Antrim Marina - Wednesday 4th February 2026...

Antrim Marina - Wednesday 4th February 2026

Today, I stayed at home until light rainfall stopped, the weather maps showing a dry afternoon.  Arriving at 12:35, I could only stay till 3pm, and as things turned out, this was ample time.  On arrival, it was dry, calm, though heavy cloud made it look a trifle dark.  The temperature gauge in my car read 8°C.

Driving across to my normal parking spot, I could see that the water levels around the slipway were even higher since my previous weekly visit.  Apparently, Northern Ireland has had it's wettest January in 149 years according to the BBC News.  The river which flows past Antrim Marina, is called The Six Mile Water and flows into Lough Neagh, which is the UK's largest freshwater lake.  I took a photo later on showing the small Concrete Jetty which was submerged. (Note the gull on the roof of my car).

Whilst driving down the avenue that leads to the Marina, I noticed two very large pools of water on the Massereene Golf Course.  Between them, they attracted more Black-headed Gulls than I saw at the Marina today.

The Small Concrete Jetty Under Water  (04 Feb 2026)

At the Marina, around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present and that number remained more or less the same during my visit.  With 28 colour-ringed gulls to look for, this turned out to be yet another poor visit.  Only 10 rings were read, leaving me with a massive 18 absentees.  No new returnees were recorded either.

I have mentioned a juvenile Black-headed Gull which always lands on the roof of my car and quite happily takes bread from my hand.  As soon as I parked, I heard a thump on the roof, so I knew it was there.  Sometimes, it lands on the bonnet of the car looking at me as if to say feed me.  I'm getting over a sprained wrist, which has prevented me from trying to rings any gulls, as I could not put enough pressure on the ringing pliers.  Hopefully, I can get some ringed soon, and this friendly youngster would be a nice one to ring.  The photo below shows the juvenile looking at my finger which is pressed against the windscreen.

My Friendly Juvenile Black-headed Gull  -  (Why Not Come In and Look Out!!!)  (04 Feb 2026)

(  2FJA  is standing on the top of the fence)

While in the car, I scanned through the gulls on the slipway with my binoculars when I spotted an adult Mediterranean Gull that was colour-ringed.  Grabbing the camera, I managed to obtain a couple of photos before all of the gulls took to the air - a dog walker as usual was the culprit.  Looking at the photos, they were not great, but I had captured the code -  PKPA .

A short time later (13:13), I located the Med Gull again resting on the top rail on the Long Wooden Jetty.  This time, I managed to obtain better photos.  The ring-code did not ring any bells, but on returning home, I had been involved with this bird before.

I entered the code onto my Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet and a search delivered a result.  Back in July 2025, my ex-ringing trainer (John Clarke) sent me a photo of a Med Gull that he had taken on the Bann Estuary at Castlerock in County Londonderry.  The bird was a good distance from John, but on editing the photo I confirmed the code read -  PKPA , which I submitted to both our BTO and the 'Live' Polish Ringing Database.  A while later, the sighting was accepted, therefore I had access to the ringing details.

 PKPA , was ringed as a chick, on the 8th June 2022, at Lake Szczodrzykowo in Central Poland.  The distance to the Bann Estuary was given as 1,594 kms / 977 miles (WNW), and the duration at that time since being ringed, was 3 years, 1 month and 6 days.

I submitted today's sighting onto the Polish Database, and the results came back on the following day.  The distance to Antrim Marina was given as, 1,559 kms / 968 miles (WNW), and the duration is now 3 years, 7 months and 27 days since being ringed.

One other sighting of this gull was made in March 2023, when spotted in the Southampton area, in Hampshire, England.

Mediterranean Gull  -   PKPA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (04 Feb 2026)

(Ringed as a Chick, on the 8th June 2022, at Lake Szczodrzykowo Central Poland)

Mediterranean Gull  -   PKPA   -  Bann Estuary, Castlerock, Co. Londonderry  (14 Jul 2025)

(Photo Courtesy of John Clarke)

My 10th and final sighting at 1:18, was that of -  2CJT .  This gull is a year round resident at the Marina and it is rare for it not to be recorded from week to week.  It's absence during the previous two weeks did have me wondering though.  When I first spotted it on the Low Wooden Jetty, it had it's head tucked into it's back - has it returned from a journey?  Since being ringed,  2CJT  has been recorded on 317 occasions, all at the Marina bar one.  That was back in February 2021, when Gavin Baptie took a photo at Castle Semple Loch at Lochwinnock in Renfrewshire, Scotland.  It was back at the Marina by April 2021 and has never strayed since.

 2CJT , was ringed at the Marina as a juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 4th December 2016.  Today's sighting takes the duration since being ringed, to 9 years and 2 months.  Juvenile/1st Winter birds, 2nd Winter birds and 3rd Winter birds (early after the new year), are good ones to ring, as they are of known age.  The record for a Black-headed Gull, is 33 years, 2 months and 16 days.

Black-headed Gull  -   2CJT   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (04 Feb 2026)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 4th December 2016, at Antrim Marina)

Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Wednesday 4th February 2026

2FKA	2FFA	2FJA	2BRA	2AAN	2CSK	2FIL	2CSR	2FIF	2CJT

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

2ABN	2ACV	2AFD	2BRD	2CTA	2FDL	2FDK	2FFN	2FFT
2FFX	2FHV	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJP	2FJT	2FJV	2FJX

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

On my arrival, four separate sets of Mute Swans were noted.  Feeding on the grass just beyond the Low Wooden Jetty, were five adults along with two juveniles.  I decided to wait for them to walk back to the slipway, but that turned out to be a bad mistake.  I did not realise that they could find a way to the river by walking down the bank.  When I noticed they had gone, they were swimming upriver.  Any chance for rings had gone.

The second set of Mute Swans, were two adults and a single cygnet, which had just left the slipway and they too swam upriver.  At 1:10, I assumed the same birds returned to the slipway, which were the resident pair (female ringed -  X4707 ), and their remaining cygnet (the last of six).

A set of four adults were on the slipway, and the final set, was an adult, along with a single cygnet (neither were ringed) on the small Sandy Beach.  That cygnet did not seem to belong to the adult, but was far older than the cygnet belonging to the resident pair.

Around 30 Mallards were counted, with numbers dropping slightly before my departure.  Most legs were checked for rings.

The adult Moorhen was present throughout the visit, and as usual, ate the gull droppings.

The resident male Herring Gull and his youngster, were also present throughout the visit.  A second year Herring Gull arrived at 12:17, and I'm sure that this is the bird belonging to the resident pair from 2024.

Only a single adult Common Gull on my arrival and I had a high count of 3 adults at 2:24.  A juvenile that arrived at 12:57, only stayed for around 20 minutes.  An earlier high count of 15 adults might not be bettered during the remainder of the winter.  I have only had a single sighting of the 30 year old Finnish Common Gull, but I'm hoping for another sighting or two before it heads home.

The pair of Hooded Crows made a brief visit, and the usual pair of Jackdaws and the male Pied Wagtail made several visits.

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Antrim Marina - Wednesday 28th January 2026...

Antrim Marina - Wednesday 28th January 2026

I was not sure what to expect at Antrim Marina today following the latest named storm (Chandra) which passed through Northern Ireland yesterday.  On the BBC News, they reported flooding in Antrim Town.  Arriving at the Marina at 11:10, I had taken the gamble that the Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera would be working which allows me to take my car into the front car park.  Happy days, it was working and I made my was over to the small concrete jetty, which is my usual parking spot.  The water levels were so high, the jetty was submerged with just the railings showing. 

Studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of these were colour-ringed at the Marina in order to follow their movements.  So far this winter, I had recorded a total of 27 colour-ringed gulls, with the last two returning to the Marina on the 30th December 2025.  These were -  2FJP  whose origin is unknown, and -  2FDL  which has been recorded in a breeding colony in Sweden.

On my arrival, around 30 Black-headed Gulls were present and numbers never surpassed that mark during the visit which I ended at 2pm through utter boredom.  On a number of occasions, less than 10 Black-headed Gulls were present.  The only colour-ringed gull that was present throughout, was -  2FKA  which I ringed here as a juvenile on the 1st December 2024 (now 1 year, 1 month and 27 days since being ringed).

Black-headed Gull  -   2FKA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Jan 2026)

(Ringed as a Juvenile/1st Winter Bird, on the 1st December 2024, at Antrim Marina)

I have not got a clue as to what is going on with the gulls, with only 8 colour-rings read from the 27 leaving me with another large number of absentees (19).  My ex-ringing trainer (back in the 80's) - Sandy McWilliams suggested in an email, the gulls may well be feeding on the water soaked farmland fields.  On top of this, some of my gulls have been absent for several weeks now which is unusual.

Just after 1pm, my attention was caught by the sound of a drone.  Spotting it high up in the sky, it had no effect on the gulls below.  I had a wee walk about looking for the owner, and spotted him sitting on a boulder close to the ANPR barrier.  I was curios to see what model was being flown, as I own a DJI Mavic Air 2.  I was just in time to watch the drone being landed beside us - a Mimi Air 3.  The owner 'Dermot' and myself had a good wee chat before my attention returned to the gulls.

With camera in hand, I zoomed into the gulls on the Long Wooden Jetty and my 'heart jumped' - the Latvian -  2AFD  had returned.  This is one of my special birds as it has a fairly good re-sighting history.  Normally, you can set your clock on this gull returning around the 3rd weekend in October each year, and I have made several comments over recent weeks about it's failure to show up.  I have checked it's favoured haunt in recent times - the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town.  With today's sighting,  2AFD  may have returned to Antrim area back in October.

 2AFD , belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study (2012 to 2018) and was ringed as an adult male at the Marina on the 12th February 2014.  The first re-sighting was made by me in my home town of Ballymena.  I spotted it on the 13th November 2014 at the Wakehurst Playing Fields, and two days later, it was back at the Marina.

Having spent the winter at Antrim, the next three sightings came in a space of seven days when he was spotted at the Getlini Eko Landfill Site, just to the east of the Latvian capital of Riga (April 2015).

Getlini Eko Landfill Site was also the scene of a further two sighting during April 2016.  The next sighting in Riga was in March 2022, when spotted in the Kengarags area on the western edge of the Capital (River and Parkland).

In 2023, an interesting series of three sightings occurred in a space of 12 days.  On the 30th June, German tourist and birder, Simon Pirlo, spotted -  2AFD  at Riga's Central Market where the fishmonger there throws out scrapes to the gulls.  On the following day (1st July), Simon spotted -  2AFD  again, 200m down the road at Riga's Central Station (I think it was unlikely it was trying to catch a train).  On the 11th July, a really unexpected sighting came in,  2AFD  had been spotted on the beach at Cromer situated on the coast of Norfolk, England.  Why had he gone so far south?  Could it be possible that -  2AFD  'stages' in England before returning to Antrim? 

I am absolutely delighted to see that this gull is still alive and well, even if this is the only sighting this winter.  My last sighting was made on the 19th January 2025, just over a year ago.  It has now been 11 years, 11 months and 6 days since being ringed and Riga is 1,911 kms / 1,187 miles (E) from Antrim Marina.

Black-headed Gull  -   2AFD   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (28 Jan 2026)

(Ringed as an Adult Male, on the 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina)

There has been no further sightings of the Icelandic-rung Black-headed Gull -  543335 , since the 25th November 2025 - I'm sure it has perished.  Ringed in southern Iceland in July 2023, it first appeared at the Marina the following month.  It stayed for the whole winter in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.  This winter, it returned on the 24th August 2025.  Once back, it was rarely absent during my weekly visits.

There has been no further sightings of the Finnish Black-headed Gull -  ST347.186 .  It looks likely that this gull was just passing through.

Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Wednesday 28th January 2026

2AAN	2FFA	2FJT	2BRA	2CSK	2FJA	2FKA	2CSR	2AFD

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

2ABN	2ACV	2BRD	2CJT	2CTA	2FDL	2FDK	2FFN	2FFT	2FFX
2FHV	2FIF	2FIL	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJP	2FJV	2FJX

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Driving across the car park to my usual parking spot, I had to weave around a large number of Mute Swans.  A count revealed 14 adults and 1 cygnet.  2 of the adults are the resident pair and the cygnet belongs to them (the last of 6 youngsters).  The female is ringed -  X4707 .  There is no sign of the younger cygnet that appeared a few weeks back.  This youngster arrived on it's own and I'm now wondering if it was the swan that was found dead slightly upriver recently.

Another poor showing of Mallards today.  20 were present on my arrival and just 11 birds remained just before my departure.  All legs were checked for rings.

2 adult Common Gulls were present on my arrival and I had a high total of 5 adults at 12:24.  The highest total of adults recorded this winter, was 15 birds, which included two with metal rings (Scotland and Finland).  None of today's birds were ringed.

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was present throughout my visit and it's father arrived at 1:10.

The pair of Hooded Crows made a brief appearance.  As usual, a pair of Jackdaws made repeated visits as did the male Pied Wagtail.

Not a good day for recording other species.

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Antrim Marina - Thursday 22nd January 2026...

Antrim Marina - Thursday 22nd January 2026

I was only two minutes away from Antrim Marina, when I decided to turn the car around and head back home to Ballymena.  Just prior to this, I had called into a filling station in Antrim to purchase two loaves and began to feel unwell.  Feeling a lot better, though not perfect this morning, I returned to Antrim Marina.  The way things panned out, I would have been better staying at home.

Arriving at 11am, by 2pm, I was so bored, this weeks weekly visit was cut short.  Studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls - where are they?  Around 30 gulls were present on my arrival, and numbers dropped slightly soon afterwards and never recovered.  So far this winter, I have recorded 27 colour-coded birds and several other gulls have failed to return.

I had to wait until 11:53 to record my first gull which was -  2FKA  which had been ringed here as a juvenile in the Autumn of 2024.  Today's total finished on a very disappointing 5 gulls, leaving me with 22 absentees today and no new returnees.  The 5th gull recorded at 12:46 was -  2AAN .

You know you're going to have a bad day, when the ever present resident -  2CJT  is also absent.  Low numbers were not only noted amongst the Black-headed Gulls, but with other species as well (read below).  The only bit of joy I had today, was at 12:30, when a pair of legs hit the roof of my car, followed with the sound of a hungry juvenile Black-headed Gull.  For a few weeks now, this youngster normally hits the roof on my arrival.  It is so tame, it takes bits of bread from my hand.  Little does it know, it is about to be caught and ringed.

In an email from Suzanne Belshaw, she had recently visited the lake at Lurgan Park in County Armagh.  Normally, high numbers of Black-headed Gulls can be found there, but on her visit, just six were seen.  These low numbers at Antrim and Lurgan makes one wonder what is going on!!!

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Thursday 22nd January 2026

2FKA	2FIF	2CSK	2BRA	2AAN

As I was about to depart from the Marina during last week's visit, a metal-rung Black-headed Gull caught my eye.  With the ring glinting in the bright sunshine, I could see that it was a taller ring than the standard BTO ring, so I knew this was a foreign bird.  Grabbing my camera, I set out to photograph the gull and zoomed into the ring to capture the digits.  On checking my photos, I could see that the gull was from Finland, and I had the digits - ' 347.186 '.  I was unable to capture the two preceding letters, but checking my Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet for other Finnish Black-headed Gulls recorded in the past, the letters were than likely to be ' ST '. 

I decided to go ahead and send my sighting to the Ringing Centre at the University of Helsinki, as -  ST347.186 .  I had hoped for the ringing details last Monday, but they came in on Tuesday afternoon, my sighting was accepted. 

 ST347.186 , was caught and ringed on the 14th July 2024, as an unsexed adult with the use of a trap.  The ringing site was on the south-west coast of Finland, at a site just south-west of the town of Pargas (Parainen in Finnish).  My sighting was the first for this gull, coming 1 year, 6 months and 1 day since being ringed.  The distance to Antrim Marina was given as, 1,774 kms / 1,102 miles (W).

Great to obtain a result for this bird.

Black-headed Gull  -  Finland   ST347.186   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Jan 2026)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 14th July 2024, in Pargas, SW Finland)

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As mentioned above, today was not good concerning other species, notably, Common Gulls and Mallards.

The only Common Gull recorded today, was a juvenile at 12:29, which was still present when I departed.  A high of 15 adult Common Gulls were recorded here a couple of weeks ago.

Mallards numbered around 20 birds throughout the visit.  A few years back, numbers pushed up to the 80 to 100 mark during most weekly visits.  The pollution of Lough Neagh (especially Algae) must be affecting the number of ducklings survival rate, with a much reduced number of insect life.  Gone are the large clouds of Mayflies.

8 adult Mute Swans and a single cygnet were present throughout today's visit.  Two of the swans are the resident pair (female ringed -  X4707 ), and the cygnet belonged to them - the only one of six remaining.

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was also present throughout my visit, with it's father arriving at 12:44.

The adult Moorhen was also present throughout my visit.  With far less gulls present, it checked out all of the jetties and the car park looking for gull droppings which it eats.

As normal, a pair of Jackdaws made repeated visits.  The male Pied Wagtail was present throughout, and a pair of Hooded Crows made a very brief visit.

Not only was a lack of birds about, not many people passed through either.

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Antrim Marina - Thursday 15th January 2026...

Antrim Marina - Thursday 15th January 2026

This week's weekly visit to Antrim Marina was due to my car failing it's MoT Test.  The test itself was booked on Tuesday afternoon, and failed to a defective rear tyre.  Raging, I drove straight back to a local tyre company where I had the tyres checked last week, citing that I had an upcoming test.  After checking the tyres, I was informed that the passenger front was borderline and the other three were fine.  I decided to have a new tyre fitted and went into the MoT confident that the car would pass, and I could then go to the Marina on Wednesday.

At the tyre company, I came across the boss and told him that I failed over a tyre which was checked last week.  He was understandably angry that my tyres had not been checked properly.  The tyre at fault was damaged on the inside edge, and a replacement was fitted with a significant discount.  I returned home, went online to book a retest and was lucky to get a spot at 16:55 on Wednesday.  This time, the car passed.

Arriving at 11:53 on Thursday, I had planned to depart around 3pm.  It was another calm day with plenty of sunshine and slightly chilly.  The temperature gauge in my car read 6ºC.

Around 50 Black-headed Gulls were present when I arrived, but numbers never exceeded the 60 mark.  With 27 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls recorded so far this winter, once again, no further returnees appeared.

Of the 27 gulls, just 14 colour-rings were read today, leaving me with 13 absentees.  The high numbers of absentees are concerning and back at home, on checking my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, several have been missing for several weeks now.  I need to check back, to look for that storm that hit Northern Ireland with near 100mph winds, to see if this coincides with the absence of those gulls.

Of the gulls that have yet to return, I have just about given up hope on seeing them again.  I have recently mentioned about the Latvian -  2AFD , but I have now written off the Estonian -  2FDJ .   2FDJ , was special, as it was my long distance record holder, having been spotted just 44kms away from the Russian border - (2,060 kms / 1,280 miles (E)).  The gull never returned last winter either, hence writing it off.

Among the 14 colour-rings read today, was my second sighting of the Swedish -  2FDL , which appeared on the 30th December 2025, and it was pleasing to record -  2CTA , another recent returnee.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FDL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Jan 2026)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 18th November 2019, at Antrim Marina)

Black-headed Gull  -   2CTA   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Jan 2026)

(Ringed as an Unsexed 2nd Winter Bird, on the 10th December 2018, at Antrim Marina)

I was actually starting to pack away my gear at 3:04pm, when I noticed a tall metal ring shining brightly in the sun on a Black-headed Gull perched on the top rail of the Small Concrete Jetty in front of the car.  Grabbing my camera, I knew this was a new bird and was foreign gull.  Having taken a number of photos of the gull and zooming into the ring, I could see that it was from Finland.  I managed to capture the six digits, but failed to capture the two letters the would precede the numbers.

On returning home, I checked other Finnish Black-headed Gulls on my Main Ring Reading Spreadsheet, and all began with the letters ST, with the highest number reading -  ST304.210.  I therefore decided to submit my gull to the Ringing Centre at the University of Helsinki, as -  ST347.186  with a statement saying that I was unable to capture the two letters. 

I held back from publishing this post, as I had hoped for a reply on Monday, but I did not get one.  The ringing details will be added in my next post.

Black-headed Gull  -  Finland   ST347.186   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (15 Jan 2026)

(Waiting for the Ringing Details)

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Thursday 15th January 2025

2FJA	2FKA	2CJT	2FJT	2FDL	2FFA	2AAN
2CSK	2ABN	2FIL	2FJX	2CSR	2BRA	2CTA

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

2ACV	2BRD	2FDK	2FFN	2FFT	2FFX	2FHV
2FIF	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJP	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

After my initial count of the birds present on my arrival, only two others were added.

The first was the adult Moorhen at 1:21.  Spotted on the Long Wooden Jetty, it was again seen to be eating the gull droppings.

At 1:37, the resident male Herring Gull arrived, and his youngster from last summer was present throughout today's visit.

5 adult Common Gulls and a single juvenile on arrival could not be bettered.  I had the same number during each count and none of these were ringed.

10 adult Mute Swans and a single cygnet could not be bettered either.  The resident pair were among the 10 adults and the parents of the cygnet.  The resident pair, which the female is ringed -  X4707 , went into a brief courtship display.  A Council worker stopped by with me to say a dead swan had recently been seen just upriver.  I took a walk to have a look, but could not see it.  

Back at home, I checked the Online Influenza Map belonging to DAERA, and found the swan had been collected on the 16th January 2026, and tests came back as Negative for 'Bird Flu'.  The bird was found further upriver from the directions that I was given by the Council Worker.  The Online Map can be viewed (here).

A count of around 30 Mallards on my arrival, saw a similar total when I departed.

The usual pair of Jackdaws made repeated visits, especially to check the tray of the pellet dispenser.  A single Hooded Crow and the male Pied Wagtail made a brief visit.

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Antrim Marina - Wednesday 7th January 2026...

Antrim Marina - Wednesday 7th January 2026

After last week's weekly visit to Antrim Marina, it was great to see a higher number of birds during the visit.  What was really pleasing, those numbers remained more or less static and did not drop off like some other weeks.  That visit also saw two returning Black-headed Gulls and the return of a Finnish-rung Common Gull which I was eagerly waiting for, as it had surpassed the thirty year mark since being ringed as a juvenile.

In the couple of days prior to today's visit, Northern Ireland had snow and freezing temperatures.  Where I live, I had a front row seat overlooking the steepish road, the only way into and out of the estate.  With the grit box raided by folk that do not live in the estate, it was amusing to watch drivers trying to get out onto the main road.  Around half kept getting stuck midway up, while others given a clear run easily made it up the hill.  Just shows the difference of peoples driving skills.  With the cold spell continuing, coupled with last weeks success, I was looking forwards to today's visit to the Marina.

Arriving just on the stroke of 11am, frustrated, I ended the visit early departing at 2:30pm instead of the planned 3pm - yet another poor day as far as numbers were concerned.  Weatherwise, it was cloudy and calm, with the temperature gauge in my car reading 5ºC.

Studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, a number of these have been colour-ringed here in past winters in order to record their movements.  One of the two returnees last week, is known to breed in Sweden.  Those two gulls took this winter's list to 27 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls and I'm still waiting on 7 more.  One of those 7, is the Latvian breeding -  2AFD , which has a good resighting history during it's travels.

Around 30 Black-headed Gulls were present when I arrived today.  Numbers varied, with as low as 10, but never exceeded 40.  Of 27 colour-ringed gulls, just 13 rings were read today, leaving me with 14 absentees.  The final ring read at 12:22, was that of -  2FIL , meaning I had no more over the next two hours.  With the calm conditions, an unknown number of gulls rested on the roof of the 'Gateway Centre'.  I wish the Centre had a pitched roof instead of a flat one.

There is still no sign of the metal-rung Black-headed Gull from Iceland.  Last seen on the 25th November 2025, I'm now fairly sure that it has died.  Looking over my Antrim Marina Spreadsheet, some of my colour-ringed gulls have also been absent for a few weeks which is worrying.   

During the weekend, I had an email conversation with Scott Black who lives in Scotland.  He has also noticed a reduced number of Black-headed Gulls around his patch around the 'Central Belt'.  A keen 'Ring Reader', he reckons that 'Bird Flu' during the breeding season is the likely cause, killing many gulls.  Although his patch has escaped the worst of the snow, many water courses had frozen over.  With gulls standing on ice, legs were easily checked, with below average of 'Ringed' birds being spotted.

It's great to have another perspective on the Black-headed Gull situation, which clearly shows the similarities between my patch and Scott's patch.  I had wondered if the prior mild weather conditions had anything to do with returning birds, but it now seems that 'Bird Flu' is the main culprit.

With no further returnees today, this winters list remains at 27 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls, though I'm still hoping for at least another couple.

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Wednesday 7th January 2026

2FJA	2FFA	2BRA	2FJX	2CJT	2CSK	2FJT
2CTA	2AAN	2ABN	2CSR	2FKA	2FIL

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

2ACV	2BRD	2FDL	2FDK	2FFN	2FFT	2FFX
2FHV	2FIF	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJP	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

As with the Black-headed Gulls, there was also a large drop in other species recorded at the Marina today.

Common Gulls are my favourite species of gull, due to the large variation in their sizes, leg and beak colourations and the different looks of their winter plumage.  Last week saw a high for this winter of 15 adults (though 2 may have been 2nd calendar year birds) and a single juvenile.  Among those 15 adults, I was delighted to see the return of the Finnish-rung bird -  ST177.028 , and another sighting this winter of the small Scottish-rung female -  EY64036 .

Not so many Common Gulls today, with a high count of 5 adults at 12:00 and the appearance of a juvenile at 12:12 - none bore rings.

The resident male Herring Gull was present throughout the visit, as well as two juveniles, one of which belongs to the resident male.  A second year Herring Gull arrived at 12:02, this one I'm fairly sure, also belongs to the resident male (last year's chick).  Again, no sign of mother.

Just 6 adult Mute Swans and a single cygnet today.  Two of the swans are the resident pair and the cygnet was theirs - the female is ringed  X4707 .

Mallard numbers were constant with around 30 birds at all times.  Most legs were checked for rings.

The adult Moorhen has appeared again.  Arriving at 11:31, it began it's nasty habit of eating the gull droppings.

A Kingfisher was heard 'pipping' at 11:40.  I could tell that it was flying upriver, but could not spot it through my binoculars.

At 11:45, a wild commotion broke out in the trees on the opposite side of the river from the Marina.  Three Hooded Crows were alarming calling, and minutes later, other Hooded Crows began arriving from different directions to join in.  Even a pair of Magpies joined in.  I scanned through the trees with my binoculars, but I could not find the cause of the problem.  Between them, they made a wild noise that lasted for a good twenty minutes or so.

At 12:47, all of the gulls suddenly lifted into the sky, and at the same time, a male Sparrowhawk flew past my car, over the concrete jetty and into the woodland on the other side of the river.  Could that explain the noise made by the crows a little earlier?

As normal, a pair of Jackdaws and a male Pied Wagtail made repeated visits.

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Antrim Marina - Tuesday 30th December 2025...

Antrim Marina - Tuesday 30th December 2025

In recent weeks I have been complaining about the low numbers of birds at Antrim Marina, but today, I was in for a treat.  I arrived at 11:05 this morning, departing at 3pm.  With practically no wind, it was very calm and sunny, with the temperature gauge in my car reading a chilly 6ºC.

Studying a wintering population of Black-headed Gulls, some of which are colour-ringed, this winter's list increased to 25 gulls with the surprise visit of -  2FFN .  Normally these days,  2FFN  can be found on the shore at Whiteabbey on Belfast Lough.  Today, I had a further three returnees, 2 Black-headed Gulls and a Common Gull.

A reasonably good number of Black-headed Gulls were present all through today's visit.  Numbers remained around the 70 mark, but the reading of rings was hampered as an unknown number of gulls chose to rest on top of the roof of 'The Gateway Centre'.  A total of 12 out of 25 colour-rings were read today, which left me with 13 absentees.  A few birds may have been missed during the first three-quarters of an hour after my arrival due to having had conversations with several passers by.

My 4th ring sighting at 12pm, was that of today's first returnee -  2FJP .   2FJP , was ringed here as an unsexed adult on the 3rd December 2023, and subsequently recorded on three occasions to the 14th January 2024.

During the 2024/2025 winter, it did not return until the 30th December 2024 (same date as today), and was last seen on the 3rd March 2025.

Looking back at the ringing date, it may have just arrived when caught and ringed.  With the dates that I have, there is no doubting that it is a winter visitor and likely breeds in a foreign country.  It's just a pity that it has not been seen during it's travels so far.  It is now 2 years and 27 days since this gull was ringed.  It is always pleasing to record the return of one of my study birds.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FJP   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Dec 2025)

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

My 6th sighting at 12:04, saw the return of a second Black-headed Gull -  2FDL .   2FDL , breeds in Sweden, having been spotted in a breeding colony at Råstasjön Nature Reserve (Stockholm), on the 3rd April 2022.  To date, this is the only sighting away from Antrim Marina.

 2FDL , was ringed here as an unsexed adult, on the 18th November 2019.  The first sighting of this gull last winter occurred on the very late date of the 5th January 2025, though it may have been in the Antrim Town area much earlier.  The duration since being ringed, is now 6 years, 1 month and 12 days.

The one good thing about returnees, is the addition of several months onto their longevities.

Black-headed Gull  -   2FDL   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Dec 2025)

(Ringed as an Unsexed Adult, on the 18th November 2019, at Antrim Marina)

Among today's ring sightings, it is interesting to see -  2FHV  for a second week running.  In recent years, the gull normally leaves the area in mid October, returning in early spring prior to it's flight back to Iceland.

There is still no sign of the metal-rung Black-headed Gull from Iceland.  Having returned to the Marina for a third winter running on the 24th August 2025, it has not been seen since the 25th November 2025.  It is rare for that gull to be absent at all, never mind a month.  When present it normally walks up to the door of my car during each of my visits.  Things are not looking good for -  543335 .

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Tuesday 30th December 2025

2FFA	2CJT	2FJX	2FJP	2FJT	2FDL	2FJA
2FHV	2BRA	2CSR	2FIL	2CSK	2CTA	2FKA

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

2AAN	2ABN	2ACV	2BRD	2FDK	2FFN	2FFT
2FFX	2FIF	2FJF	2FJK	2FJN	2FJV

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Usually I start this section talking about the Mute Swans, as they are normally the most obvious birds to be seen when I drive through the car park to my normal parking spot beside the small Concrete Jetty.  However, once parked, it was the large number of Common Gulls which really caught my attention.  I made my usual initial count of the species present, also discovering that a total of 12 Common Gulls were here altogether.  Having lifted my camera straight away, the small metal-rung Scottish female -  EY64036  was among them.  What I was really looking for was the return of a Finnish metal-rung Common Gull, but there was no sign of it.  I have mentioned this gull in recent posts, really hoping that it would turn up here again.

Common Gull  -   EY64036   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Dec 2025)(Ringed as a Chick, on the 20th June 2013, at Hunterston, North Ayrshire, Scotland)

After that initial count, I was side-tracked for the best part of three-quarters of an hour having conversations with several passers by.  My final conversation was with two young ladies that were slightly fearful of the swans.  By the time I had finished, one of them quite happily petted one of the swans to her delight - fearful no longer.  I explained to them about my Black-headed Gull Study and the use of the colour-rings.  I also pointed to the larger Common Gulls on the Long Wooden Jetty, telling them of my hopes for the return of a Finnish metal-rung bird, should it return, would be over 30 years since being ringed.

By now, it was 11:50, as they departed and I returned to my car to get my binoculars.  A peek of the gulls on the top rail of the Small Concrete Jetty, my heart jumped - a large Common Gull with a metal-ring!!  Taking a photo of the bird, I zoomed into it's ring, and yes, it was the Finnish bird.   ST177.028 , which had been ringed as a juvenile on the 6th August 1995 in Maaninka, Finland - which now took the duration since being ringed, to 30 years, 4 months and 24 days.

I first recorded this gull here on the 28th February 2016, and the gull returned again during the winters of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018.  At this point when last recorded on the 19th March 2018, it had been 22 years, 7 months and 13 days since being ringed.  Over the next couple of years, I eagerly waited for it to return again, but there was no sign of it.  At this point, I thought it had died.  A couple of years ago, my ex-ringing trainer Neville McKee sent me a photo of a Finnish Common Gull which he had taken at the Marina in January 2007.  There was only a partial number on the ring which read -  ST1**.**8 , so there is no doubting that the gull was visiting Antrim a way back then.

Last winter, on the 15th December 2024, I had a really big surprise, on checking my photos, the metal-ring read -  ST177.028 .  I went on to record this gull on four further occasions, the last of which was on the 17th February 2025 - 29 years, 6 months and 11 days.

On the British Trust for Ornithology's Online Ringing Database (Read Here), the oldest Common Gull on their records was aged 30 years, 10 months and 2 days.

The distance from Maaninka in Finland to Antrim Marina, is 2,124 kms / 1,319 miles (WSW).  Imagine the overall mileage after so many years.  Now the gull has returned, I am hoping for more sightings through to spring and next winter - you never know!!!!

Common Gull  -  Finland   ST177.028   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Dec 2025)(Ringed as an Unsexed Juvenile, on the 6th August 1995, in Maaninka, Finland)

A final count of the Common Gulls at 1:20pm, revealed a winter's record of 15 adults (possibly two 2nd calendar year birds) and a single juvenile.  With so many Common Gulls about, I wondered about a Norwegian bird that appeared briefly back in January 2024.  This one had a (White Darvic) - JE956.

That gull had previously been spotted at Lurgan Park in County Armagh in December 2022 (Suzanne Belshaw), with two sightings back in Norway in June 2023.  I checked the 'Live' Norwegian Ringing Database, but no further sightings had been submitted since my sighting here in 2024.  When I saw it, it was slightly over 5 years since it had been ringed, so there is a good chance that it might still be alive and may return in the future.

Now, to get back on track, there were 8 adult Mute Swans and a single cygnet present on my arrival.  One of the swans was the resident female -  X4707 , and I soon established the the cygnet belonged to her.  She had six cygnets altogether and the other five would have been old enough to leave and look after themselves.  Three disappeared around the time when 'Storm Amy' struck Northern Ireland.

The slightly younger cygnet arrived at 12:25.  This one appeared on it's own a couple of weeks ago following another storm.  It will quite happily come ashore onto the slipway, but is still very wary of people.  A further 4 adults arrived in from Lough Neagh at 2pm.  I'm fairly sure that all legs were checked for rings.

Mallard numbers were well up this week.  Around 40 were present at all times, with most being checked for rings.  I would love to get a bird or two which belong to a gun club in County Armagh.  Suzanne Belshaw recorded one of their metal-rung Mallards at Kinnego Marina recently.

The juvenile Herring Gull belonging to the resident pair was present throughout this visit, with his father arriving at 12:07 - no sign of mother today.  A second calendar year Herring Gull arrived at 12:11, and I'm still fairly sure that this is last year's chick belonging to the resident pair.  A very boisterous 3rd calendar year bird arrived at 2:35pm, and only stayed for a couple of minutes before being chased away by the resident male.

For a second week running, there was no sign of the adult Moorhen.  In the weeks before, I had observed it eating the gull droppings on the jetties.  Has this nasty habit, led to it's absence?

A pair of Jackdaws made several brief appearances, often checking the bowl of the seed dispenser which was regularly used today.  The lone 'speckled' looking Jackdaw made a brief appearance, as did the male Pied Wagtail.

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