Antrim Marina - (Monday 4th September 2023)

Antrim Marina - Monday 4th September 2023

This week's weekly visit to Antrim Marina, saw the hottest day since I resumed my weekly visits at the beginning of August.  At 3pm this afternoon, the temperature gauge in my car was reading 24°C.  The sun shone in an almost cloudless sky, and there was practically no wind.  As usual under such conditions, the gulls 'parked' themselves on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre', and I had no idea as to how many were up there, and of course, I'm not able to see their legs.

With the return of -  2FHT  during last week's visit, today I was on the lookout for 19 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded so far this winter, plus any further returnees.  Today, I arrived at the Marina at 11:30, and departed four hours later.  Several groups of people arrived to feed the ducks, which helped to lure the gulls down, and slowly and steadily the list of re-sighting grew.  My fifteenth and final sighting of the afternoon, was made at 15:03 with the arrival of -  2BRA .  I therefore had four birds absent, and no further returnees.

The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335  appeared for a matter of minutes at 2:49pm.  The ringing details arrived with me on Thursday of last week.  I first noticed this gull on the 8th August 2023, and on that occasion, I failed to obtain the last two digits of the ring number.  The gull appeared again on the 21st August, and this time, I managed to scope the final two digits ' 35 ', having left my camera at home.  I did photograph the whole ring number again, on the 28th August.

 543335 , was ringed on the 14th July 2023, just 25 days before I first saw the bird on the 8th August.  It was ringed at a small village/town called Laugarvatn, beside a lake bearing the same name.  This area lies inland in southern Iceland, but I have a feeling that the gull was already moving from northern Iceland before getting caught in a Woosh Net.  The distance from Laugarvatn to Antrim Marina, is 1,332 kms / 827 miles (SE), and with today's sighting, the duration is now 1 month and 21 days since being ringed.

The Icelandic Institute of Natural History are going to reprimand the ringer concerned, because, on looking at my photos, they noticed that the 'butts' of the ring were not closed together properly.  They know that I will try to catch this gull to fit it with a colour-ring, and if I do, they have requested for me to close this birds metal ring.

Altogether, from the number of gulls that I could see at any one time, I reckoned there were less than 50 Black-headed Gulls present, with just two juveniles among them.  As each week passes, I feel that the low numbers is the result of 'Bird Flu' having taken it's toll at many breeding colonies.  Even around my home in Ballymena, we have had no Black-headed Gulls at all, whereas they usually start to appear in late July.  Even in my local park, Black-headed Gulls numbers are around the 20 mark, but normally, numbers should be around one hundred plus.  Things are not looking good.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 4th September 2023

2CJT	2FHC	2FFX	2FHV	2AAB	2FIJ	2FIK	2FIF
2CSK	2FFA	2FJA	2FIA	2FIP	2ACV	2BRA

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

2AAN	2BRD	2FHT	2FIL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

At last, today saw the presence of the first Common Gulls.  A juvenile which was present on my arrival, remained throughout my visit.  I think this one has been here for at least a few days, as it seems to be quite comfortable being close to people.  An adult Common Gull arrived at 1:10pm and was perched on the end of the long jetty when I departed.

A Lesser Black-backed Gull made a few appearances at the waters edge, but often perched on a lamppost over in the main car park.  The Herring Gull pair, remained on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre' throughout my visit today.

The Mute Swan family was back today, along with their four cygnets.  A very small female Mute Swan appeared around 2pm, and often got chased by the resident male.  Mallard numbers were down again this week, with around 35 birds, but by the time of my departure, around a dozen remained.

The six Jackdaws counted today, was the highest number recorded so far, but far fewer in numbers compared to this time in previous years.  Two Hooded Crows were the only other species, to have been noted today.

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