I had a quiet Sunday morning visit to a good portion of the nests. The sky was overcast, sparing the gulls and myself from the full strength of the sun. It gave me the opportunity to see some of the chicks that are usually tucked away in shade and hidden from view.

Pyramid nest

The chicks at Pyramid nest are doing well. Here they are with a parent. Given their lack of excitement and begging, I suspect they were fed shorty before this photo.

Chimney nest…

I had a shock when I arrived on the Granville Street Bridge and caught sight of Chimney nest – one of the chicks has fallen from the platform. At first I spotted it standing by the base of the platform as seen in this photo, but as I proceeded across the bridge and looked back…

Chimney nest, fallen chick

… I saw the chick was at the edge of the rooftop. You can just see it in the bottom left corner here, beside the large grey light fixture.

The roof looks smooth, and it seems to be almost a 45 degree angle at places. Worse yet, it’s at least 100 feet to the ground.

I lost sight of the chick as I got further down the bridge. I remind myself that gulls typically nest of rugged, rocky islands and perhaps what looks like an incredibly dangerous situation to us is second nature to a gull chick.

It reminds me that as humans we live in a vastly different world of our own making. We are somewhat shielded from the unpredictable beauty and indifferent brutality of the natural world.

Crossfit nest

I finally spotted one of the chicks out from hiding at Crossfit nest. I wasn’t able to get a look at the second chick, but I suspect it was tucked away in the usual nook beside the chimney.

Engineer nest

The two chicks were resting together, hidden against the gravel rooftop.

Judging by the down on their heads, they’re not quite as old as the Culinary nest chicks, but I suspect we’ll see them in the full juvenile plumage within another few weeks.

Grassy nest

A lot of resting and preening at the Grassy nest.

Culinary nest

I only spotted one of the fledglings at the Culinary nest. The balcony they’re on wraps around the back of the building, and I think the other chick was hiding out there somewhere.

Looking at the wings, you can see a majority of the flight feathers have grown in. I wonder how much longer we have before these chicks fledge and vanish into the sky.

Penthouse nest

On my previous visit a few days ago I found no trace of this chick, which got me concerned given the proximity to the bridge and the previous incident when some guy was on the roof.

My fears were entirely unfounded, as I spotted the chick and both parents lazing around the original nesting site.

Restuarant nest

I found these two chicks hanging around their usual napping location that they’ve used since they were tiny.

Ferrari nest

Usually the chicks at Ferrari nest are tucked away in the shade behind a ledge or the HVAC unit, and I haven’t had a chance to get a good look at them for a few weeks. On this visit they were out from hiding and wandering about the rooftop.

One of the chicks had picked up some moss growing on the roof, and was soon accosted by its sibling who needed to ensure it didn’t miss out on a meal. They both quickly realized it wouldn’t make a good lunch and moved on.

Design nest

I spotted one of the chicks at Design nest looking out from the corner they often retreat to. I suspect the other chicks were resting nearby, but I couldn’t see them.

Cambie nest

I stopped by Cambie nest yet again, but despite a meticulous scan of the rooftop from numerous angles, I was unable to see any sign of the chicks.

There’s no doubt I’ll still stop by in the future, but I’m almost certain that the chicks must have fledged.

Until next time.

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