I had thought of subtitling this post “as the world burns…”, but it struck me as simultaneously too corny and too obvious. I am unceasingly astounded that as a species we continue to minimize or even deny anthropogenic climate change, even as we witness it engulf the entire planet.

A quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear has been echoing through my mind lately:

“When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.”

That aside, this morning I was surprised to spot a new nest from the Burrard St. Bridge. The nest was hidden by the ledges - but now the chicks are exploring and I got a good view of them.

Pyramid nest

Grassy nest

A photo from a visit on the 14th, a charming family portrait that highlights how different the chicks are in size.

Chimney nest

Another photograph from the 14th: two chicks with one of their parents resting by them.

Engineer nest

This nest often presents a challenge in finding the chicks. Their camouflaged down is remarkably effective when they’re not moving – but here they are, both of them accounted for.

Culinary nest, sunlit

At about a month old, these chicks look considerably different than the younger nestlings. I find the changes in their faces especially striking. This is a photograph from July 14th.

Culinary nest

Another photograph of a Culinary nest chick from this morning. Comparing this to the above photo gives a remarkable example of the difference lighting can make. Yes, I post-process my photos, but I attempt to keep them fairly natural – I’ve seen too many decent photos of bird that have been ruined by having their colours and contrast boosted to absurd levels.

Penthouse nest

The chick at Penthouse nest was resting in a visible location this morning, with a parent resting nearby. The mood was calmer than usual – the adult gull didn’t show much stress and only watched me inquisitively. Still, I snapped a few photos and kept moving. Super cute little one.

Restaurant nest

I can almost always find these two chicks asleep and snuggled together in one of two places on the rooftop.

Restaurant nest, sunlit

On the 14th, however, both chicks were active and wandering around the rooftop. Here’s one I caught mid-call.

Design nest

One of the parents had just arrived for feeding time at Design nest and was quickly surrounded by three hungry chicks.

Ferrari nest

Napping in the morning sun.

Other nests

Most of the nests seem to be doing well, although I’m concerned about Cambie nest. Both this morning and on the 14th I spotted one chick still on the chimney, but failed to find the second chick. This morning I saw an adult on the far side of the building but it was too distant to see if there was a chick with it. My stomach dropped when I saw a woman on the roof of the same building with a broom and leaf-blower…

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