Fledglings at the Clipper nests

The morning started with an exhilarating sight: fledglings at the Clipper nest stretching their wings, taking short flights across the rooftop – and then climbing in the air, grasping the wind, and widely circling the building. Their flight is still unsure, like a child who’s only just figured out how to ride a bicycle.

How astounding to witness these birds leave their infancy of gravel and cinder blocks. Taking wing, their entire perspective metamorphasizes, suddenly unbound from the plane of a rooftop.

Clipper nests

The chicks at both Clipper nests no longer seem to keep separate, and I counted a total of five fledglings on the rooftop. Here’s one standing atop a vent stretching out its wings.

Burrard nest #1

Burrard nest #1 is doing well. All three chicks have made it this far on this precarious nest with little shelter from the weather.

Pyramid nest

Here’s the two chicks from this nest once again. I’m curious how long it will be until I spot them wandering around other parts of this rooftop.

Apartment nest

Both of the chicks from this nest were leaping and testing their wing when I arrived. The wind was coming from the west, and it wasn’t long before they both began making tentative flights around their building.

Restaurant nest

I found both of the chicks from Restaurant nest, one peering off the edge of the building…

Restaurant nest, sleeping

…and the other fast asleep in the nest it was born in.

Penthouse nest adult

I wasn’t able to find the chick at this nest, but both adults were resting in their usual spots. I take this as a good indication that the chick is still there and doing fine, hidden away in a shady nook.

Grassy nest

All three chicks at Grassy nest look like they’re getting close to fledging, especially the larger one in the rear.

Chimney nest, missing chick found!

Approaching Chimney nest I was very surprised to see the chick I thought we had lost previously. It was on the north-west side of the rooftop. The original Chimney nest site is off to the left of this photo.

Chimney nest chick

A close-up of the chick, which seems to be doing well.

Engineer nest

My visit on Aug 6th was the last time counted two chicks at this nest. On both my visits since then, I’ve only seen one chick at Engineer nest.

Here’s that chick making some test flights right before a parent swooped in a delivered a meal.

Culinary nest

One of the chicks seems reticent to leave. Who can blame it?

Rainbow nest

When I spotted this nest on my last visit, I only saw two chicks. Well, it turns out there are three.

Fountain nest

The young chicks at Fountain nest getting excited as a parent approaches…

Other nests

I wasn’t able to find any birds at Design nest… and I saw a report on iNaturalist a few days back of a dead fledgling gull found by the sidewalk just north of this nest. There is no way of knowing if it was a fledgling from this nest or not, but it’s the difficult truth that many of these fledglings won’t make it past their first year.

Crossfit nest: I saw a lone fledgling again on yet another rooftop about 50 meters from the original nest site.

Both chicks at Ferrari nest were sleeping in shade.

I was not able to see any chicks at the newly discovered Klondike nest. Perhaps they fledged, more likely they were sleeping somewhere in shade that I couldn’t see.

Until next time.

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