Antrim Marina - Sunday 19th November 2023 On my way to Antrim Marina today, I once again stopped at the nearby filling station to obtain some fuel for my car and purchase two loaves...
On my way to Antrim Marina today, I once again stopped at the nearby filling station to obtain some fuel for my car and purchase two loaves of bread. I had intended to arrive at the Marina by 10am, but on leaving the filling station, I made my way to the Castle Way car park in the centre of Antrim Town. Here, I was on the lookout for the possible return of Black-headed Gull - 2AFD , which had been spotted during the summer in the Latvian capital of Riga, followed up ten days later with a sighting in Norfolk, England. As with my other recent visits to the car park of late, not a single gull was to be seen. Over more recent winter's, 2AFD now prefers Castle Way over Antrim Marina where it was originally ringed at.
A quick swing around the car park, I then made my way to the Marina, arriving just before 10:10. It was raining, with just a slight westerly breeze, and the temperature gauge in my car was reading 12°C. The rain stopped shortly afterwards, with the odd light shower of drizzle afterwards.
This winter, 24 colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls have been recorded back at the Marina, whilst around the same number have failed to return indicating that many had died during the breeding season, with 'Bird Flu' being the likely cause of fatalities. One gull - 2FFC was found dead in May at the largest German Black-headed Gull colony, and later tested positive having succumbed to the virus. Before departing from the Marina last Sunday, an attempt to catch and ring new birds, saw three being caught, which meant I was looking for 27 colour-rings today, plus any returnees.
Parking as close to the short concrete jetty as possible, due to it still being fenced off, around 40 Black-headed Gulls were present. The first two rings read at 10:10, were those of - 2FFA and 2FIA . By 10:47, fourteen rings had been read. Among these, were two of the three gulls ringed last week - the 2nd calendar year bird - 2FJJ (3rd), and the juvenile/1st winter bird - 2FJF (10th). I managed to obtain the first photos for these two gulls. The absentee among these three, was the adult - 2FJH .
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Black-headed Gull - 2FJJ - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (19 Nov 2023)
(Ringed as an Unsexed 2nd Calendar Year Bird, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)
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Black-headed Gull - 2FJF - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (19 Nov 2023)
(Ringed as an Juvenile/1st Calendar Year Bird, on the 12th November 2023, at Antrim Marina)
I now had a long wait until the next colour-ring was read, which was that of - 2CJT at 12:14. Normally, you can rely on - 2CJT being among the earliest of rings to be read, but on a couple of occasions this winter, it has appeared quite late. The penultimate colour-ring at 12:21, belonged to - 2ACV . This gull had a very bad leg injury back in August, which I thought may well have been a break. As the weeks have passed by, the bird is now standing quite well on the leg.
My 15th and final ring-sighting, was that of a returnee, the gull landing on the bollard directly in front of my car. Noticing the ring, I took a look through my binoculars and nearly fell through the floor of the car. It was none other than the Latvian - 2AFD - like trying to tell me, 'I'm back'. Having been spotted by German tourist Simon Piro in the Latvian capital of Riga on the 30th June and 1st July 2023, 10 days later, 2AFD turned up on Cromer Beach in Norfolk, England.
That sighting leads me to believe that this gull 'stages' somewhere before finally returning to Antrim in mid November. I had hoped for further sightings in England, but nothing came in. 2AFD , belongs to Adam McClure's former Northern Ireland Black-headed Gull Study (2012 to 2018), and was ringed at Antrim Marina, as an adult male, on the 12th February 2014. Over previous years, 2AFD has been spotted around Riga in 2015, 2016 and 2022. The duration since being ringed, is now 9 years, 9 months and 7 days. The full ringing and re-sighting history for this bird can be read (here).
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Black-headed Gull - 2AFD - Antrim Marina, Antrim Town, Co. Antrim (19 Nov 2023)
(Ringed as an Adult Male on the 12th February 2014, at Antrim Marina)
As you can imagine, I was delighted to record the return of this gull, seeing as so many have not made it back. With the return of - 2AFD , I will be on the lookout for 28 colour-rings on Sunday coming, plus any further returnees. I am now really keen to record the return of - 2FDL from Sweden. Last winter, this gull was recorded back on the 28th November, so if it has survived through the breeding season, it is now due back - fingers crossed for this one.
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina on Sunday 19th November 2023
Colour Ringed Black-headed Gulls Recorded at Antrim Marina This Autumn/Winter but Absent Today
Last week, I also recorded a new metal-rung Black-headed Gull - 595818 , which had been ringed in Iceland. Although it was very comfortable being around people, I had hoped it would appear again today, but there was no sign of it. The Icelandic Bird Ringing Department needed to contact the ringer concerned for the birds details, but I am still waiting for a reply. This was my third Icelandic metal-rung Black-headed Gull to have been recorded here this winter. The first bird - 543335 , was again recorded today at 11:23, and has been here since the 8th August. The second, a very nervy bird, has not been seen since it's only sighting on the 18th September 2023.
Over the morning, the number of Black-headed Gulls peaked at around the 70 mark, before a slight drop off in numbers before I departed. With some birds, especially colour-ringed birds, coming and going, the wintering population would top the 100 mark, but compared with previous winters, I'm still left with around 100+ still missing. Numbers at this time of the year should be in the 200 to 300 bracket.
Before departing, I made another couple of attempts at catching some more new birds for ringing, but the birds remained just inches away. Several people arrived over the course of my visit to feed the ducks with bread. One young lady arrived with a bag with what looked like cat pellets. These were thrown over the car park for the ducks, but the gulls quickly mopped these up. With these pellets swelling up in the crops of the gulls, they would feel like being well fed.
Other Birds at Antrim Marina
Mute Swan numbers were slightly down this week, with 10 (White) swans and 4 cygnets present on my arrival. The four cygnets, were the resident group, having hatched out during the summer upriver from the Marina. A 5th cygnet arrived on it's own from the direction of Lough Neagh at 11:29. This one was slightly smaller and browner than the others, and I reckon this was one of two cygnets that first appeared here along with a juvenile Whooper Swan. The metal rung - Z78580 , was recorded 10:32.
The usual adult Herring Gull was present throughout today's visit, with a second adult appearing briefly at 12:06. I could tell by the looks of this bird, it has not been seen here before.
An adult Common Gull was also present throughout my visit, with a second adult appearing at 12:13. This is a bit disappointing seeing as I had a high of 10 adults a couple of weeks ago. Still no sign of the small metal-rung Scottish bird, and as the weeks pass, it's looking more than likely that we have lost this one as well.
Mallard numbers are now very low. Normally, totals should be nearer the 100 mark, but today saw just 30 on arrival, and less than 20 by the time that I departed just after 1:30pm.
Two Hooded Crows made a brief appearance at 11:50, and just two Jackdaws were noted on several occasions. Jackdaw numbers, though never high over previous winters, are significantly lower this winter.
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