Antrim Marina - (Sunday 3rd December 2023)

Antrim Marina - Sunday 3rd December 2023

I arrived at Antrim Marina today, shortly after 10am.  On my way, I stopped as usual to purchase two loafs of bread and then drove to Antrim's Castle Way car park to see if there was any sign of the Latvian Black-headed Gull -  2AFD .  The car park is now this birds preferred wintering haunt, but as usual of late, not a single gull was present.   2AFD , made it's return known to me on the 19th November 2023, when it alighted onto the bollard directly in front of my car at the Marina.

It was a frosty start to the morning, with the car temperature gauge reading 1°C, a 50/50 blue/cloudy sky and just the lightest of breezes.  By the time of my departure, the temperature had risen slightly to 4°C.

All of the Black-headed Gulls were nicely settled throughout the Marina, with a head count giving me a total of 89 birds altogether.  The very first ring to be spotted at 10:15, was that of the metal-rung Icelandic bird -  543335 , ringed in Iceland in July 2023, arriving at the Marina on the 8th August.  It was the first of three metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gulls to be recorded here this winter, but there has been no further sightings of the other two, with just the single sighting for each.

With the 'shock' resurrection of -  2CTA  on last Sunday's visit to Antrim Marina, I was on the lookout for 29 colour-rings altogether, which included three gulls that have been caught and ringed this winter.  One of these three new birds was an adult, ringed 12th November 2023, as were the other two - a juvenile, and a second winter bird ringed on the same date.  The adult -  2FJH , was not recorded during the next three visits, but today, it was the 12th out of 18 colour-ring sightings, and I was able to obtain my first photo of this gull.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJH   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (03 Dec 2023)

(Ringed as an unsexed adult, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)

My initial count of 89, turned out to be the high point, as overall numbers decreased slightly.  At times, practically no Black-headed Gulls were present at all.  My 18th and final sighting at 12:52, was that of -  2CSK , and I departed around an hour later.  The Swedish -  2FDL  did not appear, with this one now overdue.  Have I lost another gull, time will tell?  There were no further returnees and I have a number of gulls ringed with Blue Darvics, that were recorded last winter, though still missing this winter.

 2AAB , is the oldest surviving Black-headed Gull belonging to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study, which ran from November 2012 until June 2018.  Ringed as an unsexed adult on the 11th December 2012, it is now 8 days away from it's 11 year milestone.   2AAB  is a year round resident at the Marina, and was my 13th sighting today.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 3rd December 2023

2BRA	2FIP	2FJJ	2AAN	2CJT	2FJA	2FIF	2ABN	2FFA
2FIL	2FIK	2FJH	2AAB	2FDJ	2FFX	2BRD	2CSR	2CSK

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

2ACV	2AFD	2CTA	2FDK	2FFT	2FHC
2FHT	2FHV	2FIA	2FIJ	2FJF

From around 1:15pm, I noticed that Black-headed Gulls were starting to rest up on the roof of the Gateway Centre.  No doubt these birds were quite content having raided on the bread being fed to the ducks and swans.  Despite it being a cold day, I was actually surprised by the number of folk that actually arrived to feed the birds.  A steady stream passed by all morning, and I thought my chances of catching any of the gulls would be slim.  However, at 1:30, with half an hour left before departing, I decided to chance my arm.

Within no time at all, I successfully caught four adult Black-headed Gulls, which were duly ringed -  2FJK ,  2FJL ,  2FJN  and  2FJP .  Having just ringed the fourth bird, a man with a large cine-camera arrived and set up his tripod pointing upriver on the low wooden jetty.  No doubt, some event or other was going to happen soon.  With his presence along with a couple of other men, the gulls decided not to hang about and flew off.  I did not hang about either, and decided to call it a day at 1:50.  I will try to photograph the newly rung birds on my next visit.  With these four new birds, I will be on the lookout for 33 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls next Sunday, plus any further returnees.  The total number caught and ringed this winter, has now increased to 7 altogether.

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Once I had made my initial count of the number of Black-headed Gulls present, I then made a count of the other species present, beginning with the Mute Swans.

12 Mute Swans were present, but not a single cygnet.  At 10:45, a man and his daughter arrived to feed the ducks, prompting all 12 swans to exit onto the slipway, where the ring of -  Z78580  was read.  This bird was ringed here as a juvenile during November 2020, and has appeared back every winter since.  The first sighting this winter was made on the 1st October 2023.  By 12:00, a further two swans had slipped in un-noticed, and not a single cygnet appeared today.  One lady that I talked to, said that there was a single cygnet further up the river which flows through the Marina and into Lough Neagh.  A further check for rings on all 14 swans before my departure, did not reveal any further sightings.  Another November 2020 juvenile which had been ringed at Ballyronan, has not been seen at Antrim Marina since March 2022.

The resident adult male Herring Gull was present throughout today's visit.  2 adult Common Gulls at first, saw a further three arrivals around midday.  All five were still present on my departure, and there is still no sign of the small Scottish-rung female.  Ringed in June 2013, she had been recorded every winter since, but it is looking bleak on another return.

Mallard numbers continue to be shockingly low so far this winter.  Only 21 were counted on my arrival, and the total decreased to 15 birds at Midday.  A last count before leaving, saw the total rising to 29.  As usual, most if not all legs were checked for rings, but it has been a very long time since any were spotted.

A single Robin was seen for the second time this winter, with it skulking around the bushes beside the small sandy beach.  A male Pied Wagtail, was also seen feeding on the drift line on the beach.  2 Hooded Crows made several brief visits, as well as 3 Jackdaws.

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