Record High...

Antrim Marina - Monday 7th November 2022

When I departed from my home in Ballymena to drive to Antrim Marina, is was raining quite steadily, but thankfully on my arrival it had stopped.  It was cloudy and windy throughout my visit, with a forecast of more rain and stronger winds later in the day.

Just 18 Black-headed Gulls were counted on my arrival shortly after 9am, with -  2ABN  being the first ring to be read at 9:10.  Numbers quickly built up, with 16 colour-rings having been read by 10:01.  The maximum number of BHGs was estimated to be around the 100 mark, which for this time of the year, is still quite low.  Some of the colour-ringed gulls were clearly coming and going, so overall numbers would have been slightly higher.

I arrived with a list of 41 colour-ringed gulls to look out for, which included three birds that have been caught and ringed this winter.  No further returnees were recorded this week, and altogether 24 colour-rings were read by the time that I departed just after 12:30.  Ever thickening cloud made it look quite dark by this time.   2FFL , which was a returnee recorded last Monday, was recorded again today.  Of the two gulls that were caught and ringed last Monday ( 2FIL  &  2FIN ), only  2FIL  was spotted today.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 7th November 2022

2ABN	2AAK	2FIL	2AAA	2FHX	2FIF	2FFF	2FFA
2CTC	2FHP	2CSB	2CJT	2CSA	2CSR	2ABL	2FIK
2AAN	2FHC	2FDK	2FFP	2FDJ	2FFL	2ABS	2FIH

With 17 absentees, I was not particularly happy with my visit today.  In recent days around my home town of Ballymena, I have noticed large flocks of Black-headed Gull feeding in grass fields.  I'm now wondering if the amount of rainfall that has fallen over the last week or so, may perhaps be making it easier for the gulls to find food.  If this is also the case around Antrim, it would explain why I had so many missing gulls.

When I arrived this morning, little 'runty' was walking along the car park close to the in/out barrier, and I had to laugh to myself, when the gull saw me parking in my usual spot, those little legs worked at top speed as it walked back across the car park to my car.  I gave the gull it's fill of brown bread and I'm really pleased to see that it has survived so far.

I mentioned that the one-legged Black-headed Gull has not been seen recently, but at 9:15, whilst 'runty' was getting it's feed, the one legged gull started hovering in front of me looking for a feed as well.  Later, before I departed, I made another attempt to catch another gull or two for ringing.  Due to a few people having arrived to feed the ducks, they were not keen to come near me whilst I fed the swans, hoping to make a catch in the process.

As I finish this post on Friday afternoon (11th November), the news gave that last night saw a record high temperature for November in Northern Ireland.  Perhaps a few frosty nights would help to increase the number gulls visiting the Marina.

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

2AAB	2ABA	2ACV	2BRA	2CSK	2CSL	2CSX	2FDX	2FFC
2FFT	2FFX	2FHA	2FHJ	2FHV	2FIA	2FIJ	2FIN

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On parking at my usual spot beside the short concrete jetty, very few birds were present.  Other than the 18 Black-headed Gulls, the Mute Swan family with the four cygnets and just 20 Mallards were counted.  Over the course of the morning, the most noticeable non event, was the lack of Mallards arriving.  A further count just before I departed around 12:30, again gave a total of 20 birds.  What's going on here?, as numbers should be reaching anywhere from 60 to 100+ ducks at this time of the year.

Except for a short stint upriver, the Swan family were present throughout my visit.  Again, for this time of the year, more Mute Swans would normally be present.  Perhaps, over the last couple of months, other swans have arrived only to be chased off by the resident pair.  With one brief weekly visit, what does happen here concerning the swans, cannot be accessed properly.

The first adult Common Gull arrived at 9:30, followed by two other adults at 9:50 and 11:40.  All three were still present when I departed, and there is still no sign of the Scottish metal-rung bird.  The resident adult Herring Gull arrived at 9:50, with a second adult, a female arriving at 11:25.  A juvenile Herring Gull appeared at 11:55, and judging by it's reaction, this bird has not been here before.  It was keeping it's distance from people and eventually decided to park itself on the roof of the Gateway Centre.

A pair of Hooded Crows, 6 Jackdaws and a single Pied Wagtail, were the only other species noted today.

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From Luke Geraty

Recently, I received an email from my 'Ring Reading' counterpart in Dublin - Graham Prole, who redirected an email from a Luke Geraty.  Whilst visiting the Grangecastle Business Park in the City of Dublin on the 5th November 2022, Luke spotted two colour-ringed gulls, one a juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull belonging to the Isle of Man -  G74:M , with the second bird being a Black-headed Gull -  2CJF , which belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Study, which I now respond to.

Just for interest, Mark Fitzpatrick, who is the ringing coordinator for Manx ringed gulls replied to Luke concerning -  G74:M .  The bird was ringed as a chick, on the 4th July 2022, on the Calf of Man, Isle of Man.  Luke's sighting was the first for this gull, coming 4 months and 1 day since being ringed.  The distance is roughly 134 kms / 83 miles (SW).

 2CJF , was ringed as a chick, on the 3rd July 2016. at the RSPB's Blue Circle Island Reserve on Larne Lough, Co. Antrim.  The first re-sighting was made by myself, on the 26th August 2018, when I came across -  2CJF , on the shore of Kinnegar Beach situated on the Co. Down side of Belfast Lough.  From March 2019 to September 2021, the gull was recorded on Kinnegar Beach, or at the nearby RSPB Window on Wildlife Reserve where it nested on nesting platform two (9 sightings in total).  

The bird's wintering site was unknown until December 2021, when it was spotted by Graham Prole at the Grangecastle Business Park in the City of Dublin.  The gull was still at the Business Park on the 19th January 2022 when recorded by Tom Carroll.  On the 24th February 2022,  2CJF  was back on Belfast Lough, having been spotted by Ronnie Doggart back on Kinnegar Beach.  During the past summer, I made several attempts to record -  2CJF , back on the RSPB WoW Reserve or on the Kinnegar Shore without any luck.

This latest sighting made by Luke at the Grangecastle Business Park, was brilliant to receive, as it now proves the gull is still alive and well, and also adds much time onto the bird's longevity.  The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 4 months and 2 days, and the distance from Larne Lough to the City of Dublin, is 171 kms / 106 miles (SSW).  My thanks goes to Luke for his sighting and for his permission to allow me to report on the sighting along with the photo.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CJF   -  Grangecastle Business Park, Dublin City, Republic of Ireland  (05 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 3rd July 2016, at RSPB Blue Circle Island NR, Larne Lough, Co. Antrim)

(Photo Courtesy of Luke Geraty)

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Sunday 6th November 2022

Having remained at home over the past three weekends due to being ill, I was looking forwards to getting out this weekend, but ended up going out on Sunday only.  I decided to visit sites around Belfast, but on the way, I called into the town of Antrim to check out a few sites.  In Antrim, I recorded two re-sightings, and in Belfast, I had no luck until I reached the Connswater Mudflats, where I had three re-sightings.

The first of two Black-headed Gulls to be found in Antrim, was my third record sighting of -  EA65722 , at the KFC car park.  It was ringed as a chick, on the 26th June 2021, at Marlingford Hall in Norfolk, England.  My sightings for this gull are the only ones so far, having previously recorded the gull at the KFC car park, on the 14th and 19th August 2022.  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 4 months and 11 days, and the distance from Norfolk to Antrim, is 536 kms / 333 miles (WNW).  It appears that -  EA65722  will remain in Antrim over the coming winter.

Black-headed Gull  -   EA65722   -  Antrim KFC, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (06 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 26th June 2021, at Marlingford Hall, Norfolk, England)

On reaching Antrim's Baptist Church, I was shocked to record the Polish-rung Black-headed Gull - (White) TY43.  A regular winter visitor to the church, I decided that the gull had died, as last winter, it was recorded on just the one occasion - 30th October 2021.  Even, over the past summer, I checked on a number of occasions on the 'Live Polish Ringing Database', to see if the gull had returned to Poland, but there were no entries.

(White) TY43, had been ringed as an unsexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 9th February 2012, in the Olsztyn area in Poland.  The first ever re-sighting, was made by Adam McClure, on the 29th October 2013, when he spotted the gull at Antrim Marina.  From then, this gull went unrecorded here in Northern Ireland, until the 16th October 2017, when I fell in with (White) TY43, here at the Baptist Church, which is now it's favoured wintering site.  Since 2017, I have now recorded the gull every winter at the church.  Back in Poland, the gull has been recorded back in the Olsztyn area in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The duration since being ringed, is now 10 years, 8 months and 28 days, and the distance to Antrim, is 1,725 kms / 1,071 miles (W), from Olsztyn.  Having already made several visits this winter to the church this winter, I really did not expect this sighting.

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  TY43  -  Antrim Baptist Church, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (06 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Bird, on the 9th February 2012, at Olsztyn, Poland)

In Belfast, I was a trifle frustrated with no ring sightings until I reached the Connswater Mudflats on Belfast Harbour Industrial Estate.  Here, I re-sighted two Black-headed Gulls belonging to Adam McClure's former NI Study, with both birds being regular winter visitors to the area.  On these same mudflats, in the past, I have recorded colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls from Norway, Poland, Germany, Holland and Denmark.

The first of Adam's Black-headed Gulls to be recorded today, was -  2AJV .   2AJV , was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2014, at the WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre in County Down.  As a juvenile, it was first re-sighted on the 30th October 2014, by Scott O'Hara, at the Connswater Shopping Centre car park, which is fairly close to the mudflats here, and the nearby Victoria Park.  From 2015, with the exception of 2017 and 2019,  2AJV , has been recorded wintering mainly on the mudflats, but occasionally recorded at Victoria Park.  The only summer sighting, was made on the 25th May 2019, when the gull was spotted back at it's natal colony at Castle Espie.

The duration since being ringed, is now 8 years, 4 months and 18 days, and the distance from Castle Espie to the Connswater Mudflats, is 16 kms / 9 miles (NW).

Black-headed Gull  -   2AJV   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Industrial Estate  (06 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2014, at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)

The second of Adam's Black-headed Gulls was -  2AKJ .   2AKJ , was ringed as a chick at Castle Espie, on the 15th June 2015.  The first re-sighting was made by myself on the 4th September 2016, when I came across the gull at Belfast's Victoria Park.  My next encounter was made on Christmas Day 2018, whilst feeding the gulls with bread at the car park on Connswater Road.  This car park serves to easily access both the Connswater Mudflats and Victoria Park.  During the winters of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, I recorded -  2AKJ  on the Connswater Mudflats.

The next series of sightings were made in the summer of 2021, and again during this past summer, when the gull was spotted back at it's natal colony at Castle Espie.  Although, I tried to locate -  2AKJ  last winter around Connswater and Victoria Park, I failed to locate the bird.  This winter, I fell in with the gull at Victoria Park on the 27th August, with today's sighting being the second for this winter.  The duration since being ringed is now 7 years, 4 months and 22 days, and the distance from Castle Espie, is 16 kms / 9 miles (NW).

Black-headed Gull  -   2AKJ   -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Industrial Estate  (06 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 15th June 2015, at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre, Co. Down)

On the mudflats, the number of Black-headed Gulls present, was the largest I have seen here, possibly pushing towards the 200 mark.  As it was quite late into the afternoon, more and more gulls steadily arrived.  This led me into prolonging my visit, and having already secured Adam's two gulls, a young couple stopped to ask if there was anything special.  They were quite interested, when I explained that I was looking for colour-coded rings on the gulls.  I even stated about a colour-ringed Scottish Oystercatcher which I was hoping to record, but I mistakenly said if got, the bird would be something like 18 years of age.

After a long chat, they proceeded on their way and were not even out of sight, when a small flock of Oystercatchers arrived.  Scoping through them, there was my Scottish bird, which hurriedly walked to the fresh water outlet to bathe.  The waiting game had now started, and I was a bit worried, as the light was beginning to go.  Eventually, the bird exited the river and I managed to capture the code.  On the left leg, a plain red ring was placed above the metal ring, and on the right leg, the red coded ring read - Y1 - (R-R(Y1).

R-R(Y1), was originally ringed with a metal ring only ( FA73649 ), as an unsexed adult, on the 29th March 1996, on the River Spey in Newtonmore, in the Highlands Region of Scotland.  The bird was caught on the 17th March 2018 at the same location, and was given a new metal ring ( FP48164 ), as well as having the colour-rings fitted.  Since then, all sightings of this bird has been recorded by myself.

I first came across - R-R(Y1), on the 11th August 2019, on Kinnegar Beach, which is only a few minutes drive away from the Connswater Mudflats.  Further sightings have all been made on the mudflats - February 2020, November 2020 and February 2022.  My latest sighting, actually takes the duration, to 26 years, 7 months and 8 days since the original ringing date (sorry folks if your reading this, as you left with a card for my blog).  The distance from Newtonmore, is 295 kms / 183 miles (SSW).

Oystercatcher  -  R-R(Y1)  -  Connswater Mudflats, Belfast Harbour Estate, Belfast  (06 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 29th March 1996, at Newtonmore, Highland Region, Scotland)

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