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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