Car Problems...

By late Friday afternoon, this post was ready to be published, when an email arrived from Cameron Moore.  It included two ring sightings, and I really wanted to include these in this post, especially as a juvenile Black-headed Gull was of significance.  I could not work on the sightings as I was preparing for work.

Earlier on Friday afternoon, I called by Ballymena Tyres, where the mechanics also undertake repairs.  For just over a week now, a problem has developed within the wheel arch on the passenger side of the car.  It appears the housing holding the rear shocks has cracked and will need replacing.  This has meant that I have had to remain at home this weekend, as I don't want anything drastic happening.  The car has now been booked in for repairs next Thursday and Friday, and for now, I'm only using my car to go to Antrim Marina, and to work.  I've also booked those two days as holidays, which will give me some more time in the garden, and to free up time for my next blog post.

Yesterday (Saturday), and most of the day today, I have indulged heavily into the football and darts programmes on Sky TV.  Being a big fan of darts, I've been following the exploits of Fallon Sherrock.  Only now, am I finishing this weeks post.

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Antrim Marina - Monday 15th November 2021

This week's visit saw me arriving later than normal, as I had an early morning appointment.  Therefore, I got to Antrim Marina around 10:40, and stayed until 2:30pm.  Usually, I would go home to grab an hour or two's sleep which sets me up for the evening shift at work, but today, meant I had to forget that idea.

The morning was calm and sunny, with plenty of blue sky, although it was not that warm.  After last week's visit to Antrim Marina, five additions were made to this winter's list of colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, after another returnee was recorded and a further four birds were caught and ringed.  My list now had 48 birds altogether.

On my arrival, around 50 Black-headed Gulls were present, and numbers more or less remained the same until just after midday, when numbers quickly climbed to around the 120 to 130 mark.  There was no quickfire reading of codes today, as birds were checked off the list slowly throughout the morning.  The ring of   2BRA , was first to be read at 10:45, and my 31st and final ring -   2FHX , was read at 2:20pm just prior to my departure.

 

  2FHX , was one of the four to be captured and ringed last Monday, and the other three caught last Monday, were all recorded today as well - these being -   2FHP  my 11th sighting at 11:25,   2FHV  my 14th sighting at 11:48 and   2FHT  my 26th sighting at 1:13pm.  I managed to obtain my first photos for all four birds.  Interestingly, I had ringed -   2FHX , as an un-sexed 2nd winter bird, but on today's photo, the red legs make it appear to be a full adult.  The photo is edited slightly, where I had changed the colour and contrast slightly to make the photo look sharper, which may have changed the leg colour.  Perhaps this gull is a full adult, so I'm making a note to re-check this bird on my next visit.  The photos for all four birds caught and ringed last Monday, have been added here.

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FHP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FHT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FHV   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

 

Black-headed Gull  -    2FHX   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 8th November 2021, at Antrim Marina)

 

Last Monday's returnee -   2FFT , was my 30th ring sighting at 2:20pm, just seconds before -   2FHX .    2FFT  was caught and ringed on the 21st December 2020, but was not heard of again until it arrived back last week.

 

Once birds had arrived in numbers, many decided to perch on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre', so most legs were out of view.  This is a major problem on calm days, whereas, windy days help to keep the gulls off the roof.  There were 17 absentees today, and the final five birds on the list, were birds caught and ringed this winter, two of which have not been seen since they were ringed.

 

With it being such a nice day, the gulls were not approaching to closely on my attempts at catching a few more to add to my project.  After several attempts, I eventually managed to catch another adult.  This 'feisty' bird, was ringed -   2FIA , and becomes the 49th gull to be added to this winter's list.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 15th November 2021

2BRA	2FDV	2CSK	2FFA	2FHA	2AAB	2AAK	2AAN
2ABS	2ABK	2FHP	2FFF	2CTC	2FHV	2AAR	2FDT
2CJT	2FHJ	2FDJ	2FFL	2CSL	2ABL	2CTA	2FFX
2ACV	2FHT	2CSJ	2FDK	2CSA	2FFT	2FHX

Black-headed Gulls Recorded This Autumn/Winter but Absent Today

2AAA	2ABA	2ABN	2BRD	2CSB	2CSR	2CSX	2FFC	2FFJ
2FFN	2FFP	2FHC	2FHF	2FHH	2FHK	2FHL	2FHN

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Today, saw a nice jump in Common Gull numbers.  Up until today, just a maximum of three un-ringed gulls had been recorded at any one time, and a fourth metal-rung bird had not been seen since the 16th August 2021. 

 

Seven Common Gulls was today's maximum, with the small Scottish-rung female being the sixth of those, and was spotted at 12:55.    EY64036 , was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland.  The bird was first spotted here as a juvenile/1st winter bird on the 9th February 2014.  Since then,   EY64036  has returned to winter here every year since.  My sighting in August past, was the earliest return to be recorded over the years, and the latest sighting before departing, was made on the 15th March 2015.

 

At times, the gull is not a frequent visitor to the Marina itself, but is obviously remaining on Lough Neagh, which is Britain's largest freshwater lake.  The gull has yet to be recorded away from Antrim Marina, which is not surprising, as metal-rings can be difficult to read.  Even today, I could not manage to capture the last digit on it's metal.  The duration since being ringed, is now 8 years, 4 months and 26 days, and the distance from Hunterston, is 141 kms / 87 miles (SW).  

 

Common Gull  -    EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Nov 2021)

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

 

Four Mute Swans, were on the slipway when I arrived today.  I'm certain, these are the same four birds recorded here last Monday, consisting of a pair, and two unrelated individuals.  One of those two, is the same bird which sits beside my car every time I come here.  As is the case every week, passers by find it amusing that the swan is so friendly.  The bird knows that I would have bread with me, so is always looking for it's share.  When I move away from my car, it follows me about, and would grab a beak full of bare flesh on my arms as if to say feed me now.  

 

Again, there was no sign of any of the cygnets.  There were two family groups, with six and two cygnets, plus I had one further cygnet which I think was independent.  So far this winter, swan numbers have remained pretty low.  Last winter, Debbie Nelson ringed four cygnets at Antrim Marina, and I had hoped that some of them might arrive back this winter, but no joy so far.

 

Mallard numbers started off fairly low, with just 24 birds present.  As the morning wore on, numbers easily reached the 80 to 90 mark, but still no rings.

 

An adult Herring Gull arrived at 11:10, and spent most of it's time perched on the long wooden jetty.  This one, was not the usual adult, which has not appeared of late.  A juvenile Herring Gull, which arrived just after midday, is likely to be the same individual previously recorded here.  This bird, was willing enough to approach people, which makes me believe it was the same youngster.

 

Just 5 Jackdaws and 1 Hooded Crow, were the only other species noted.  A Kingfisher could be heard out on the river, but wherever it was, I could not see it.

 

********************************************************

 

Sunday 14th November 2021

Having problems with the car, I was going to stay at home for the weekend, but ended up going out for a short time today.  Starting at Cushendall, I planned to work my way southwards towards Carrickfergus.  After reaching Whitehead, the rain began to fall heavily, so I then called it a day and headed for home.

Only two ringed Oystercatchers were spotted, the first being a second sighting this winter at Carnlough Bay, of the Icelandic bird - OO-W(AA).  A metal-rung Oystercatcher at Sandy Bay in Larne, was likely to be -   FH84092 , which had been ringed in 2014 in the Orkney Islands in Scotland.  Although I was within distance to photograph the ring, very poor light prevented me from capturing any of the digits.  The whole afternoon was governed by low cloud which sat on the hilltops, plus showers of light drizzle.

At Whitehead, I came across Cameron Moore.  Together, we had a laugh about him sending me the wrong photos for the Danish  Black-headed Gull, which I reported on in my previous post.

 

********************************************************

 

From Cameron Moore

Just as I was preparing to publish this post late on Friday afternoon, an email arrived from Cameron Moore.  Cameron was reporting on two gull sightings, which he made the previous day and today.  The gull from yesterday, just simply had to be included in this post, as it was now the third sighting this winter of  juvenile Black-headed Gull - (White) 2503.

White 2503, was ringed as a chick, on the 17th June 2021, on Goat's Island, Lough Ree, County Longford in the Republic of Ireland.  The youngster's first re-sighting was made by me on the 28th August 2021, when I came across the bird at the Mill Ponds at Carrickfergus Leisure Centre in County Antrim, which was a distance of 189 kms / 117 miles (NE) from Lough Ree.

On the 20th October 2021, David Morrow then reported - (White) 2503, at Dungannon Park in County Tyrone.  The distance from Lough Ree, was now 127 kms / 78 miles (NE), and Brian Burke who is the ringing co-ordinator for the Lough Ree Gull Project, suggested that the juvenile may be working it's way back home.  The distance from Carrickfergus to Dungannon, saw the youngster moving around 66 kms / 41 miles (SW).

 

Cameron's sighting of - (White) 2503, on the 18th November, took both Brian and myself by surprise - I stated 'Brilliant', and Brian stated 'Wow'.  The bird had returned to Carrickfergus, where Cameron photographed the youngster on the seawall at Rhanbouy Park, which is private residential housing on the southern edge of the town, and overlooks Belfast Lough.  Brian gave a distance of 187 kms / 116 miles (NE) from Lough Ree, and the duration since being ringed, is now 5 months and 1 day.

 

Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  2503  -  Rhanbouy Park, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (18 Nov 2021)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 17th June 2021, on Goat's Island, Lough Ree, Co. Longford, Republic of Ireland)

(Photo Courtesy of Cameron Moore)

 

No photos were included for Cameron's second ring sighting.  On the 19th November, juvenile Herring Gull -   GY32616 , was spotted on the seafront at Whitehead in County Antrim.  On entering the number on the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, the ringing details have not been submitted as yet.  However, on the 29th August 2021, Suzanne Belshaw recorded a juvenile Herring Gull rung -   GY32604  in Lisburn, Co. Antrim.  It took a couple of week's before the ringing details arrived for that bird.

 

It is therefore likely that both birds were ringed on the same date, which was on the 10th July 2021.  The ringing site was at Lighthouse Island in County Down, which is home to the Copeland Bird Observatory.  The duration for   GY32616 , would now be 4 months and 9 days since being ringed, and the distance to Whitehead, is around 13 kms / 8 miles (NW).

 

My thanks to Cameron for both of these ring sightings, especially that of the juvenile Black-headed Gull.  This just goes to show how some juveniles tend to wander during their first few months, and there is still the possibility that a couple of juveniles which I've ringed at Antrim Marina in recent weeks, may be spotted somewhere, as they have not been seen since they were ringed.

 

 ********************************************************