Really Delighted...

Antrim Marina - Monday 22nd August 2022

When I arrived at the Marina this morning, it was very cloudy, cool, and just a mild breeze.  As the morning wore on, the cloud broke, offering blue sky and some sunshine.  Today's visit is my fourth weekly visit so far this autumn/winter season, and just 11 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival.  So far, I have recorded 31 of my colour-ringed birds, and during today's visit, two more gulls were added to the list, including one bird that had left me wondering, as I had not seen it for a while.

Just 15 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were recorded today, which was really surprising as numbers had built up to around 110+ by 11:30.  The first of the two new returnees, was my third ring sighting made at 09:19.   2FHJ , was caught and ringed here on the 6th September 2021, as a juvenile/1st winter bird and was subsequently recorded through to the 14th March 2002.  During random breeding season visits to Antrim Marina,  2FHJ  was recorded on the 18th June 2022, which suggests that it had remained in the local area throughout the summer.  It is now the 8th bird from the 15 that I caught and ringed last winter, to have been recorded back this winter.  The duration since being ringed, is now 11 months and 16 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FHJ   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 8th September 2021, at Antrim Marina)

The return of -  2CSX , was especially pleasing to see.  It was my 12th sighting today, having arrived at 11:44.  I last saw -  2CSX , back on the 19th September 2021, but the gull is known to head away to the former Waterworks in Belfast and would return to Antrim Marina prior to the onset of the new breeding season.  Having said that,  2CSX  failed to show up in the spring of this year, which left me wondering if it was still alive.  For a while last winter, the Waterworks in Belfast was closed to the public due to an outbreak of 'Bird Flu', so there was little chance of it being spotted.   2CSX , was ringed here as a juvenile/1st winter bird, on the 3rd December 2018, and today's sighting takes the duration since being ringed to 3 years, 8 months and 19 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CSX   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (22 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 3rd December 2018, at Antrim Marina)

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 22nd August 2022

2FIA	2FFF	2FHJ	2FFA	2ABS	2FIH	2FHV	2FHX
2FHP	2CSB	2ABL	2CSX	2AAA	2FHA	2AAB

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

2AAK	2AAN	2ABA	2ABN	2ACV	2BRA	2CJT	2CSA	2CSK
2CSL	2CTC	2FDK	2FFC	2FFP	2FFX	2FHC	2FIF	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On my arrival, the Mute Swan family with their four cygnets, were swimming in from the breakwater at the entrance to Lough Neagh.  Having spent a while on the slipway, they then swam upriver for a time.  At 11:05, three adult Mute Swans swam in from the Lough and settled onto the small Sandy Beach.  Around 20 minutes later, they were chased off by the parents of the cygnets, when the arrived back at the Marina.

8 Mallards were present on my arrival, and numbers slowly built up to around 60 birds by the time of my departure.  As usual, most legs were checked.

3 adult Herring Gulls, plus one juvenile were on the long wooden jetty when I arrived, which included the bird with the injured wing.  It cannot fly, so just walks about.  Offering it some bread, it readily took it from my hand, so was obviously quite hungry.

One adult Common Gull was present throughout my visit, and at midday, a juvenile appeared on the long wooden jetty.  A second adult Common Gull arrived just before I departed.

Although Wood Pigeons are commonly seen flying in or around the Marina, today saw the first time that a bird actually landed on my side of the Marina.

5 Jackdaws, which included a juvenile, and a single Hooded Crow, were the only other species noted today.

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Friday 19th August 2022

The factory where I work at was closed for the day today.  Normally, the only day in the year that they do close is on Christmas Day, otherwise it runs 24/7 for the rest of the year.  Northern Ireland Electricity were cutting off the power due to maintenance work, hence the extra day off.  Those that wanted, could work on Sunday, take Friday as a paid holiday, or off on business reasons unpaid.  I opted for business reasons, so as to protect what holidays I have remaining.

With having this extra day, I decided to head west of Ballymena to check on sites at Toomebridge and then onto Ballyronan.  The lake at Lurgan Park and then back to Antrim Town, would see me driving around the whole of Lough Neagh - Britain's largest inland lake.

Last winter, I discovered that a fairly large number of Black-headed Gulls were to be found at the Eel Fishery at Toomebridge, so I decided that this site would be worth checking every now and again over future winter's.  Today, relatively few gulls were about, and the majority of them were actually on the water of the River Bann, which flows northwards from Lough Neagh, and eventually enters the sea at Castlerock on the north coast of Co. Londonderry.  A handful of gulls on the structure of the Eel Fishery were quickly scoped, but no rings.  A count of 18 Grey Herons were made, these all resting on the structure.

I then carried on towards the Marina at Ballyronan.  Here, I was on the lookout for one of my Black-headed Gulls, which had been ringed at my Antrim Marina Study site.  This bird -  2FFH , was ringed at Antrim Marina, as a juvenile/1st winter bird, on the 7th December 2020.  It was then recorded on the 14th & 21st December 2020, with the 'Covid Lockdown' coming into force after my visit to Antrim Marina on the 4th January 2021.  As the Marina was more than 10 miles from my home, I had to cancel all visits, which would have ended at the end of March.  With the end of the 'Lockdown', I visited the Marina, on the 19th April 2021, and -  2FFH , was still present.

This was the last I heard of the bird, until on email arrived with me, sent by David Morrow.  On the 12th October 2021, David spotted -  2FFH  at Ballyronan Marina, which lies 20 kms / 12 miles west of Antrim Marina, in the north-west corner of Lough Neagh.  I had hoped, that it would return to Antrim Marina over the course of the 2021/2022 winter, but it never did.

The number of Black-headed Gulls at Ballyronan Marina on today's visit, was the largest I have ever seen here, and was in excess of 100 birds altogether, though juveniles made up at least a third of the total.  I spent a long time here, but in the end, there was no sign of -  2FFH .  I'm now pondering on the idea, that this gull may be foreign in origin.  If this was to be true, perhaps it is still too early for it to return to either Ballyronan or Antrim.  I would really love to record this bird again at either site, so this will be my target over the coming winter months.

From Ballyronan, it is a long drive south to reach Lurgan Park, but once in the area, I went to Kinnego Marina first.  Here, there was a lot of activity, with loads of people around, so the Black-headed Gulls were keeping their distance.  There are at least three of Adam's former project birds known to be still alive, as Suzanne Belshaw has spotted them over recent weeks.  I had no chance at recording anything here today.

At Lurgan Park lake, there were well over 150 Black-headed Gulls, and having used a full loaf of bread, not a single ring was spotted.  Many gulls remained on the lake itself, therefore a couple of regularly recorded ringed birds were perhaps present but not seen.

Heading on to Antrim, I first stopped by the town's Baptist Church.  Normally a good site for reasonable numbers of Black-headed Gulls, on my previous visit, not a single bird was present.  Today, around 20 birds were standing about the Churches car park, but no rings.

Unbeknown to me, when I drove towards the town's KFC car park, I was in for a big surprise.  When I began throwing out bread from my car, a Common Gull with a Blue Darvic landed right beside me.  This had to be one of my Rathlin Island birds, or a Copeland Island bird belonging to Shane Wolsey's former project.  On taking a couple of photos, I read the code -  2AJP , and could not believe my eyes - this was a gull that was recorded during the breeding season a few years back.

On returning home, and looking at my spreadsheet, the last sighting for the gull was made at Antrim Marina on the 14th July 2018.   2AJP , had been ringed as a chick, on the 29th June 2013, on Big Copeland Island in County Down.  As a juvenile, it was spotted at Poppintree Park in the City of Dublin on three occasions in March 2014 - 149 kms / 92 miles (SSW), from Big Copeland Island.

 2AJP , then went unrecorded until the 13th June 2016, when spotted by Suzanne Belshaw at my Antrim Marina Study Site.   2AJP , was subsequently recorded at Antrim Marina during the breeding seasons of 2016 to 2018, before disappearing altogether.  The bird was obviously breeding in the area, whether on the nearby former 'Torpedo Platform' or on the roof of the Tesco Distribution Centre in the Kilbegs area of Antrim Town.  Having not seen -  2AJP  over recent years, I thought the gull may have died, so this sighting was a bit of a shock.

This is my second surprise re-sighting over the last couple of weeks.  In my previous post, I reported on the re-appearance of Black-headed Gull -  2ANS , another Antrim Marina bird that had simply disappeared for some time.

Again, I'm really delighted with this latest sighting of -  2AJP .  This distance from Big Copeland Island to the KFC car park in Antrim Town, is 43 kms / 26 miles (W), and the duration since being ringed, is now 9 years, 1 month and 21 days.

Common Gull  -   2AJP   -  Antrim KFC Car Park, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 29th June 2013, on Big Copeland Island, The Copeland Islands, Co. Down)

Having sorted my Common Gull, scanning through the rest of the birds, I spotted a second year Black-headed Gull with a metal ring.  Surely, this had to be -  EA65722 , a bird that I first spotted here on the 14th August 2022.  I took a few photos of the ring only, as this is a quite nervy bird which cannot stay still.  Having captured - ' EA ' and ' 722 ', this was the very same bird.   EA65722 , was ringed as a chick, on the 26th June 2021, at Marlingford Hall, just west of Norwich in Norfolk, England (read my previous post).

Leaving KFC, I then drove to the Castle Way car park in Antrim's town centre.  This is where I had recently came across -  2ANS , but it was not among the two dozen Black-headed Gulls here today.  No rings were recorded, though it is still a bit too early to record the return of a metal-rung Black-headed Gull from Germany, or the return of -  2AFD  from Latvia - one of my Antrim Marina Study birds.

The car park at the Junction One Shopping Centre, was my final stop before heading back home to Ballymena.  Throwing out bread from my car, attracted the most gulls that I have ever seen here - Herring, Lesser Black-backed, Common and Black-headed Gulls.  Eventually, one distant colour-ringed bird was spotted, and this turned out to be - Black-headed Gull -  2CSK  from my Antrim Marina site.   2CSK , was not recorded at Antrim Marina on the following day, during my weekly visit.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CSK   -  Junction One Car Park, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 17th December 2017, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

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Saturday 20th August 2022

On completion of a few Saturday chores, I departed from Ballymena in the early afternoon to visit sites in and around Belfast.  It turned out to be a frustrating afternoon, as not a single ring was spotted, despite scoping hundreds of legs.  Out of all these, I had expected to get one ring at least.

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Sunday 21st August 2022

After my disappointing visit to Belfast yesterday, I decided to re-visit many of the same sites again today, and surely I had to get something this time.  The result was more or less the same as yesterday until I reached the mudflats at Dargan late into the afternoon.  Before reaching Dargan, Kinnegar Beach really had me scratching my head.  For being such a nice day, for once, very few people ventured onto the beach which was swarming with gulls and waders.  Despite the excellent numbers, I could not believe it, as not a single ring was to be seen.

When I got to the mudflats at Dargan, the tide was well up and Black-tailed Godwits were the most numerous species by far, with at least 150 to 200 birds in all.  Gulls and other waders, were also present in small numbers.  I spent quite a while scoping through the Godwits, as many birds were so far from the waters edge, that their legs could not be seen.  Eventually, I recorded two with colour-rings that had been ringed locally.

The first bird - Blue/Red - Orange (=), was a new sighting to me, although I have two previous re-sightings on my spreadsheet.  It is from a catch of 24 birds, caught and ringed on the 21st April 2021, at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve, just 2kms to the east from Dargan.  The previous sightings were reported to me by Brian Douglas on the 17th February 2022, and Derek Polley on the 24th March 2022, at the WoW Reserve.

The second bird - Green/Green - Orange (=), was one of two that I recorded here on the Dargan mudflats last weekend.  The duration for both birds, is now 1 year and 4 months. 

Black-tailed Godwit  -  Blue/Red - Orange (=)  -  Dargan Mudflats, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (21 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 21st April 2021, at RSPB Window on Wildlife Reserve, Belfast Harbour Estate)

Black-tailed Godwit  -  Green/Green - Orange (=)  -  Dargan Mudflats, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (21 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 21st April 2021, at RSPB Window on Wildlife Reserve, Belfast Harbour Estate)

After leaving the Dargan Mudflats, I drove the short distance to Whitehouse Lagoon.  Although the tide was now well up on Belfast Lough, at this point, it had not reached the pipes which run underneath the motorway, which would eventually flood the Lagoon.  There were hundreds of gulls of various species, along with good numbers of waders, especially Oystercatchers.  Having spent far longer here than I had intended, not even one metal ring was seen.

I had intended to visit the shore at nearby Whiteabbey, but when I got there, the beach had all but disappeared.  With it now being high tide on the coast, I needed an inland site to work with, and none better than the leisure centre at Carrickfergus.  My aim here, would be to see if I can find Black-headed Gull -  2CPS .  Parking at the leisure centre, I made my way to the 'Mill Ponds', which is a quite large lake rather than a pond.  Walking over the small footbridge onto the island in the centre of the pond, there on the ground at the other end of the footbridge was -  2CPS .

There is no doubting that -  2CPS , is a regular wintering bird here at the Mill Ponds, but surprisingly, today's sighting is only the 13th record for the gull here.  The is due to the lack of visits made by 'Ring Readers', meaning the gull is under-recorded at this site.   2CPS , was ringed as a chick, on the 16th June 2017, at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre lies just 12 kms / 7 miles south from Blue Circle Island.  Over the years since being ringed,  2CPS  has been recorded here at least once every winter, the duration now being 5 years, 2 months and 5 days.  The last sighting had been made here on the 16th January 2022, so if nothing else, a good few months has been added to the birds longevity.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CPS   -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (21 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 16th June 2017, on RSPB Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

There has been a pair of Mute Swans at the Mill Ponds for years now, and while I was on the island in the middle of the pond, the pair along with 5 large downy cygnets came ashore to get their share of the bread that I was using to attract the gulls to me.  At first, I paid little attention to the adults, but after a while I noticed that the male had a metal-ring.  He must be a new bird here, as in the past, none of the swans were ringed.  The two of us walked around in circles, as I tried to obtain a photo of the ring, though eventually he stood long enough that I could obtain the number -  Z90262 .

Thinking that this was a new sighting for me, on returning home, I entered it's number onto the BTO's DemOn Ringing Database.  The Database reveals ringing and re-sighting details, but not the locations.   Z90262 , had been ringed as a second calendar year male, on the 12th February 2016, and two re-sighting dates were listed.  The first of these was on Christmas Day 2020, which left me wondering, as I think I'm the only 'Ring Reader' in Northern Ireland, that actively goes out looking for rings on Christmas Day. 

I made a search of the number on my 'Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet', and low and behold, I had recorded the bird on Christmas Day.  Back in 2016, the swan had been ringed at Belfast's Victoria Park, and my sighting on Christmas Day 2020, was at Belfast's former Waterworks at Cliftonville.  The date of the second sighting on DemOn, was given as being on the 27th April 2022.  Surely, this second sighting must have been made here at the leisure centre, so sent a request to the BTO for the location of that sighting.  The location, was simply given as Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, but in all likelihood, it had to be here on the Mill Ponds.

The distance from Victoria Park, is 15 kms / 9 miles (NNE), and the duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 6 months and 9 days.  I really felt quite chuffed, at having recorded another bird from the past.  Ring Reading, will always throw up some interesting re-sightings, and at present, I've been obtaining a few of these of late.

Mute Swan  -   Z90262   -  Carrickfergus Leisure Centre, Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim  (21 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a 2nd Calendar Year Male, on the 12th February 2016, at Victoria Park, Belfast)

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw has been in touch again, concerning the re-sighting of a Herring Gull at Tyrella Beach in County Down.   T7VE , was ringed as a chick on the 3rd July 2019, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man.  This latest sighting, is now the fourth since the gull was ringed.  The first was made by Declan Clarke, on the 26th January 2020 at Ardglass Harbour in County Down.  On the 21st July 2020, Graham McElwaine recorded the gull at the high tide roost on the South Inner Bay at Dundrum in County Down.  Tyrella Beach, was the scene of the third sighting, made by Suzanne herself, on the 9th September 2020.  This latest sighting takes the duration to 3 years, 1 month and 1 day since being ringed, and Tyrella Beach is situated 64 kms / 39 miles (WNW) from the Calf of Man.

My thanks again goes to Suzanne for the sighting report, along with the photos.

Herring Gull  -   T7VE   -  Tyrella Beach, Co. Down  (04 Aug 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd July 2019, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man)

Ringing Recovery

In my previous post, we were waiting on the recovery details of another Herring Gull spotted by Suzanne at Kilkeel Harbour in County Down, this one being a juvenile/2nd year bird.  The recovery has now arrived, and  J64:M , was ringed as a chick, on the 27th June 2021, also on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man.  Suzanne's sighting, was a first for this bird, and came 1 year, 1 month and 18 days after being ringed.  The distance to Kilkeel Harbour, was given as 79 kms / 49 miles (W) from the Calf of Man.

The sighting of  J64:M , along with another couple of Isle of Man gulls, has been reported to ringing coordinator Mark Fitzpatrick, who last responded back in early June.  It is very unusual for Mark not to have responded by now - I'm hoping that everything at his end is ok.  He might still be busy with the gulls on the Calf of Man, especially as they have not had their ringing suspended due to 'Bird Flu'.  The other two gulls were submitted to the BTO by their colour-codes only, but these were not on their system, so we are now waiting on a reply from Mark.

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