Antrim Marina and BHG Orange 2CTA...

Antrim Marina

Due to ill health I had to cancel my weekly visits at Antrim Marina over the past two weeks and it is looking likely that I will have to miss this week's visit as well.  This is not ideal, but, as old age sets in, all sorts of problems can occur.

In previous posts, I have highlighted the problems at Antrim Marina and Lough Neagh concerning the high density of the 'Blue/Green' Algae.  Recently, I came across a video on YouTube giving the history of Lough Neagh and the neglect that over the year's has led to the problems of today.  It is an interesting watch - Click onto the link below.

The 400-Year Cover-Up That Poisoned Britain's Biggest Lake: Lough Neagh

Black-headed Gull - Orange 2CTA

On the 13th October 2026, I was delighted to receive an email from Jasmine Davies, which had a photo attached.  Earlier that day, Jasmine was at Fendrod Lake in Swansea (Wales) when she spotted a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull.  Having took a photo, she realised that part of the code was missing due to damage to the ring.  Having checked for a project, Jasmine noted my email address did not match the email address on the colour-ring, but she decided to contact me anyway.

I explained, that those colour-rings belonged to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study (2012 to 2018), and I now respond to sightings.  As a ringer myself, I used the last of Adam's Orange Rings before moving onto Blue Rings.

The gull concerned,  2CTA , is a winter visitor at Antrim Marina and was ringed on site on the 10th December 2018 as an unsexed 2nd calendar year bird (hatched in 2017).  With no summer sightings, I always suspected that  2CTA  could be breeding in a foreign country due to it's return dates at Antrim Marina (mid to late October or early November).  Once back, the gull is not a regular visitor at the Marina, but remains in the area of Antrim Town.

With this Welsh sighting, it might be possible that  2CTA  breeds somewhere in Wales.  On the other hand, due to date of this sighting, the gull could be breeding further afield and passing through Wales enroute to Northern Ireland.  A breeding season record would still be useful.

Regardless, this is a nice sighting record and I thank Jasmine for her email and photo.

The duration since being ringed is now 7 years, 10 months and 3 days.  The distance from Antrim Marina to Fendrod Lake is 374 kms / 232 miles (SSE).

Black-headed Gull  -    2CTA   -  Fendrod Lake, Swansea, Wales  (13 Oct 2026)

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

(Photo Courtesy of Jasmine Davies)

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Antrim Marina - Wednesday 30th September 2026...

Antrim Marina - Wednesday 30th September 2026

Today, I arrived at Antrim Marina at 12:10pm and departed at 3:30pm.  It was a nice clear day with plenty of sunshine, tough a fairly strong wind was blowing in from the west.  The temperature gauge in my car was reading 19ºC.  Looking out to Lough Neagh, you could see the waves breaking and smaller waves were breaking onto the slipway.  There was no sign of the 'Algae' which has been a major problem here in recent weeks.

The View of the Slipway and River Showing no Sign of the Algae

Black-headed Gull  -   2ABN   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Sep 2026)

(Ringed as an Adult Female, on the 23rd January 2013, at Antrim Marina)

(First Colour Ring Read Today and 2nd Oldest of the gulls ringed at the Marina - 13 years, 8 months and 7 days)

Continuing with my Black-headed Gull study, despite the improved conditions, gull numbers has remained on the low sign.  Around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present throughout my visit, though looking at the number of colour-ringed birds, there was a clear pattern of gulls coming and going. 

Since I resumed my winter study back at the start of August, only 13 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls from my study have been recorded so far.  No new returnees were recorded today and 10 of the 13 rings were read leaving me with three absentees.  The Icelandic - 2FHV was the fifth to be recorded, so he has not moved on as yet.

With so few birds of any sort around the Marina, this visit seemed to drag by, as there was so little to keep me busy and therefore, very little to report on.

I'm hoping that we have seen the last of the 'Algae' and the clearer conditions will help the number of gulls to increase. 

Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Wednesday 30th September 2026

2ABN	2FIF	2FIL	2CSR	2FHV	2BRA	2CJT	2FKA	2FJA	2FJT

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

2AAN	2CSK	2FFT

Other Birds at Antrim Marina

Driving towards my usual parking spot, hurray, three Mute Swans.  Two were lying down on the slipway and I could not see their legs properly.  Once they got up, I spotted a metal ring.  Zooming in with my camera, the ring read -  X4707  - the female of the resident pair.  It was good to know that they are still here.  I have not seen them since the 4th August 2026.

The ring of Mute Swan  -   X4707   -  Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim  (30 Sep 2026)

(Ringed as an Adult, on the 5th April 2024, at Bartins Bay, Lough Neagh, Co. Antrim)

Mallard numbers were low, with around 30 present throughout my visit.  Most if not all legs were checked for rings.  There has been no further sightings of the metal-rung female -  GJ31095  recorded by on the 5th September 2026.

No sign of the resident pair of Herring Gulls or this years chick.  A third calendar year bird arrived at 12:17 and a second calendar year bird at 2:05.  I still think that both belong to the resident pair.  A sub adult Lesser Black-backed Gull spent the whole of my visit lying down at the far end of the long wooden jetty.  No Common Gulls appeared today.

A pair of Jackdaws made repeated visits and the 'speckled' Jackdaw made a brief appearance.

Also today, I had another first.  Around 1:15, I spotted a small brown bird on the jetty.  Having took a few photos, I'm pretty sure it was a Dunlin, though I'm not great at identifying small waders.  Several passers-by stopped to look at it, I'm sure they wondered what it was.  I was surprised that it was so calm being closely approached.  It remained on the slipway for around an hour.  Looks like it stopped to have a short rest before moving on.

Dunlin - A First for Antrim Marina  (30 Sep 2026)

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