Big Increase...

With the new year coming in, I did not get out last weekend, but still undertook my weekly visit to Antrim Marina on Monday morning, albeit, slightly later than normal.  Having complained about gull numbers at the Marina, Monday saw the highest numbers so far this winter.  Whilst at the Marina, I also recorded my first new ring sighting for 2022.

 

No ring sightings have come in from other observers, so it's been a quiet week for me otherwise.  I still have not got around to purchasing a new laptop, but for some strange reason, my current laptop seems to be running fairly well at the minute.  The problem started off with the a hinge locking the lid shut.  I had to force the screen open, which then revealed the left hinge from behind it's covering, which in turn exposed the wires running in behind the screen.  With opening and closing my laptop, these wires are slowly being damaged, possibly the cause for a frozen screen every now and again - who knows?

 

As am about to publish this post, we have had some snow.  Parts of Scotland has also seen a bit of snow, so perhaps some of their gulls will make their way over to Northern Ireland.  It will be interesting to see what's about this weekend.  One or two Norwegian colour-ringed Common Gulls on Kinnegar Beach would be nice.

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Antrim Marina - Monday 3rd January 2022

Today I had an appointment to contend with before I set off to Antrim Marina.  It was just before 11:45 when I arrived, and whilst on my journey from Ballymena to Antrim, it began to rain.  It was overcast throughout my visit, with frequent showers of rain or drizzle falling until around 3pm, when the rain finally ceased for the afternoon.

On arrival, it was pure 'manic', as folk were beside the slipway feeding the birds.  Compared to the last couple of visits, gulls were all over the place, with numbers easily topping 150 birds until shortly before my departure at just before 3:30pm.  At this point, 80 to 100 were still present.

This winter, a total of 39 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded, which had been ringed over previous winters at the Marina.  Having caught and ringed a further 14 gulls this winter, I was once again on the lookout for 53 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls today.  No further returnees have been spotted since the return of -   2AFD , on the 22nd November 2021.

 

I tried to catch and ring a few more gulls today, though clearly hungry, I reckoned most had a fairly good feed before I even arrived.  At one point during this visit, two groups of people arrived with each carrying a shopping bag full of bread.  Interestingly, it was not the swans or ducks that the bread was aimed at, but these folk went out of their way to feed the gulls only.  For most people, they don't like the gulls, and class them as a nuisance, but what they do not realise, it is the gulls which have the least natural food available at this time of the year.

 

A total of 33 colour-rings were read today, beginning with -   2CSK  at 11:46, and -   2FHJ  was the final ring to be read at 13:58.  Among the absentees once again is -   2AAR .  This gull, we know breeds in Poland, and returns to Antrim Marina to winter here.  This autumn/winter, he arrived back on the 18th October, and was recorded on each of seven visits up until the 22nd November.    2AAR , under normal circumstances would be among the first gulls to be recorded during each visit, and now with it's continued absence leads me to believe he has died.  He was ringed at the Marina as an adult male, on the 21st December 2012, and was one of the earliest gulls to be ringed belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study.  The duration as of my last sighting, was 8 years, 11 months and 1 day.  From now on, the column for -   2AAR  on my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet will be filled in with red, meaning the bird is no longer with us.

 

Another which will become red is -   2ADV , which has failed to return.  Usually, this gull would arrive back in mid October each winter, and would depart again in late January or early February the following year.  I was giving this gull the benefit of doubt, as having not arrived back last winter, it was actually photographed at Portrack Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees, England, on the 28th December 2020.  Due to the second 'Covid Lockdown' here in Northern Ireland, which came into force after the 4th January 2021, until early April 2021, I had no idea whether -   2ADV  actually made it back.  It's late sighting in England at that time, made me wonder whether the gull was sick or injured, this being the reason for not returning to the Marina.    2ADV , was ringed as an adult male at Antrim Marina, on the 16th December 2013, and the duration as of it's last sighting in England, was 7 years and 12 days.

 

Only recently,   2AAV  and   2FDV , were also regarded as having died.    2AAV , was ringed as an un-sexed adult at Antrim Marina, on the 28th December 2012, the duration when last recorded on the 14th December 2020, was 7 years, 11 months and 16 days.    2FDV , was ringed as a chick in England, on the 13th July 2020, and I caught and colour-ringed the then juvenile at Antrim Marina, on the 9th November 2020.  Having returned for a second winter on the 11th October 2021, when I last recorded this gull on the 29th November 2021, it had a broken leg and was looking very sorry for itself and has not been seen since.  The duration when last spotted, was 1 year, 4 months and 16 days.

 

Two of today's 33 re-sightings were especially of note, as these gulls were caught and colour-ringed this winter.    2FIA , was caught and ringed at the Marina, on the 15th November 2020, as an un-sexed 2nd calendar year bird.  It was subsequently recorded at the Marina, on the 22nd November & 6th December 2020.  It was then absent on the 13th & 20th December, but on my way home on the 20th December, I discovered   2FIA , at my local park here in Ballymena, which is roughly 17 kms / 10 miles (N).  Good to see that -   2FIA , has decided to return to Antrim.  When I spotted -   2FIA  in Ballymena, at that time I had wondered if the gull was making a move towards 'home' wherever that may be, but clearly not.

 

It was not until I got back home and entered today's sightings onto my spreadsheet, that I noticed, today's sighting of -   2FIF , was the first since the gull was caught and ringed at the Marina, on the 29th November 2020.  Ringed as an un-sexed adult, I had missed the opportunity to obtain my first photo of the bird, but will make a note for my next visit.

 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 3rd January 2022

2CSK	2CSB	2FDK	2CSL	2ABK	2CTC	2AAK	2FDJ	2ABS
2FFA	2CJT	2FHP	2FIH	2FFF	2CSJ	2CSR	2FIA	2ABN
2FFX	2FHA	2CSA	2FDT	2FHL	2AAN	2FHC	2ABL	2FIF
2BRA	2FFL	2FFJ	2AAA	2FFC	2FHJ

Today's visit was quite satisfactory, and the absence of gulls with Orange Darvics (table below) can be easily explained.    2AAB , when not at the Marina, would usually be found at Antrim's Baptist Church.    2AAR , has now been declared as recently deceased.    2ABA  &   2CTA , are classed as occasional visitors to the Marina, and I've no idea where they go to when absent.    2ACV , is regularly recorded at the Marina, and may have appeared after I departed.    2AFD , rarely visits the Marina these days, but now hangs out beside the car park at Castle Way in Antrim's town centre.    2BRD , appears on one to three occasions each winter, but the whereabouts of it's main wintering site is unknown.  However, the gull usually appears at Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh, in the weeks prior to the beginning of the breeding season.  

 

  2CSX , was recorded at the Marina, for three consecutive weeks, beginning on the 6th September 2021.  Having not been seen here since, this bird may well be at the former Waterworks in Belfast, a site where it is known to visit during the winter.  Recently, the Waterworks was closed to the public due to an outbreak of 'Bird Flu' amongst the swans.  The gull's previous re-sighting history, suggests that it will return to the Marina by early March prior to the beginning of the breeding season.

Among the Blue Darvics,   2FDV  has also been added to the deceased list.  The last eight gulls in the table of absentees, beginning with -   2FHF , have been ringed here this winter.    2FHF  &   2FHK , were ringed as juveniles, and have not been seen since the day they were ringed on the 6th September 2020 & 4th October 2020.  Juveniles do tend to wander during their first winter, but many also die due to starvation.  A couple of others in this list, were recorded during the weeks directly after being ringed, but are also absent for several weeks now.  They include adult, 2nd winter and juvenile birds, which may have been passing through at the time when they were caught and ringed.

 

All of the Black-headed Gulls ringed with Blue Darvics, have been ringed at the Marina in recent years, so it will take time to build up profiles for each bird.  The 'star bird' among this lot at the moment, is -   2FDJ , which was spotted in eastern Estonia in April 2020, before returning to the Marina on the 16th October 2021.

 

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

2AAB	2AAR	2ABA	2ACV	2AFD	2BRD	2CSX	2CTA	2FDV	2FFN
2FFP	2FFT	2FHF	2FHH	2FHK	2FHN	2FHT	2FHV	2FHX	2FIC

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, when I arrived at the Marina, it was pure 'manic', as the gulls, ducks and swans were being fed by folk visiting.  One gent in particular, was busy feeding a multitude of Mute Swans.  With so much movement, it took me a while to count these birds, but I ended up with a total of 20 white birds, which included a couple of immature birds, as well as five cygnets.  After a while, I managed to identify the cygnets as belonging to groups of three, and two, along with both parents.  All five of the cygnets easily came to hand, so they were well used to interacting with people.

 

As the swans repeatedly came ashore, and then back onto the water, I had no idea whether I saw the legs of all of the birds, but two metal rings were spotted.  The first of these, was -   Z78574 , which on site, I did not recognise.  On returning home, I searched for the number on my main Ring Reading Spreadsheet and had no matches, so this was my first new ring sighting for 2022.  I then entered the ring number onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database, and learnt that this was a first re-sighting for the swan, which was ringed as a juvenile on the 8th November 2020.  The only down side, is that DemOn does not reveal the ringing location.  I have submitted the sighting to the BTO, and I'm now waiting for their reply.  The duration since being ringed, is 1 year, 1 month and 26 days.

 

Mute Swan  -    Z78584   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (03 Jan 2022)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

 

  Z78574 , belongs to the same ring series, as of the second ringed swan -   Z78580 .  The series belongs to Debbie 'Doolittle' Nelson, who rescues and treats sick or injured wildlife here in Northern Ireland.  Swans frequently become patients for all sorts of reasons, with most being ringed or colour-ringed before release.  Debbie, along with Aidan Crean, was at Antrim Marina on the 15th November 2020, for a meeting which was cancelled at the last minute.

 

Whilst on site, Debbie took the opportunity to ring four cygnets, but only had three colour-rings.  The fourth bird to receive a metal only, was -   Z78580 .  My final sighting of -   Z78580  during the winter/spring of 2020/2021, was made on the 26th April 2021.  It returned to the Marina on the 6th December 2021 and has been recorded here every week since.  The duration for this bird, is now 1 year, 1 month and 19 days.  As yet, there has been no sign of it's three colour-ringed siblings.

 

Mute Swan  -    Z78580   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (03 Jan 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Juvenile, on the 15th November 2020, at Antrim Marina)

 

In last week's post, I made comment about the lack of Common Gulls visiting the Marina this winter.  Although the species is not a common winter visitor, numbers for this time of the year would normally reach the 12 to 15 mark.  If I remember rightly, this winters high has been seven birds, which was matched during today's visit.  Last Monday, I only recorded one Common Gull.  Among the seven today, was the small Scottish-rung female -   EY64036 .  Ringed as a chick on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston, Ayrshire in Scotland, the duration is now 8 years, 6 months and 14 days.

 

My usual adult Herring Gull was present throughout this visit, along with a second adult, which was not chased off.  A juvenile Herring Gull made a very brief appearance.  I think that there were far too many people about to it's liking.

 

Mallard numbers are still well down for this time of the year, with around 50 birds present through my visit.  Again, most legs were checked, but still no rings.

 

With the voloume of people about, just two Jackdaws and one Hooded Crow made brief appearances.

 

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