Antrim Marina - (Sunday 5th November 2023)

Antrim Marina - Sunday 5th November 2023

After last Sunday's disastrous visit to the Marina, when just 11 out of 24 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls were recorded, today saw a complete reversal.  Arriving just before 10am, there were plenty of gulls flying about, and after counting the Common Gulls, around 70 Black-headed Gulls were present.  This total remained more or less constant until around 12:30, when some of the gulls began to rest themselves on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre'.  I had no idea how many gulls were up there, but on the ground, I had an estimated 45 birds.

The morning was more like a typically autumnal day, with conditions being calm and sunny, the early temperature reading 8°C.  Fortunately for me, all of the gulls were at ground level, which was helped with people feeding the ducks.  It was obviously clear, that the gulls are now really hungry and tried hard to get their share of the bread being fed to the ducks.  I made a couple of early attempts to catch new birds for ringing, but as usual, they remained just inches out of reach.

The first two rings read at 10am exactly, were those of -  2BRA  and  2FIK .  With 24 colour-rings having been recorded so far this winter, the total steadily increased.  My 17th and final ring sighting at 12:10, was that of -  2BRD , who is an occasional visitor to the Marina, with this being it's second sighting here this winter.  Although -  2BRD  was caught and ringed at the Marina in February 2015, I reckon it spends most of it's time somewhere in Antrim Town.  Some of the housing estates in Antrim, attract Black-headed Gulls, but for obvious reasons, I cannot go round looking at the roofs of peoples houses.  Prior to the onset of every new breeding season,  2BRD  can be found in early spring, at Lurgan Park Lake in County Armagh.  The duration as of today's sighting, is 8 years, 6 months and 13 days since being ringed.

Black-headed Gull  -   2BRD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (05 Nov 2023)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 13th February 2015, at Antrim Marina)

The Icelandic-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335 , was spotted at 10:19.  This gull was first recorded on the 8th August 2023, and was ringed in July 2023.

With 17 rings recorded today, this meant I had 7 absentees.  I had a closer look at these absentees on my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet and immediately discovered a big mistake.  Since the 18th September 2023, I've had -  2FDT  down as an absentee, yet this gull has not been recorded here since the 28th February 2023.  Somehow, I have added -  2FDT  instead of -  2FHT  who arrived back on the 28th August 2023, though it has not been seen since.  I have corrected my blog posts accordingly.   2FHT  was spotted in northern Poland on two occasions in March 2023, and has also been recorded on the Whiteabbey Shore of Belfast Lough (December 2022).

Three other absentees, with just one sighting here at the Marina this winter, are -  2FDJ ,  2FDK  and  2FFT .   2FDJ  arrived back from Estonia on the 22nd October 2023.   2FDK , would normally be a regular here, but the single sighting for this one was made on the 11th September 2023.  Over the last couple of breeding seasons,  2FDK  has been recorded in May and June, which would suggest that this bird is a year round resident.  I'm left wondering if -  2FDK  is the latest gull to have perished - time will tell.   2FFT  was recorded on the 1st October 2023.  Although this bird was caught and ringed here (December 2020), the gull is a rare visitor (just 6 sightings), so I reckon it passes through on passage.

Both -  2FFX  and  2FHV , have been recorded regularly this winter, the former is known to breed at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve in Belfast, the latter having been reported in northern Iceland during the breeding season.  The status of -  2FIJ  is a trifle puzzling.  Ringed as an unsexed adult in January 2022, it has only been recorded on six occasions, all at the Marina.  This winter, it was sighted on the 8th August and again on the 4th September.  I'm leaning towards the idea, that this gull may well be hanging around one of Antrim's housing estates.

No further returnees were recorded today, though -  2FFL  is now due back, and the returns of -  2FDL  from Sweden, and  2AFD  from Latvia are now imminent as well.  I actually checked Antrim's Castle Way car park for -  2AFD , but again, not a single gull was present.  Castle Way has been the preferred wintering site for -  2AFD  in recent years.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 5th November 2023

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

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

2FDJ	2FDK	2FFT	2FFX	2FHT	2FHV	2FIJ

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

The first thing that caught my attention whilst driving through the barrier into the front car park at Antrim Marina, was the noisy commotion of several calling Common Gulls.  Up until now, Common Gull numbers have been very low or non-existent over past weeks, but on hearing them now, I knew there were quite a few about.

Over at the slipway, people were already feeding the ducks and the Black-headed Gulls were going frantic to get their share of the bread.  In turn, the Common Gulls chased the Black-headed's trying to force them to drop their feed.  Once things had settled slightly, I counted a winter high of seven adult Common Gulls, plus one juvenile.  By 10:35, I now had 10 adults, plus the juvenile, and all were still present when I departed around 1pm.  I kept a close eye on the Commons hoping that the small Scottish-rung female would appear, but sadly, there is still no sign of her.  Appearing as a juvenile in February 2014, she has been recorded here every winter since, and was last seen on the 28th November 2022, which was this bird's only sighting here last winter.

The resident adult Herring Gull arrived at 10:28, and spent nearly all of it's time perched on the boat moored on the long wooden jetty, which has been there since I began my winter visits.

Mute Swans were also present in large numbers on my arrival, and a count of these gave 12 adult (White) swans, plus 7 juveniles.  4 of these juveniles were reared locally to the Marina, with the other three being more recent arrivals.  A further two juveniles swan in from the Lough at 11:32.  Being slightly smaller and browner than the other juveniles present, I reckon these two were the same birds that appeared here two weeks ago along with a juvenile Whooper Swan which was a first form me here at the Marina.  Another head count of the (White) swans at 11:44, gave a total of 15, which meant three had slipped in un-noticed.  All legs were checked for rings, with -   Z78580  being recorded at 10:13.  This bird was ringed here as a juvenile in November 2020 and returned on the 1st October 2023, having been last seen here in March 2023.

Mallards numbered around the 50 mark, with this total more or less being the same throughout today's visit.  Again, most legs, if not all, were viewed but still no rings on any of these.

A pair of Hooded Crows made brief visits on several occasions, whilst 6 Jackdaws were present most of the time.  Other than these, no other species were seen.

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