August morning sunlight filters through a hazy sky – is it smoke from distant forest fires, or only the smog of industry hanging low, keeping close.
My monitoring is almost at an end. Many of the nests are empty, the chicks having fledged. Many others are close to leaving, and only a handful of younger chicks remain at late nests.
My schedule is changing as fall shines on the horizon, and this may be my last weekend on my route.
Square Nest
Square Nest
One of the three younger chicks, with some feral Rock Pigeons in the background to give you a sense of scale.
I have one free day a week, yet I get up early and wander through the city documenting gull nests. I feel strange and awkward walking across the bridges with my binoculars and camera, but I keep doing it. Who else is watching these gulls? It’s a privilege to watch the lives of these birds unfold.
Maybe I pass on a modicum of the wonder I experience to the few of you who visit my website. Maybe one or two people will spend a few moments more watching and contemplating the lives of these ubiquitous but ignored birds.
Square Nest chicks
Square Nest chicks
The three chicks at Square Nest were gathered together with no adult nearby that I could see – a strange situation for such young birds.
Summer grips us tightly, the dazzling flames of sunlight unimpeded by the barren sky. The gull chicks and I retreat to shadows whenever we can, meagre though they may be. Their darkness evaporates and wanders, the sun carving a gravity-worn path across the sky.
University Nest
University Nest
Arriving at University Nest, I found a gull defending its nest site against a persistent crow. The gull chased the crow a short distance, but quickly returned to the nest, knowing the crow would soon try and sneak back. After a few minutes, the crow grew tired and settled down across the street – and I saw the head of at least one young chick peeking up above the ledge.
