Antrim Marina - Monday 10th March 2025...

Antrim Marina - Monday 10th March 2025

Another Monday visit to Antrim Marina, arriving on the stroke of 10am.  Weather conditions saw a 50/50 covering of cloud and sunshine, with the temperature gauge in my car reading 12ºC.  A strong wind was blowing in from an easterly direction which made it feel quite chilly.

On arrival, a count of the Black-headed Gulls, gave me a total of just 39 birds.  Over my four hour visit, on several occasions, no gulls were present for long periods of time barring a pair of Lesser Black-backed's.  When gulls did return, the Black-headed's never exceeded the 40 mark.  

With 33 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded here this winter, rings were read at a fairly steady pace until I had reached a total of 10 at 11:18.  With no further rings read by the time of my departure around 2pm, although the visit was disappointing, it was not really a big surprise as many gulls will be on the move towards their breeding sites now, wherever those might be.

Taking a look at the nearby 'Torpedo Platform', many gulls were flying around it, obviously selecting a bit of 'real estate' in which to build their nests.

Of the 10 rings read today, most are known to be residents.  Interestingly,  2FFX  is still here, though in the past it has been recorded by now at the RSPB's Window on Wildlife Reserve in Belfast.  Adult -  2FJV , and juvenile -  2FKA , were among three to be caught and ringed during the winter, so their residential status will be unknown for a while yet.

The metal-rung Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  543335 , is still here, and was spotted at 10:28.  This one is coming to the end of it's 2nd winter at the Marina having been ringed as an adult in July 2023.

Another Icelandic Black-headed Gull -  2FHV , has not reappeared so far.  Caught and ringed here at the Marina, it uses the site as a 'staging post' on it's return from Iceland in the Autumn, and prior to heading back to Iceland to breed.  I last saw it here on the 19th October 2024, and I'm hoping it's failure to turn up again does not point to something more sinister.

Two more weekly visits will see the conclusion of my weekly visits which I began last August.  I am not expecting too much from these visits, but it is always good to record the resident birds.  After my final visit, I will avoid the Marina in April, and through May, June and July I will undertake random visits to see which colour-ringed (resident) gulls are about.  I still need to learn more about gulls ringed over recent winters, and hope for sightings from foreign countries.

This weekend, I received an email from Ric Else who is a resident on Rathlin Island and works for the RSPB there.  He reported that good numbers of Common Gulls are now returning to the island.  I began a Common Gull colour-ringing project on Rathlin in 2017, and Ric reported the re-sightings of six of my birds in his email.  Finishing at Antrim Marina at the end of March, my attention then  turns to Raptor Study Work, as well as visiting Rathlin to record more of my colour-ringed Common Gulls.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Monday 10th March 2025

2FJK	2CJT	2FJN	2CSK	2AAN	2FFA	2FKA	2FFX	2FIL	2FJV

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

2AAB	2ABN	2ACV	2AFD	2BRA	2BRD	2CSR	2CTA
2FDL	2FFH	2FFT	2FHC	2FHV	2FIF	2FIJ	2FIX
2FJA	2FJF	2FJH	2FJL	2FJP	2FJT	2FJX

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

What an amazing day for Mute Swans.  An initial count after I parked beside the short concrete jetty gave me a total of 11 birds.  Interestingly, a pair on the slipway, were very territorial and chased off the other swans throughout my visit.  They were happy enough for the other swans to come ashore on the nearby small sandy beach.

As the morning wore on, more and more swans came in from the direction of Lough Neagh.  Counts at 11:19, 12:00, 12:35 and 12:55, gave me totals of 17, 21, 25 and 30.  With a total of 30, this was easily the highest count here for a very long time, and reminiscent to the totals regularly recorded here when I first began surveying back in September 2013.  Another point of interest, not a single juvenile was among them.

Despite the numbers, not all would alight onto the sandy beach.  The highest count on the beach was 13, and no rings were spotted on these.  Surely there would have been one or two with rings. 

Mallard numbers continue to be on the low side, with around 30 birds throughout my visit.  Again, most if not all legs were checked for rings.

The Lesser Black-backed Gull pair were present throughout my visit, and during the spells where no gulls were present at the Marina, this pair stood on top of lampposts in the adjacent car park.

The resident male Herring Gull made a brief appearance at 12:27, but there was no sign of his partner or the youngster they raised last summer.  The 3rd calendar year bird also made a brief visit at 1:03.

An adult Common Gull along with a juvenile were present on my arrival, and these two came and went throughout the morning.  The adult was easily identifiable, as it had a very long thin beak with a slight dark bar and yellow legs.  A second adult made a brief visit at 12:02, this one having greenish coloured legs.

A pair of Rooks made a brief visit feeding on bran flakes lying uneaten on the slipway.  Two pairs of Jackdaws made repeated visits, and shortly before I departed, another Jackdaw arrived sporting while flecks across its black breast.  The pair of Pied Wagtails were present throughout this visit.

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