Antrim Marina - (Monday 18th September 2023)

Antrim Marina - Monday 18th September 2023

Today saw me undertaking my eighth weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which have been colour-ringed here.  I arrived just before 11am, departing just before 3pm when a second shower of rain began to fall.  At first, there was 50/50 cloud cover, with a fairly strong wind, but as the day progressed the blue sky disappeared and the wind became very strong.  The maximum temperature was 18°C, according to the gauge in my car.

With the sightings of two more returnees last week, I was looking for 21 colour-ringed gulls, plus any further returning birds.  I was also looking out for an Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull which has been seen here since the 8th August.  Due to the strong wind, all of the gulls remained in and around the jetties, and most spent their time lying down.  A count at 11:20 gave a total of 83 BHGs, a second count at 12:30 gave 104 birds, and a final count around 14:30 saw a total of 109.

The total of colour-rings read in my first hour increased steadily, with -  2AAB  being my 13th ring to be read at 12:00.

At 12:02, I scoped a Black-headed Gull with a tall metal ring on it's right leg.  I knew straight away that this was a new bird, as the Icelandic metal-rung -  543335  has it's ring fitted on the left leg.  Grabbing my camera, I walked across the car park to cut the distance down.  Although I was nowhere near the gull, it was very nervy as I began to take photos, and kept moving about the low wooden jetty.  In a way, this was very useful, as I was able to get pictures without having to move about myself.  Having taken lots of photos, I returned to my car to work out the ring number.  With just about catching the first digit, I had another Icelandic Black-headed Gull ringed -  527948 .

On returning home, I edited my photos to crop out the ring number, stitched the number together and overlaid it onto a photo of the bird itself.  I reported my sighting to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, and a recovery was received the next day.

 527948 , was ringed as a chick, on the 19th June 2021, at Stokkseyri, situated on the south-west coast of Iceland, and my sighting was a first for this bird.  The distance to Antrim Marina, was given as 1,314 kms / 816 miles (SE), and the duration since being ringed, was 2 years, 2 months and 30 days.

With the arrival of this new bird, it meant that I had three Icelandic Black-headed Gulls today.   2FHV , which I caught and ringed here at the Marina in November 2021, was spotted in Iceland in June and July 2022.   2FHV  was my 7th sighting today.

Black-headed Gull  -  Iceland   527948   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (18 Sep 2023)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 19th June 2021, at Stokkseyri, SW Iceland)

Whilst sitting in my car, working out the ring number, I noticed an Orange Darvic in front of my car.  A quick look with my binoculars revealed another returnee -  2ABN .  Normally over past years,  2ABN  would have arrived back to the Marina by late July or early August, so this return is surprising late.   2ABN , was caught and ringed at Antrim Marina as an adult female, on the 23rd January 2013, and was among the earliest gulls to be ringed belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull study.

I consider -  2ABN , to be a non-resident, with all but one of 235 sighting records having been recorded at the Marina.  On the 15th March 2022, Ronan Owens spotted -  2ABN  at Peatlands Park in County Armagh, which lies 36 kms / 22 miles (SW) from Antrim Marina.  By continuing the line of flight from Peatlands Park, it could be possible that this gull may be nesting in Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh or even further away.  During the breeding months of May and June, there has been one sighting at Antrim Marina, which was made in June 2017.  I reckon that this early return, was due to either the gull completing it's nesting attempt, or having failed.

 2ABN , was the only returning bird to be recorded today, which means I will be looking for 22 colour-rings next week, plus any further returning gulls.  The duration since -  2ABN  was ringed, is now 10 years, 7 months and 26 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2ABN   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (18 Sep 2023)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

Having recorded the return of -  2ABN  at 12:10, my final three sightings took my total for the day to 17 colour-rings read, with 5 absentees.  As usual, the other Icelandic BHG -  543335 , was also recorded again.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 18th September 2023

2FFA	2FIA	2FIP	2CSK	2CSR	2AAN	2FHV	2FIK	2ACV
2FJA	2CJT	2FFX	2AAB	2ABN	2FIL	2BRA	2FIF

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

2BRD	2FDK	2FHT	2FHC	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On parking at my usual spot beside the concrete jetty, a Mediterranean Gull caught my eye.  I would be fairly certain, that this was the same bird that I spotted here on the 28th August.  On two occasions, I made attempts at catching new gulls for ringing.  This Med Gull and the Icelandic -  543335  came tantalisingly close to being caught.  Although my -  2F**  series of rings are registered for use on Black-headed Gulls only, I would not hesitate on colour-ringing the Med Gull.

Mediterranean Gull  -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (18 Sep 2023)

One adult Common Gull was present on my arrival, and a single adult Herring Gull was also present.  The Common Gull was present throughout the visit, with s second adult arriving at 14:36.

The Mute Swan family with their four cygnets were present throughout my visit, along with another adult bird.  A second adult swam in from the direction of Lough Neagh at 11:30.  Shortly after I arrived, a Mallard count gave a total of around 70 birds, with that total remaining more or less static.

Other than 7 Jackdaws, no other species were recorded.

A major topic over recent weeks, has been the appearance of Blue-Green Algae around Lough Neagh, which is being linked by some people to the death of fish and birds.  The state of the Lough was also the subject of a report on Sky News of late, and has been discussed in detail several times on the Steve Nolan show on Radio Ulster.

Antrim Marina has also seen more than it's fair share of the Algae in recent weeks, but the stormy conditions today has broke it up.  One thing that I have noticed, is that the birds here at the Marina appear to be unaffected by the Algae.  I have watched many people throwing bread out for the ducks and swans, which became coated by the Algae before being eaten.  I keep a watch out for dead birds, especially the gull's, due to the effects of 'Bird Flu' during the breeding season.  One thing that I am certain of, is that the Black-headed Gulls suffered a very poor breeding season out on the nearby torpedo platform.  Last week, I counted 5 juveniles, and today there were 3 juveniles.

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