Double Whammy...

Antrim Marina - Monday 19th December 2022

Due to illness, I failed to get to Antrim Marina on Monday 5th December and on Monday 12th December, which now means that I have missed out on four visits to the Marina this winter.  The first of these two weeks occurred in October (17th and 24th), due to a severe kidney infection, which saw me off work for two weeks as well.  On returning to work, I also came down with a cold for two weeks, though I was able to work through that, but remained at home over the weekends so as to not complicate matters further.  This time, I was hit with a double whammy, as I was hit with both a tooth and throat infections at the same time.  On Wednesday the 14th December, I was about to leave home for a quick visit to Antrim Marina when an email arrived from a Dermot Hughes.

Dermot, along with John O'Boyle were scheduled to undertake a WEBS count at Lough Beg, but found themselves 'fogged out', and therefore decided to take their lunch at Antrim Marina.  With the car surrounded by hungry gulls, they soon noticed birds with colour-rings.  A total of 12 gulls were spotted with these rings and Dermot passed on the sightings to me.  This prompted me to remain at home to process the sightings, entering them onto my main Ringing Reading Spreadsheet, my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet and Adam McClure's Black-headed Gull Database, which I have kept updated since he gave up on his former Northern Ireland Study.  Having done all that, my next task was to create a spreadsheet for Dermot containing their 12 sightings and finally to submit them all to the BTO.  I then decided to visit the Marina on Thursday instead, but took a turn for the worse on Thursday and Friday.

The 12 gulls recorded, were pretty much 'run of the mill' sightings with the exception of -  2FIJ , which was a 4th re-sighting since being ringed as an unsexed adult, on the 10th January 2022.  After being ringed, no weekly sightings were recorded, but the bird was first re-sighted at the Marina by Suzanne Belshaw, on the 21st March 2022.  I then recorded -  2FIJ , on the 8th & 15th August 2022, but the gull had not been seen again until now.

My thanks goes to Dermot and John for their efforts, which shows that random visits from other observers can throw up some interesting sightings.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 12th December 2022

by Dermot Hughes and John O'Boyle

2AAN	2ACV	2CJT	2CTC	2FDK	2FFC
2FFF	2FFX	2FHA	2FHP	2FHX	2FIJ

With my problems having eased over the weekend, I returned to Antrim Marina on Monday 19th December 2022.  The weather had improved significantly, with temperatures rising into double digits.  There was thick cloud cover, which made it pretty dark throughout the visit, with the occasional light shower of rain.

On my arrival, just 21 Black-headed Gulls were present, and numbers quickly increased to around 60 birds, which remained more or less the same total until I departed.  The first gull recorded was -  2FFF  at 9:04.  Due to the lack of numbers, sightings of colour-ringed gulls was a long and drawn out process, with my 20th and final sighting of -  2CSB , having been recorded at 11:40.  Today, I had been on the lookout for 44 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls altogether that have been recorded or ringed throughout this winter, therefore today I had 24 absentees.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 19th December 2022

2FFF	2FFA	2CSR	2FHP	2AAN	2AAA	2FHX	2FFX	2ABN	2CJT
2FDK	2ACV	2CTC	2AAK	2BRA	2FIL	2CSK	2FFL	2FFC	2CSB

This turned out to be yet another poor showing by the gulls, which has been more or less a constant feature this winter.  I was hoping on another couple of returnees, seeing as I have missed a couple of visits.  There are several gulls that were recorded or ringed last winter, which so far have not returned this winter.  What's even worse, some of my 'key' gulls which have returned this winter, appear to have disappeared in recent weeks.  These 'key' birds are the like of -  2FDJ  from Estonia,  2FDL  from Sweden, and -  2FHV  from Iceland.  One gull on today's list of absentees -  2FIA , was seen by me at the Peoples Park in Ballymena on Friday past (16th), some 17 kms / 10 miles (N).  

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

2AAB	2ABA	2ABL	2ABS	2CSA	2CSL	2CSX	2FDJ
2FDL	2FDX	2FFP	2FFT	2FHA	2FHC	2FHJ	2FHV
2FIA	2FIF	2FIH	2FIJ	2FIK	2FIN	2FIP	2FIT

Despite the low number of gulls present, they were definitely biting today.  No doubt, the sub zero temperatures over the last couple of weeks was a major factor.  As no one arrived to feed the ducks, it was very easy to attempt to capture another gull or two to be ringed.  Crouching among the swans to hand feed them, bread dropped onto the ground was too tempting for some of the gulls.  A total of seven Black-headed Gulls were caught, but three of these were quickly released as they were already ringed.  When they steal in for the bread among the swans, it is not easy to see if they are ringed or not.  The four that were ringed, were a juvenile, an adult, and two second year birds in that order.  The juvenile, was one of just three that were present during today's visit and clearly shows that youngsters are not doing too well.

The four that were caught, have been ringed -  2FIV ,  2FIX ,  2FJA  and  2FJC .  After being ringed, I managed to locate two of the four gulls to obtain photos.  Goodness knows where the other two went to.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FIV   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Juvenile at Antrim Marina, today - 19th December 2022)

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (19 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, at Antrim Marina, today - 19th December 2022)

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On my arrival, just a single adult Mute Swan was present on the slipway.  A juvenile Mute Swan arrived from upriver at 9:35, soon followed by a second at 9:40 from the same direction.  Both juveniles made their way to my car and soon plonked themselves down for a snooze.  Not hard to tell, that they were two of the four cygnets that have been here since I began my weekly visits back at the start of August.  A few weeks ago, one of the cygnets had a bad leg injury and was limping quite heavily.  At one point, I had to lift this youngster to place it back onto the waters edge.  I have not seen this youngster since.

A second adult Mute Swan arrived in from the Lough at 9:45, and a further three adults came in from the Lough at 10:35.  None of the swans were ringed.

Around 20 Mallards were also on the slipway on my arrival.  By the time of my departure, the numbers had built up to the 50 mark, and as usual most legs were checked for rings.

There was no sign of the resident Herring Gull, but one did eventually appear at 11:20.  I know this is a bird recorded over recent weeks, as it landed on it's usual position on the archway beside the spot where I park my car overlooking the short concrete jetty.

An adult  Common Gull arrived at 9:56, and was the only one to appear today.

Just two Jackdaws appeared today.  I do not know what is going on with these birds, as numbers would have been a lot higher in previous winters.

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From Cameron Moore

On Saturday 3rd December 2022, an email arrived from Cameron Moore who lives in the small town of Whitehead situated on the shore of Belfast Lough, County Antrim.  Cameron would normally record ringed gulls and terns quite frequently at Whitehead, and has stated that for some reason, the number of ringed birds recorded at Whitehead, has dropped off somewhat as compared to recent years.  The most notable decline was that of Sandwich Terns, with far fewer birds passing through this autumn.  It is well known, that during the summer months, some Sandwich Tern colonies were badly affected with severe cases of Bird Flu.

However, on the 2nd December, a Danish Black-headed Gull returned to Whitehead, which is it's favoured wintering site.  (White) 5HA, was ringed as an adult male, on the 28th March 2015, at Gentofte Sø, an island near Copenhagen in Denmark.  It's first ever re-sighting was recorded by Cameron, on the 26th November 2016, at Whitehead, and has returned to Whitehead every winter since then.  Before this summer's breeding season, the last sighting was made by Ian Enlander, on the 12th March 2022.

I emailed the ringer, Kjeld Tommy Pedersen concerning Cameron's latest sighting of (White) 5HA, but as yet no reply has been forthcoming.  If I remember correctly, I also emailed Kjeld last winter as well, with the same result.

Cameron's latest sighting, is the 28th sighting record over the years at Whitehead.  With no updates from Kjeld, the only re-sighting of (White) 5HA back in Denmark, was recorded on the 16th April 2018, when the gull was spotted back at Gentofte Sø.

The duration since being ringed, is now 7 years, 8 months and 4 days, and the distance to Whitehead, is 1,160 kms / 720 miles (W).  My thanks to Cameron for reporting the return of (White) 5HA, along with the photo.

Black-headed Gull  -  (White)  5HA  -  Whitehead, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (02 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Male. on the 28th March 2015, at Gentofte Sø, Copenhagen, Denmark)

(Photo Courtesy of Cameron Moore)

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From Suzanne Belshaw

Suzanne Belshaw has also been in touch concerning her latest sightings made at Hillsborough Park Lake in County Antrim.  On the 28th November, and again on the 2nd December 2022, Suzanne recorded a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull -  2P44 , which were first sightings of this bird in Northern Ireland.  Knowing it was a Scottish-rung gull, Suzanne emailed Iain Livingstone, who eventually replied with the birds details.

 2P44 , was ringed as a chick, on the 18th June 2019, at the Elvanfoot colony in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.  One previous re-sighting, was made on the 30th October 2019, when the then juvenile was spotted by Jan Rod, at Gormanston Strand in County Meath, in the Republic of Ireland.

The duration since being ringed, is now 3 years, 5 months and 15 days, and the distance from Elvanfoot, is 188 kms / 116 miles (WSW).

Black-headed Gull  -   2P44   -  Hillsborough Park Lake, Hillsborough, Co. Antrim  (28 Nov 2022 & 02 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 18th June 2019, at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, Scotland)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

Whilst at Hillsborough Park Lake on the 2nd December 2022, Suzanne also recorded the resident Mute Swan -  NLB .   NLB , was ringed at Hillsborough Park Lake, as an adult male, on the 2nd March 2019, by Debbie Nelson and Aidan Crean.  This latest sighting record, is the 8th for this swan overall at Hillsborough, and the duration since being ringed, is now 3 years and 9 months.

Again, my thanks goes to Suzanne for these sightings and photos, and Suzanne has already informed me that there are more to come.

Mute Swan  -    NLB   -  Hillsborough Park Lake, Hillsborough, Co. Antrim  (02 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 2nd March 2019, at Hillsborough Park Lake)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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The Peoples Park, Ballymena

Despite being still quite ill, on Friday 16th December 2022, I made a quick visit into town to sort out a couple of chores.  On returning home, as I drove past the Peoples Park, I spotted Black-headed Gulls standing on the ice on the parks lake.  An opportunity not to be missed, I returned to the park after collecting my camera from home.  About a quarter of the lake was frozen, with around 100 Black-headed Gulls whose legs could clearly be seen.  Scanning through these, two colour-rings were recorded.

The first, was that of -  2AXV , who is a winter visitor to the park, but at the same time, is a gull who is extremely hard to 'nail down'.  The parks lake, can be a bit of a hit and miss, as varying numbers of Black-headed Gulls can be seen here during the winter months.  When numbers are quite high, it can be tough going to try and persuade the gulls to leave the water where their legs can be viewed easily.  They also prefer to perch on the roof of the former 'Cottage Hospital', though even here, it can be difficult to see all of the legs.

 2AXV , was ringed as a chick, on the 7th June 2016, at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, in the West Midlands area of England.  My first sighting of the then juvenile at the Peoples Park, was made on the 23rd October 2016, and since then,  2AXV , has been re-sighted at the park at least once every winter since.

The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 6 months and 9 days, and the distance from Marsh Lane to Ballymena, is 408 kms / 254 miles (NW).  On the BTO's Online Ringing Reports, I came across one record of -  2AXV  having been recorded back at Marsh Lane, this being on the 11th April 2018.

Black-headed Gull  -    2AXV   -  The Peoples Park, Ballymena, Co. Antrim  (16 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 7th June 2016, at Marsh Lane Nature Reserve, West Midlands, England)

My second Black-headed Gull was actually one from my Antrim Marina Study -  2FIA .   2FIA , was caught and ringed as an unsexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird at the Marina, on the 15th November 2021.  After being ringed, it was recorded at the Marina on the 22nd November 2021 and again on the 6th December 2021, and was then spotted by myself on the 20th December 2021 here at the Peoples Park in Ballymena.

On the 3rd January 2022, 2FIA was back at Antrim Marina, and it was subsequently recorded there throughout the summer, except for the months of April and May.  The Peoples Park is situated 17 kms / 10 miles (N) from Antrim Marina, and the duration since being ringed, is now 1 year, 1 month and 1 day.

Black-headed Gull  -    2FIA   -  The Peoples Park, Ballymena, Co. Antrim  (16 Dec 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Winter Bird, on the 15th November 2021, at Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim)

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