Antrim Marina - Sunday 29th September 2024

Antrim Marina - Sunday 29th September 2024

Today saw me making my ninth weekly visit to Antrim Marina to study the wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, with some of those having been colour-ringed here.  I arrived at 10am this morning, the weather being cloudy but dry with a slight breeze.  The temperature gauge in my car read 14ºC.  So far this winter, I have recorded a total of 23 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls out of a possible 34 birds that survived till the end of the 2023/2024 winter

On parking beside the small concrete jetty, I made a quick count of all birds present, which included a total of 41 Black-headed Gulls.  Throughout the visit, numbers remained low and probably never exceeded the 50 mark - this leading to a very poor visit.  The first ring of the day was that of -  2CSR  at 10:04, and by the end of my first hour at 11am, only 9 rings had been read altogether, with -  2BRA  being the ninth at 10:38.

From 11am onwards, the numbers were slow to add, and the 17th and final ring of the day, was that of Belfast breeding (Window on Wildlife Reserve) -  2FFX  at 13:25.  I therefore had six absentees today, and no further returnees were recorded.

Even the Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335  failed to show itself today.  I did have rings ready to catch one or two new gulls to add to my study, but folk arrived early to feed the ducks, with the gulls getting more than their fair share.  With the edge taken of their hunger, the gulls were less eager to chance coming close to me.

I have checked my spreadsheets concerning the 11 colour-ringed gulls that are still to make an appearance this winter.  Of these, four should have been recorded by now, and looking at their past histories, all four should have returned from August onwards.  I'm now convinced that all four have either perished, or have chosen to winter somewhere else (which I think is unlikely).  The gulls concerned are :-

 2FDK  - Ringed at Antrim Marina on the 18th November 2019 as an unsexed adult, and last seen on the 13th July 2024 at Antrim's Junction One Shopping Centre.  This one more than the other three, should have returned by now seeing it was in the local area during the summer.

 2FIA  - Ringed at Antrim Marina on the 15th November 2021 as an unsexed 2nd calendar year bird, and last seen here on the 3rd March 2024.  I did come across 2FIA at my local park in Ballymena in December 2022, but it quickly returned to the Marina.

 2FIK  - Ringed at Antrim Marina on the 12th September 2022 as an unsexed adult, and last seen on the 31st March 2024.

 2FIP  - Ringed at Antrim Marina on the 28th November 2022 as an unsexed 2nd Calendar year bird, and last seen on the 11th March 2024.

Of the remaining 7 gulls :-

 2AFD  - is due back from Latvia in November.

 2CTA  - has no definite return date as it could appear at any time - breeding site is unknown.

 2FDJ  - is due back from Estonia towards the end of October.

 2FDL  - is a very late returnee that breeds in Sweden.  Return dates are in late November and early December.

 2FHT  - is an irregular visitor to the Marina and could appear at any time.  In the past, this gull has been recorded during the breeding season in Poland, and in December 2022 it was spotted at Whiteabbey on Belfast Lough.

 2FJH  &  2FJP  - were both caught and ringed at Antrim Marina last winter, and were last seen in February and January respectively.  Their absence so far may indicate that they are foreign breeding birds and are still to return.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 29th September 2024

2CSR	2AAN	2CJT	2FJK	2AAB	2ACV	2FJT	2FHV	2BRA
2FFA	2FIF	2FJN	2CSK	2FJL	2FJA	2FIL	2FFX

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

2ABN	2BRD	2FFT	2FHC	2FIJ	2FJF

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On parking next to the small concrete jetty, it was immediately noticeable that there were no Mute Swans about, and a quick peek at the small sandy beach saw no birds there either.  With the ringing of gulls in mind, it is helpful to have a few swans on the slipway.  At 10:18, I spotted a pair swimming in from the direction of Lough Neagh, though it took a while before they came out onto the slipway.  By this time, the ducks were already getting their first feeds of bread from passers by.  This was a disaster, as the gulls were also getting a share.  A second pair of Mute Swans swam in from the Lough at 1:23, but were constantly being chased off by the male from the first pair.  There has been no sign of the metal-rung -  X4707  over the last couple of weeks, the last sighting having been made on the 8th September 2024.

A count of the Mallards on my arrival, gave a total of 63 birds.  Although no further counts were made, the overall total appeared to be around the same throughout my visit.  As per usual, most if not all legs were checked for rings.

There was no sign of the Herring Gull family on my arrival.  The male arrived at 10:54, but, by the time that I departed, his female and juvenile never appeared.  A juvenile Herring Gull appeared at 12:57, settling down on the low wooden jetty, but I could tell straight away by it's reaction, this was not the resident youngster.

So far this winter, hardly any Common Gulls have been spotted.  At 12:33, I spotted one standing at the end of the long wooden jetty.  Through my binoculars, I could see a metal-ring, which was likely to be the small Scottish female -  EY64036 .  Grabbing my camera from the car, I took a series of photos and despite not capturing the two letters, I did get -  64036  which was enough to confirm the sighting.  This is now my second sighting for the gull this winter.  I first spotted it during my first weekly visit of the winter on the 4th August 2024.

 EY64036  was ringed as a chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston in North Ayrshire, Scotland.  It first appeared at Antrim Marina as a juvenile, on the 9th February 2014.  The gull has been recorded here every winter since the 2013/2014 winter, though sightings in more recent years has greatly reduced.  Today's sighting is now the 64th to be made at the Marina, with the ring having to be read on each appearance just to be sure it is the same bird.  As you can imagine, the ring has never been read anywhere else.  Iain Livingstone who is the ringing coordinator for the Clyde Ringing Group, has told me that the Hunterston site no longer exists as it has been bulldozed over.  This meant the loss of a breeding site for both Common and Black-headed Gulls.  The ringing group are now using the Isle of Tiree to ring both species, but survival rates among the chicks have been somewhat erratic.

It has been 11 years, 3 months and 9 days since -  EY64036  was ringed, and the distance from Hunterston to Antrim Marina, is 141 kms / 87 miles (SW).

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (29 Sep 2024)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland)

Time was getting on, and I began to think that for the first time ever, no Jackdaws at all were going to be recorded, but a pair arrived just minutes before I departed.  The only other birds to be seen today, were a pair of Pied Wagtails which did not stay for long.

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