I was going to leave this for the finale, but instead I’ll to lead with a surprise discovery I made the other morning: I found a new nest!

Despite having walked past it half a dozen times and it being around 25 feet from the bridge-deck, I completely missed it until now.

It’s located on the rooftop of the Culinary nest building, so I’m going to name it…

Penthouse nest

An adult and chick kept a sharp eye on me as I looked on in surprise. The nest is located behind a ledge which could easily hide an adult gull if it was sitting. I didn’t stay long to avoid stressing these birds so I’m not certain if there were any other chicks hiding behind that ledge.

Note the empty can some saphead tossed from onto the roof.

Penthouse nest chick

With the nest so close to the bridge, my telephoto lens let me get this beautiful close-up of the chick. I’ve noticed is that young chicks have a defined dull ochre-coloured tip to their bill which fades as they age. This chick is probably only a handful of days old.

Clipper nest #1

The three chicks at Clipper nest #1 were hanging around the same spot I saw them previously, looking larger and fluffier. Both parents were out of frame to the left, preening, resting, and keeping watch.

Clipper nest #2

The last time I checked up on Clipper nest #2 all I saw was an adult resting on the ledge – a sign there were chicks nearby, but I was unable to see any.

This visit turned up three chicks. They were around 75 feet from the chicks of Clipper nest #1 so hopefully there won’t be any interspecific aggression. One of their parents was just out of the frame, herding them back toward their nest and ensuring they don’t stray too close to the other adults.

Crossfit nest

My last visit to this nest turned up an adult resting on the nest and one chick visible tucked under its wing. Although I wasn’t able to get a great view, I spotted two chicks. They didn’t turn around while I was watching, so you get a photo of their butts.

Engineer nest

If you recall, on my last visit to Engineer nest I verified there was at least one chick. After a while of searching the rooftop I finally looked at the original nest location and saw two chicks resting.

Chimney nest

I finally got to see the chicks of Chimney nest! On my previous visit I saw a tiny speckled head tucked in under a nesting parent. Now I know there are two chicks – and an egg still remaining in the nest. Judging by the size difference, the chick on the left is probably a day or two younger than the one on the right.

Not much was happening at Grassy nest located on the same building; one parent was resting on the ledge with a cluster of chicks fast asleep in the middle of the vegetation.

Cullinary nest

The chicks of Culinary nest were both resting in the nest when I arrived. These are some of the oldest chicks, somewhere between three weeks to a month old now. Notice how different they look compared to the young chicks above. Their coverts are filling out with juvenile feathers and they’re becoming more grey overall.

Ferrari nest

Things were calm at Ferrari nest as the chicks nestled up together to nap in the morning sun. Both parents were not far off to the left.

Design nest

Here are the three chicks of Design nest, hiding behind the same HVAC unit I found them at previously.

Cambie nest, chimney

I suspected something was up when I got to Cambie nest – a parent gull was resting on a chimney top at the opposite end of the roof (over 100 feet from the nest). It didn’t take me long to see there was only one chick on the raised platform. At some point since my last visit the other chick either jumped or fell off the platform…

Cambie nest, rooftop

Searching the rooftop near the resting adult gull, I found the second chick resting by a ledge. I saw it get up and move around a bit, seemingly healthy and uninjured from the adventure. I suspect on my next visit the chick still on the nest will have joined its sibling on the rooftop.

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