I made it to the Granville Street Bridge this morning to check in on a number of Glaucous-Winged Gull nests I’m monitoring. Not only did I spot three new nests, but…
The first chicks of the season have hatched!
As you can see, two chicks have hatch at this nest located on an unused balcony of a culinary school. I suspect they’re no more than a few days old, given there is still one egg unhatched. I’ll be referring to this as the Culinary nest despite how strange that sounds…
Resting chicks
Parent incubating
After feeding the two chicks, this adult gull got back on the nest to incubate the remaining egg. The two chicks were quite excited, running around and flapping their stubby, featherless wings. Note the broken eggshell that one of these chicks probably emerged from at the bottom of the photo.
Chimney nest
Business as usual at the Chimney nest.
Grassy nest
A parent rests at the Grassy nest.
Restaurant nest
The same story at the nest wedged into a corner on top of a restaurant. I was a bit concerned as there were numerous workers on a nearby rooftop, but I think they’re far enough away not to cause too much stress.
Newly spotted nest #1
This is a nest I did not spot last year. I may have missed it or it may be new this year. It’s a bit distant and hard to see in detail, but I’ll monitor it as best I can. It’s located on top of an engineering firm, so I’ll call this the Engineer nest.
Newly spotted nest #2
Another new nest that is quite exposed and visible from the bridge. This nest is new this year, and it should provide some great photographs. Located on the roof of an auto repair shop, I think we’ll call this the Ferrari nest.
I wasn’t able to get a good photograph of the third nest, but plan to be back out in the next day or two.