Antrim Marina - (Sunday 17th December 2023)

Antrim Marina - Sunday 17th December 2023

Today, I drove straight to Antrim Marina after purchasing a couple of loaves of bread at the filling station on my way into Antrim Town.  I arrived just before 10am, and it was a shade on the dark side, as there was heavy cloud cover, and a fairly strong wind was blowing in from the Lough.  Throughout the morning, there were frequent 'spits' of rain, and it was quite mild temperature wise, with the gauge in my car reading 11°C.

Last Sunday, I captured and ringed my eighth new bird of the winter, which meant I was on the lookout for 34 colour-rings today, plus any further returnees.  Around 60 Black-headed Gulls were present, and nearly all were standing about on the jetties and on the car park.  The ring of -  2FIL  was the first to be read at 10am, and an hour later at 11am, 19 colour-rings had been read altogether.

The Latvian -  2AFD , was my 20th sighting at 11:06, this being my second sighting of him this winter here at the Marina.  He announced his return on the 19th November, when he landed on the bollard directly in front of my car.  Over the last couple of weeks, I had tried to record him at his now preferred wintering site at the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town, but today I did not bother going anywhere near the car park.

Another task during today's visit, was to obtain my first photos for three of the eight newly ringed birds this winter, with photos of the other five having already been sorted.  My 13th and 14th sightings at 10:23 and 10:25, were two of those gulls -  2FJT  ringed last Sunday, and -  2FJP  which was ringed two weeks ago on Sunday 3rd December 2023.  This now leaves me with -  2FJK , which has not been seen since being ringed, on the 3rd December.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (17 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 10th December 2023, at Antrim Marina)

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (17 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 3rd December 2023, at Antrim Marina)

After recording -  2AFD , only two other colour-rings were read before I departed at 2pm, the finishing total being 22.   2FJN  was the 21st to be read at 11:19, followed by a lengthy wait before the Estonian -  2FDJ  appeared at 1:36.  This has left me with 12 absentees today.

The Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335  which has been here since the 8th August 2023, was spotted at 10:17.  Not long before departing, I attempted to catch and ring another couple of gulls, and the Icelandic bird was again inches away from being caught.  I could have caught one or two other birds, but elected to wait and see if the Icelandic bird would be tempted on the bread offering.  In the end, nothing was caught at all.

Back on the 12th November 2023, I recorded my third Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull this winter.  I was informed that this bird -  595818 , would have been ringed this year, but as yet, the ringer concerned has still to supply any details.

No further returnees were recorded today.  The number of Black-headed Gulls fluctuated from a low of around 20 birds, to a high of around 90.  Two men with paddleboards arrived onto the slipway at 11:50 and promptly headed upriver.  Their appearance saw all of the gulls flying away, though small numbers returned fairly quickly.  The two men returned at 12:40, which meant the gulls were off again.

At work, we have now finished for two weeks holidays over the Christmas period, so I plan to visit the Marina on the odd day or two, solely to focus on catching and ringing a few more gulls.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 17th December 2023

2FIL	2AAN	2FHC	2AAB	2FFA	2FJF	2FFX	2CSR
2FIF	2FJA	2CSK	2ACV	2FJT	2FJP	2ABN	2BRA
2CJT	2FJH	2FIP	2AFD	2FJN	2FDJ

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

2BRD	2CTA	2FDK	2FFT	2FHT	2FHV
2FIA	2FIJ	2FIK	2FJJ	2FJK	2FJL

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

One of the first birds to grab my attention on my arrival, was the same Moorhen that was spotted last Sunday.  It quite happily strutted around the Marina looking for food, and I still find it interesting about the birds confidence being around people.  It is not too fond of dogs though.

Moorhen

14 (White) Mute Swans and 4 cygnets were present on my arrival, and I'm fairly sure that these are the same cygnets that were reared just upriver from the Marina.  Two other broods of 3 and 2 have been recorded here over past weeks.  The brood of three are of similar age to the resident brood of four, whilst the other two are slightly younger, carrying more brown plumage.  The brood of two was first recorded along with a juvenile Whooper Swan, and one of these younger Mute Swans arrived in from the Lough at 11:02.  A count of the swans at 12:30, gave me 15 (White) birds, so one had slipped in un-noticed.  The metal-rung -  Z78580  was recorded at 10:50.

A pair of Herring Gulls were present throughout the visit, one being the resident male, and the other, a new bird first seen last Sunday.  As both birds stayed together for most of the time, it looks as if the new gull is a female.

Just three adult Common Gulls appeared today.  The first was present on my arrival, with the other two arriving at 11:32 and 11:37.  None of these birds were ringed.

Around 30 Mallards, saw numbers increasing slowly throughout the morning.  A rough count around midday, gave me a total in the region of 50 birds.  As per usual, most legs were checked for rings.

Two Jackdaws, and a male Pied Wagtail, were the only other species noted today.

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