Antrim Marina - Sunday 11th August 2024

Antrim Marina - Sunday 11th August 2024

Today saw me making my second weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls.  I arrived at 9:40, staying until 1:30pm.  It was dry and quite sunny, with a fairly strong wind blowing in from the east.  The temperature gauge in my car read 17°C initially, rising to 22°C by the time of my departure.  The 'Blue-Green Algae' which was present last week, had thinned out to a large extent, possibly helped by the wind, blowing it back out onto Lough Neagh.

Last week, I recorded 16 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls out of an expected total of 34 having been recorded last winter.  Today's total also finished with 16 colour-rings, but five of these were not recorded last week.  Four of these -  2AAB ,  2FIL ,  2BRA  and  2FIJ , make up the remaining 12 summer residents recorded here during the breeding season, with the other 8 having been recorded last week.  I was really pleased to see -  2AAB , as it is the oldest surviving bird from Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Study.  I had hoped to obtain a photo, but having had a good feed from my hand, it had a quick drink of water and decided to lie down on the jetty.  I did not see it again after that.  Ringed at the Marina on the 11th December 2012, the duration since being ringed, is now 11 years and 8 months.  I'll try for a photo on my next visit.

The 5th bird, and the first to be recorded today at 9:46, had me reaching for my camera.  Knowing that the code -  2FJK  was not regularly seen, on returning home, my suspicion was correct.   2FJK , was one of 8 new gulls to have been caught and ringed here last winter.  It was ringed as an unsexed adult, on the 3rd December 2023, and the only re-sighting of this one was made on the 7th January 2024.  It is always good to know when I have a surviving bird, but the question now, will it remain for the winter or is it just passing through?

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJK   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (11 Aug 2024)

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

Last week, also saw the return of another rarely seen gull -  2FFT .  This one appeared again at 10:34, being my 11th sighting today.

Another gull of interest last week, was -  2FJF , but I did not get a good photo of it.  Today, it was my 6th sighting at 10:11.  Of the 8 birds that I caught and ringed last winter,  2FJF  was the only juvenile to be colour-ringed.  It was ringed on the 12th November 2023, with the duration now being 8 months and 30 days.  It was last seen here on the 31st March 2024, and I wonder where it spent it's summer.  With such good feeding over the winter months, it's no wonder that it is still here.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJF   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (11 Aug 2024)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)

Around 70 Black-headed Gulls were present on my arrival, with numbers holding steady until the arrival of a canoeist when they all flew off.  After this, numbers were fairly low.  I recorded 13 of the 16 colour-rings in my first hour, with the final 3 being recorded at 12:15, 12:31 and -  2FFX  at 12:53.  I forgot to mention juveniles last week.  With just 8 noted,  today's total was just two higher.  It is looking likely, that numbers reared on the nearby 'Torpedo Platform' may not too high.  This summer, the 'Live' camera on the platform did not give great views of the platform, so it was really difficult to see what was happening out there.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 11th August 2024

2FJK	2FJL	2FIF	2AAB	2FJA	2FJF	2CSK	2FJN
2CJT	2FIL	2FFT	2CSR	2AAN	2BRA	2FIJ	2FFX

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

2ABN	2ACV	2FFA	2FHC	2FJT

For me, the best sighting today, was the return of a metal-rung Black-headed Gull from Iceland.   543335 , was caught and ringed on the 14th July 2023, as an unsexed adult at Laugarvatn in Southern Iceland.  The capture method included the use of a 'Whoosh Net', and it may have been possible, that the gull was a caught accidentally in an effort to catch smaller bird species.

On the 21 August 2023, it turned up at Antrim Marina, and thereafter, was recorded during most weekly visits through to the 24th March 2024 - 30 sightings altogether.  The gull is extremely people friendly, and on many occasions, I was within inches of catching it, to add one of my colour-rings to it's right leg.  I had hoped to do this before it returned to Iceland, as it would have been far easily spotted in or around it's breeding area.

Last winter, two other metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gulls were also recorded at the Marina, one on a single occasion, and the other was spotted twice.  Those birds carried the metal ring on their right leg, whilst -  543335  is ringed on the left leg.  No matter what leg the metal ring is on, the number has to be checked in any case just to be sure which gull has appeared.  There is always the chance of a metal-rung gull from a different country appearing.

 543335 , arrived at 10:50 this morning, as I saw it landing on the jetty in front of my car.  Soon after, I had enough photos to confirm the number.  A short time later, I found myself 'teasing' this gull with bread.  Again, just inches away from me, I pretended that I was going to throw it some bread, which saw the gull getting itself ready to jump.  It did get a few bits to keep it keen.  I know this one will remain for the winter, so once again, I will try to catch it.

I also reckon, that this gull has been coming to Antrim every winter for years before it was caught and ringed.  The duration since being ringed, is now 1 year and 28 days, and the distance from Laugarvatn, is 1,332 kms / 827 miles (SE).

Black-headed Gull  -  Iceland   543335   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (11 Aug 2024)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 14th July 2023, at Laugarvatn, Southern Iceland)

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

I often go on about the lack of Mallards at the Marina, which was often the case last winter.  On parking beside the small concrete jetty, there appeared to be ducks everywhere.  After checking the Black-headed Gulls for colour-rings, I then made a count of the ducks which reached an amazing total of 83 birds altogether.  Some of them were clearly grown up ducklings which remained together in small groups of brothers and sisters.  Over the course of my visit, most legs were checked for metal-rings, but none were seen.  Later on, numbers dropped off slightly, with many having received a good feed of bread.  The high numbers came as a complete surprise for this time of the year.  I would expect higher numbers as the winter creeps in.

For a second week in a row, not a single Mute Swan appeared.  After a couple of hours, a canoeist arrived to the slipway having paddled his way down-river.  He tied up his craft and walked over to the café.  On his return, I asked him if he had seen any swans during his travels.  He had come quite a distance down-river, but not a single swan was seen.  It would appear, that a pair that normally nests just a short distance away, has either not nested or possibly failed.

The resident pair of Herring Gulls along with their fledged chick, was present throughout my visit.  Both the male and female were continually being chased by the 'begging' youngster.  I quickly gained the attention of this youngster, and after a good feed of brown bread, now content, it parked itself on the far corner of the short concrete jetty and it's parents finally got some peace and quiet.  Presumably the same pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, brief visits were made throughout the morning.

No adult Common Gulls appeared today, but a juvenile arrived at 12:41, quickly followed by a second juvenile Herring Gull.  Both birds flew off a short time later.

Other species making brief visits, were a pair of Pied Wagtails, and an adult Hooded Crow with two juveniles in tow.  Two Jackdaws made repeated visits, and the Sand Martins that were nesting in the Swift nestboxes on the Gateway Centre are no longer present.

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