Last Friday (July 20th) was the first night of the ‘Honda Celebration of Light’ fireworks. As if Honda hasn’t done enough for us… thanks guys!

Our primate brains may go wild for colourful explosions in the sky, but research unequivocally shows how dangerous and terrifying these events are for pets and urban wildlife, in addition to their detrimental environmental effects.

• Not just a flash in the pan: short and long term impacts of fireworks on the environment
• The Devastating Effects of Fireworks on Pets and Wildlife
• L-band radar quantifies major disturbance of birds by fireworks in an urban area

I suspect I was one of the few people in the city worried for the gulls nesting on the Burrard Street Bridge, located adjacent to English Bay, where display takes place.

Burrard Nest #4

Most of the chicks closest to English Bay (Clipper Nests, Burrard Nests) were accounted for on my visit, though I couldn’t see any chicks at Burrard Nest #4 (above, the most directly exposed nest), or at Pyramid Nest. I suspect (and hope) that they were nestled up, sleeping in a spot I couldn’t see.

I couldn’t resist taking this photo of the bird banding crew I volunteer with at the Vancouver Avian Research Centre. These are my people – this is taken at about 5:00am as we make our way to the banding station.

This is what’s been stuck in my head lately. The references of 90s rave culture and the lo-fi video really work for me.

While I was out on my route last weekend, it struck me that my nest monitoring is a pilgrimage – each nest a destination, a shrine to mystery, to the genius and tenacity of the other beings we are often blind to.

These are the fleeting images I try to capture, the small sparks I desperately harbour to get me through the following five days of mental anaesthetization.

There’s a lot of nests to get through, so here we go…

Pyramid Nest

What luck – the chicks and parents were at the nest when I arrived. I was able to get conclusive proof that both the parents are banded gulls. Not only will I be able to verify if they both nest in the same spot next year, but perhaps even spot them during the non-breeding season.