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Antrim Marina - Monday 28th November 2022

My goodness - what a turnaround.  Having complained about the lack of gulls at Antrim Marina during my last few visits, today, I was blitzed with them.  Right from the go, well over a hundred Black-headed Gulls were present throughout my visit, which really kept me on my toes.  I certainly was not bored today.  Numbers seemed to drop just slightly by the time of my departure, though an unknown number had parked themselves on the roof of the Gateway Centre.

I arrived at the Marina at 9:05, having made light work of the traffic for a change.  It was a clear sunny and calm day, with a slight nip in the air early on.  I was on the lookout for 41 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, which included three birds which had been caught and ringed this winter.

The first colour-ring to be read, was that of -  2FIF  at 9:07.  An hour later, the ring of -  2ABN  was the 26th colour-ring read.  The 24th colour-ring read at 9:55, saw me rushing back to my car to grab the camera, as I had spotted a new returnee -  2FDL .  This was one bird that I have been particularly keen to re-sight at the Marina, having been spotted in Sweden back on the 3rd April 2022.

 2FDL , was caught and ringed at the Marina, on the 18th November 2019, as an unsexed adult.  After being ringed, it was recorded on five of my weekly visits, with the last sighting of the 2019/2020 winter having been made on the 20th January 2020.  The following winter of 2020/2021,  2FDL  was not re-sighted at all, and finally turned up again on the 31st January 2022, with a second sighting at the Marina on the 7th February 2022.

Then came an email from Claes-Göran Magnusson, who spotted -  2FDL  at Råstasjön Nature Reserve, at Solna, on the edge of Stockholm, Sweden, on the 3rd April 2022.  The nature reserve has a breeding colony of around 400 pairs of Black-headed Gulls, though -  2FDL  was not seen again, therefore it is unknown for certain whether this gull bred at the site.  The distance from Antrim Marina, is 1,551 kms / 963 miles (ENE).

I was really delighted to record the return of this bird, as it now completed the circle.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FDL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed Adult, on the 18th November 2019, at Antrim Marina)

As mentioned above,  2ABN  was the 26th colour-ring to be read at 10:05, and after that, only a further four rings were read taking the total to 29, excluding the return of -  2FDL .  The ring of -  2CSL , was the last to be read at 12:05, by which time numbers had decreased slightly.  Interestingly, this was only the second appearance of -  2CSL  this winter at Antrim Marina, having previously recorded the gull's return on the 2nd August 2022.  Between these two sightings at Antrim Marina, I had spotted -  2CSL  in the car park of Antrim's KFC Outlet on the 8th September 2022.

Away from Antrim Marina,  2CSL  has been recorded on just the one occasion, and that was back in March 2018, when it was seen at Olsztyn in Poland - 1,740 kms / 1,081 miles (E).

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 28th November 2022

2FIF	2CJT	2FFF	2AAB	2AAK	2CSR	2FHP	2CTC	2FIK	2AAN
2ABL	2BRA	2FDK	2FFA	2FFL	2FHC	2AAA	2FHA	2CSK	2CSB
2ACV	2FIL	2CSA	2FDL	2FIH	2ABN	2FFP	2FHX	2FFX	2CSL

Among today's 12 absentees, was -  2FDJ  and -  2FHV .   2FDJ , arrived back from Estonia on the 10th October 2022, and has been recorded on four occasions at the Marina this winter, having last been recorded on the 14th November 2022.   2FHV , was recorded twice in Iceland during the 2022 breeding season having been spotted in June and July.  I recorded the return of -  2FHV  at Antrim Marina, on the 8th August 2022.  Since it's return,  2FHV  has been recorded on 11 occasions, and worryingly, it was last seen on the 10th October 2022.  I'm hoping that this gull is still alive, as I'm hoping for more sightings from Iceland next summer.

One Black-headed Gull that I forgot to mention in my previous two posts, was 'Runty'.  This scrawny half sized Black-headed Gull has not been seen, so I reckon it has now perished.  The one-legged adult bird is still alive and well, and still hovers at the window of my car to be fed.

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

2ABA	2ABS	2CSX	2FDJ	2FDX	2FFC
2FFT	2FHJ	2FHV	2FIA	2FIJ	2FIN

With so many Black-headed Gulls present today, despite several feeds from people arriving to feed the ducks, I was able to catch and ring two more gulls, both second year birds.  They now carry the rings -  2FIP  and  2FIT .  After being ringed, I managed to get a photo of -  2FIP , but -  2FIT  disappeared.  With the return of -  2FDL , and these two newly rung birds, I will be on the lookout for 44 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls on my next visit, plus any further returning birds.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FIP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-sexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 28th November 2022, at Antrim Marina)

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On parking beside the slipway when I arrived at the Marina this morning, not only was I amazed by the number of Black-headed Gulls, but there appeared to be a lot of Common Gulls as well.  Counting these birds, which were spread well out through the Marina, I had a total of 10 gulls, being the highest number recorded so far this winter.  I had recorded a high of three Common Gulls on a few occasions, but the highlight among today's gulls, was the long awaited return of the small Scottish-rung female -  EY64036 .

Last winter,  EY64036  returned on it's earliest ever date, on the 16th August 2021, and was subsequently recorded on a further four occasions, and was last seen on the 3rd January 2022.   EY64036 , was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at a colony at Hunterston in Ayrshire, Scotland.  My first sighting of the then juvenile at Antrim Marina, was made on the 9th February 2014, and the gull has been recorded here every winter since then.  My latest sighting, is now the 61st for this bird overall.  The duration since being ringed, is now 9 years, 5 months and 8 days.  The distance from Hunterston, is 141 kms / 87 miles (SW).  Great to see that this one is still alive and well, it had me wondering for a while.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Nov 2022)

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

4 adult Mute Swans were on the slipway on my arrival, and almost immediately, a cygnet was spotted swimming in from the Lough.  A second cygnet appeared soon afterwards, having swan down the river from the direction of Antrim Town.  It quickly became clear, that two of the four adult Mute Swans were the parents of the cygnets.  This pair had four cygnets altogether, but recently, the family has began to fragment.  On last week's visit, one of the cygnets had a badly injured right leg, and was limping heavily.  There was no sign of that youngster today.

At 10:43, a third pair of Mute Swans arrived, having also swam down river from the direction of Antrim Town.  At 11:15, the unbelievable sighting of 13 adults Mute Swans was made as the birds swan into view at the breakwater that protects the Marina from Lough Neagh.  I was beginning to think, that they were not going to approach the Marina, so I walked onto the small sandy beach, waving a few slices of bread.  The closest birds realised what I was doing, and came directly in at speed, which encouraged the others to follow suit.

A few of the swans came ashore for the bread, so I retreated slightly to force them away from the water.  At this point, I spotted a metal ring, and a couple of photos later, I captured -  Z78580 , a number that I recognised.   Z78580 , was ringed at Antrim Marina, as a juvenile bird on the 15th November 2020, by Debbie Nelson, along with Aidan Crean.  Today's sighting, is the 26th for this bird, the duration now being, 2 years and 13 days since being ringed.  My last sighting of -  Z78580 , was made here on the 28th March 2022.

Despite my efforts, not all of the swans would come ashore.  I had a total of 19 (White) swans plus the two cygnets.  In the photo below, 17 swans are pictured.  The two cygnets, along with their parents were behind me when I took this photo.

17 of the 19 Adult Mute Swans at Antrim Marina  (28 Nov 2022)

Mute Swan  -   Z78580   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Nov 2022)

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

Even the Mallard numbers were well up from the previous two weeks.  Around 40 were present on my arrival, and around 60 were present when I departed.  As usual, most legs were checked, but still no rings.

The resident Herring Gull was also present throughout today's visit, and for the first time ever, he took some bread from my hand.  Over the last couple of months, he has gained much confidence and had been edging closer all the time.  A second adult Herring Gull arrived at 10:10, and appears to be the same bird recorded over previous weeks.  This one would perch on top of the archway, every time that it arrives.

A pair of Hooded Crows  arrived just after 11am, but only remained for about 10 minutes.  3 Jackdaws, were the only other species recorded today.

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From Suzanne Belshaw

In recent emails from Suzanne Belshaw, she mentioned the sighting of a Dunlin bearing a 'White Flag', which was spotted at Whiteabbey, but on that occasion, she was unable to catch any details on the flag.  On Friday 25th November 2022, Suzanne returned to Whiteabbey hoping that the bird would still be present.  There was no sign of it, but Suzanne did spot another Dunlin, this one bearing a metal-ring only.  With much patience, Suzanne managed to take several photos of the ring, and successfully captured the whole number, plus in large letters 'STOCKHOLM'.

Suzanne reported her sighting of -  3655362 , directly to the Swedish Museum, and the ringing details were duly delivered.  The bird was caught at the Ottenby on the island of Öland in the south-east corner of Sweden overlooking the Baltic Sea, and ringed as an unsexed 2nd Calendar (+) year bird, on the 18th July 2022.  There is a Bird Observatory at Ottenby, so it is likely to have been caught and ringed there.  The distance to Whiteabbey, is 1,410 kms / 876 miles (W), and the duration since being ringed, is 4 months and 4 days.

Again, my thanks to Suzanne for the sighting report, along with the photos of the ring.  It is always a great result, when the details on a metal ring are captured.

Dunlin  -  Sweden   3655362   -  Whiteabbey Beach, Belfast Lough, Co. Antrim  (25 Nov 2022)

(Ringed as an Un-Sexed 2nd Calendar (+) Year Bird, on the 18th July 2022, at Ottenby, Öland, Sweden)

(Photo Courtesy of Suzanne Belshaw)

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