out of the possible 33, that I hope to record by the end of the winter.  Next Sunday should see the return of   2ACX , possibly along with   2ADF , who I don't really expect back till the following Sunday.

Black-headed Gulls Sighted Today

2ACV	2AAH	2AAN	2AAF	2ADJ	2ABK	2AAR
2ADV	2AAD	2BRA	2AAT	2AAK	2ABA	2ABS

Black-headed Gulls Absent on Today's Visit

T35J	2AAP	2AAA	2AAC	2ABN	2AAB
2ABL	2ABF	2AAV	2ANS	2ALH	2CJR

At 11.10, 'One-Leg' arrived, hovering at the window of my car looking for her usual feed of bread.  Each time, she takes a piece from my hand, she flies in a circuit over the river, returning for another bit.  Having had her fill, she flew off and was not seen again for the remainder of my visit.

There is still no sign of   2AAS , which should have returned in early August, and I'm now fearing, we've 'lost' this one.    2ALH   has not appeared again - has it gone back to County Down?  I'll have to think about going to Bangor and Ballyholme, to try and locate it.

The youngster   2CJR , still has not re-visited Antrim Marina, so I reckon this one has moved on.  There was also no sign of the 'metal-ringed' youngster -   EY98706 , that I spotted briefly last Sunday.  The ringing details for this young gull have arrived from the BTO (see below). 

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, the darkened weather conditions, seemed to effect the number of birds seen at the Marina on today's visit.  On arrival only 24 Mallards were counted and there were no Mute Swans present.  The Mallard numbers reached a high of around 50 birds later in the morning, well down on the usual maximum.

One local even suggested the local Council were actually removing the ducks, which foreigners usually get the blame for.  I've been watching this site for long enough now, to know that numbers can fluctuate quite strongly, for whatever reasons.  I'd be quite sure, that no-one are taking them.

The first Mute Swans arrived in from the Lough at 10.00, this being the pair with the four cygnets.  They stopped by the small beach area for about five minutes and then swam back out onto the Lough.  A further four swans appeared, one at 11.30, the 'metal-ringed'   W34158   at 12.22, and the final two arriving at 12.36.  On looking at the legs of the un-ringed swans, the bird with the fish-hook embedded on it's leg was not here today.

No Common Gulls today, but a juvenile Herring Gull, arrived for a brief stop at 12.31.

Other birds recorded today, were a max of 14 Jackdaws, 1 Hooded Crow, 1 Magpie, 1 Pied Wagtail and 1 Grey Wagtail.  A Kingfisher was about for around 15 minutes on the opposite side of the river from the Marina.  Although, I heard it on a number of occasions, I could not see where it was.

Parkhall Estate & Antrim KFC

As   2AAV   was not at the Marina, I went to Elim Church at the Parkhall housing estate, to see if it was there, but no sign of it.  It has been four weeks since I last saw it here.  This seems to be it's favourite haunt away from the Marina, but goodness knows where it's going to, as I'm not getting it at the Marina either.

At the car park of the Antrim KFC, higher numbers of Black-headed Gulls were present, but again there was no sign of the 'metal-ringed' bird from Finland or the 'colour-ringed' bird from Norway.  Perhaps, these two have moved on as well.

Ringing Details Received

Great Black-backed Gull  -  White 9H3:C  & Common Gull  -    2A60 

As mentioned in my post last week, the sighting of White 9H3:C back on the 3rd of September, had slipped my mind, until I re-sighted the Common Gull   2A60 , at Millisle last Sunday.  Reporting   2A60   to Iain Livingstone, Secretary of the Clyde Ringing Group, I asked if   2A60   had been sighted anywhere since my last record of it on the 5th March 2016 and also enquired about the ringing details of 9H3:C.

Iain has replied, answering both questions.  Common Gull   2A60 , has not been reported since my last sighting in March.  The juvenile Great Black-backed Gull - White 9H3:C , was ringed as a chick on the 14th July 2016, at Lady Isle, an island situated just off the coast at Troon in Ayrshire, Scotland.  My sighting was a first for this gull, having flown 127 kms / 79 miles south-westerly, to reach Portavogie Harbour.

My thanks to Iain for supplying the info for both gulls.

Lady Isle, Troon, Scotland to Portavogie Harbour, N. Ireland

Black-headed Gull  -    EY98706 

This young Black-headed Gull was seen for less than two minutes at Antrim Marina last Sunday (9th Oct).  Having hurriedly taken a few photos, I was delighted to have captured the whole number on it's 'metal-ring'.  Having reported   EY98706   online to the BTO, I now have it's ringing details and a nice one it is too.

  EY98706  was ringed as a chick on the 17th June 2016, at the Saltholme Nature Reserve owned by The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.  Saltholme is situated on the east coast of England.  This is another long distance record of a youngster ringed on the British Mainland finding it's way to Northern Ireland, having flown 323 kms / miles west to get to Antrim Marina.

RSPB Saltholme Reserve, England to Antrim Marina, N. Ireland

In the autumn of 2015, I recorded three long distance juvenile BHGs.    EY98138 , another youngster from Saltholme, flew 300 kms / 186 miles to get to Victoria Park in Belfast.    EY13763  ringed at Coquet Island on the east coast of England, wintered at Antrim Marina, having flown 308 kms / 191 miles.  Best of the bunch was   EW45293 , ringed at Loch Borralie on the north coast of Scotland.  This one travelled an impressive 463 kms / 297 miles to Kinnego Marina, on the southern edge of Lough Neagh.  

Black-headed Gull  -     ST239.172 

Finally, after a long wait, the ringing details of Black-headed Gull -   ST239.172 , have arrived from Finland.  My first sighting of this gull was on the 18th September 2016, at the car park of the KFC outlet in Antrim Town.  It was still present there over the next two weeks, having been recorded on the 25th September and 2nd October.  I wrote in my post at that time, this gull was likely to have been ringed between 2002 and 2004.

My assumption was spot on, as   ST239.172 , was caught and ringed as a juvenile on the 11th July 2004.  What's more, it was ringed by the same ringer - Jyrki Matikainen, at the same location - Turku, as the Black-headed Gull that I spotted in Coleraine on the 11th August 2016.  This one,   ST255.167 , was ringed as a juvenile there in July 2006.

  ST239.172 , is now the third oldest BHG that I have recorded.  The Icelandic   571487 , ringed as a chick in 2003, is the 2nd oldest, while   ET02500 , whose full number was obtained in July 2016 (2nd attempt), at Ballywalter, was ringed as a chick in June 1998, on the Copeland Islands, here in Northern Ireland.

The distance from Turku to Antrim is 1,799 kms / 1,117 miles in a south-west direction.  12 years, 2 months and 7 days, had elapsed from ringing until the first sighting of   ST239.172 .

Turku, Finland to Antrim Town, Northern Ireland

Oystercatcher's  -  ON-WfY  &  OO-W(AA)

Last Sunday (9th October 2016), I spotted a 'colour-ringed' Oystercatcher on the mudflats at Dargan, Belfast.  Having reported 'ON-Y' to the Icelandic Wader Group, they confirmed my suspicion that this bird was missing a 'White-flag'.

ON-WfY - (Orange over Black - White flag over Yellow), was ringed as a chick on the 13th July 2015 at Miơhús, near Hella, Southern Iceland.  My sighting at Dargan was a first for this Oystercatcher.

OO-W(AA) - (Orange over Orange - White Darvic (letters AA), which I have now re-sighted several times at Carnlough Bay, in County Antrim, was caught on the nest while incubating 'dummie' eggs, on the 10th May 2016.  The Oystercatcher's real eggs were replaced after the bird was ringed and released.  The ringing site was at Brautarholt, which lies just to the north from the Capital - Reykjavik.

My thanks goes to Böddi, for supplying the ringing details for these two Oystercatchers.

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Saturday 15th October 2016

Today, I visited sites on the coast near Belfast.  With only a couple of hours to spare, I started at Whitehouse Lagoon and made my way northwards to Carrickfergus.  No new ringed birds were located, but I did re-sight five 'colour-ringed' birds, two of these with Orange 'Darvic's', being from Adam's NI Study.  All five birds have been recorded at these same locations in previous weeks.  The tide was well out, which was not very helpful.

Black-headed Gull  -    2ASF    -  Whitehouse Lagoon  (15 Oct 2016)

Common Gull  -    2AIP   -  Whiteabbey Shoreline  (15 Oct 2016)

Lesser Black-backed Gull  -    F461   -  Whiteabbey Shoreline  (15 Oct 2016)

Mediterranean Gull  -    PNU0   -  Whiteabbey Shoreline  (15 Oct 2016) 

Black-headed Gull  -    2AFB   -  Carrickfergus Harbour  (15 Oct 2016)

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Sunday 16th October 2016

After my latest visit to Antrim Marina, I decided to do a re-run of yesterday's sites, but included Dargan as a starting point and after Carrickfergus, visited Whitehead, Glynn and finished at Sandy Bay in Larne.

Ringed birds, whether new sightings or re-sightings were hard to come by today.  At Whitehouse Lagoon, I did spot a Black-headed Gull which had a taller 'metal-ring' than those used by the BTO, so I knew this gull was foreign.  Unfortunately, I was nowhere near it to take photos.  I did however spot the 'colour-ringed' Oystercatcher - GW-GfN.

At Whitehead, I saw two 'metal-ringed' Common Gulls, an adult and a juvenile.  Again, I could not get close enough to read these rings.  Of interest, was my second sighting of a Mediterranean Gull, this one was not ringed.  Before that, I had taken a better photo of   PNU0 , at Whiteabbey, the same 'Med' Gull I re-sighted there yesterday.

Mediterranean Gull  -    PNU0   -  Whiteabbey Shorline (16 Oct 2016)

Mediterranean Gull  -  Whitehead  (16 Oct 2016)

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Monday 17th October 2016

Today, I drove up to the north coast, stopping at Portrush, before calling by the Strand Road in Coleraine.  I was on the lookout for 'ringed' BHGs, which I located at both sites last winter.

After checking the gulls at the East Strand car park, followed by Landsdowne Crescent, both in Portrush, no ringed birds were sighted.  Reaching Coleraine, I stopped for a while at my sister's house.  Christine, had an operation recently.  I knew she had a problem, but she had kept the 'op', fairly quiet.

Leaving my sister's house, I then went to the Strand Road, where I quickly spied one of the Black-headed Gulls that I was after -   2E18 .  My first sighting of this gull was on Boxing Day 2015.  I last recorded the gull on the 30th January 2016.  Click (here) to read my post concerning the ringing details of   2E18 .  There was no sign of a Norwegian BHG, that I also recorded here last winter.  

Black-headed Gull  -    2E18   -  Strand Road, Coleraine  (17 Oct 2016)

Leaving the Strand Road, I drove to the McDonalds fast food outlet, quite close by.  This was my third visit here since August.  I struck lucky this time, as I spotted a juvenile BHG which was 'metal-ringed'.  I then realised the ring was on it's left leg and wondered straight away - could this be a gull that I ringed during the summer.

Examining lots of photographs, I had successfully completed the number -   EZ61022 .  This was one of the young Black-headed Gull chicks which I ringed at Inch Island Lake, in Co. Donegal, on the 31st May 2016, as part of my training to become a ringer.  I was really delighted to get this bird.

Back on August 11th 2016, I had spotted another BHG at Portrush which I had ringed on the same date.  Due to my attention being switched to a couple of Sandwich Terns, I never got the full ring number -   EZ610** , before the young gull flew away and has never been seen there since.  It could be possible, that the gull I got at McDonalds today, might be the same bird that I saw in Portrush.  

Black-headed Gull  -    EZ61022   -  McDonalds, Coleraine  (17 Oct 2016)

The distance from Inch Island Lake to Coleraine, is nowhere near as good as that of the young gull mentioned above, but all sightings count.    EZ61022 , has only travelled 51 kms / 32 miles east from County Donegal.

I even had the good fortune of this young gull, landing on the roof of my car.  Funny, the way some young gulls quickly lose their fear of people, especially when hunger begins to bite hard.

Black-headed Gull  -    EZ61022   -  McDonalds, Coleraine  (17 Oct 2016)

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