Antrim Marina - Sunday 19th January 2025...

Antrim Marina - Sunday 19th January 2025

Held back slightly due to roadworks in the town of Antrim, I arrived at Antrim Marina at 10:10.  Going through the barrier leading into the car park, I could see that the swans were already getting a good feed.  Weather conditions were calm, with light cloud and the temperature gauge in my car read 9ºC.  Driving slowly towards the short concrete jetty, I stopped to talk to one of the two women feeding the swans.  I had to ask for her name again, as I've chatted to her in the past.  Danie said that the other woman had emptied a whole bucket of feed for an enormous number of swans.  Ending a lengthy chat, I parked at my normal spot and began making headcounts.

Around 60 Black-headed Gulls were spread out over the jetties, though hardly any made any attempts to feed among the swans.  With 32 colour-rings to look for, the first to be read was -  2FJH  at 10:25.  10 rings had been read by 10:40, when a number of canoeists arrived.  This was the beginning of an awful visit, as I was to be plagued by three different sets of canoeists.  The initial gulls flew off, and though from time to time they returned, they just circled high in the sky before leaving again.

I waited and waited, and it was 1:10pm before the area was clear enough for the gulls to land back onto the jetties.  A further 7 rings were read taking my overall total to 17 at 2:04.  At this point, two sets of canoeists arrived back and the gulls departed again.  Although I should have ended my visit at 2pm, I stayed till 2:50.  By this point, the canoeists were moving their boats towards the car park, when another party arrived onto the small sandy beach.

Other than recording a winter high in numbers for the swans and Common Gulls, this visit was a waste of time.  Instead of adding a table of absentees,  I've just added a table for the colour-rings that I did record today.  I'm certain that several other colour-ringed gulls have gone unrecorded due to the presence of the canoeists.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 19th January 2025

2FJH	2FJP	2BRA	2FJA	2FKA	2CJT	2FIL	2FJT	2FJV
2FFA	2AAB	2AAN	2FJK	2FJN	2CSK	2AFD	2FHC

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, there was a large number of Mute Swans present on my arrival.  Danie told me that the other lady stated that there was 22 altogether.  Danie said that -  X4707  was among them.  She has named this swan 'Annie', but I decided not to tell her that the swan was a male.  After parking my car, I counted 22 birds and also saw -  X4707 .

A further three swans swam in from the Lough at 10:54.  A final total for the day reached 26 Mute Swans, when a single bird arrived in from the Lough at 12:06.  Not one cygnet was among them, and the beaks of two swans told me that they were 2nd year birds.  Not all legs were checked, as some swans chose not to come ashore onto the slipway.

With 26 altogether, this total was a high for this winter, and despite of the presence of the canoeists, the swans were not worried about them.  For once, plenty of swans about, but no gulls to catch.

Some of the Mute Swans by the Slipway (Note the Amount of Grain on Slipway)

Four adult Common Gulls were present on my arrival, one of these being the Finnish -  ST177.028 .  Along with the Black-headed Gulls, they flew off with the arrival of the canoeists.  At 1:10, when gulls began to return, I soon counted a total of 13 adults and 2 juveniles.  With a total of 15 Common Gulls, this was also a high for this winter.  The small Scottish female -  EY64036  also arrived with the later birds.

The whole Herring Gull family was also present on my arrival, the resident male, female and their single youngster.  With all of the gulls departing due to the canoeists, only the male stayed throughout my visit.

Mallard numbers were around 30 when I arrived, but as the day wore on, I doubt numbers passed the 40 mark.  I'd be fairly certain that all legs were checked.

With so much food (grains and flakes) lying around the slipway, a pair Hooded Crows and a pair of Rooks made repeated visits.  They were probably hoarding food somewhere.  Two pairs of Jackdaws and the small noisy juvenile were present for most of the time, as were a pair of Pied Wagtails.

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