Nesting Season 2024

- 4 mins read

Series: Nesting Gulls 2024

Today marked the first day of my gull nest monitoring for the 2024 season.

Well, not really – I’ve checked on some of the nests close to my workplace a few times in the last handful of weeks. But this morning I brought my camera and walked almost the entire route, checking in on a majority of the nesting locations I’ve discovered in the previous two years.

For those of you who followed along last year, I’m using the same names for all the nests. While I can’t be compeltely certain, these are probably the same pairs of gulls using the sites, as the research I’ve read suggests these gulls have strong site fidelity1, also known as breeding philopatry.

Cambie Nest

Cambie Nest

Cambie Nest

While it was the last nest I visited on my route, I feature it first as the Cambie nest always provides some of the best photos since it’s relatively close (~20m/70ft) to the Cambie St. Bridge walkway. Here is one of the parents on the nest – you can see it was getting warm as this bird is cooling off by gular fluttering – the bird equivalent to panting.

Culinary Nest

Culinary Nest

Culinary Nest

Culinary nest is another nest that’s close the Granville Street Bridge walkway (~30m/100ft), allowing for good views. Again we see one of the parents keeping the eggs shielded from the sun and cooling off with gular fluttering.

Restaurant Nest

Restaurant Nest

Restaurant Nest

This nest, tucked into a corner of the roof above a restaurant, is not as exposed to the sun as some of the other nests. Note the egg that has somehow rolled out of the nest.

Chimney Nest

Chimney Nest

Chimney Nest

Another nest with great views, along with the nearby Grassy nest. I spotted both parents at the nest on my visit. Shortly after this photo, the gull on the left headed down to Granville Island, a popular tourist destination and open-air food court that undoubtedly supplies many gulls in the city with a meal.

Grassy Nest

Grassy Nest

Grassy Nest

One of the parents cooling off and keeping the eggs from getting too warm.

Engineer Nest

Engineer Nest

Engineer Nest

Another bird on the nest at the Engineer nest. These few years I’ve spent search out gull nests have really changed the way I look at the city… I’m always contemplating and calculating what would constitute a good nesting location.

Design Nest (?)

Design Nest

Design Nest

The nest these birds used last year is empty, and I assumed maybe they would show up later or perhaps they had abandoned the location. Then I spied a gull on the roof right beside last year’s spot. I had to awkwardly stand on the concrete divider between the sidewalk and the road, but the extra height allowed me to spot this gull on a nest.

I am making the (perhaps unjustified?) assumption this is the same pair from last year who have decided to move their nest to a spot that is somewhat more shaded and hidden than the previous location.

Crossfit Nest

Crossfit Nest

Crossfit Nest

Pleased to see one of the parents on the nest at Crossfit Nest. There’s a lot of development happening in the area, and I’m concerned this building doesn’t have long to go before it’s torn down for overpriced condos.

Beach Ave Nest (?)

Beach Ave Nest (?)

Beach Ave Nest (?)

Late last season I saw some gull chicks up on this roof and I’m willing to bet this bird is on a nest, even though I can’t get to a location high enough to verify that.

Pyramid Nest (?)

Pyramid Nest (?)

Pyramid Nest (?)

Another location I spotted last year. Thought it isn’t entirely visible from the photo, I’m almost certain the gull in the bottom of the photo is on a nest. It’s a bonus that the other gull is banded! Hopefully this is one of the parents.

Burrard Nest #2

Burrard Nest #2

Burrard Nest #2

I saw only one pair of gulls on the towers of the Burrard Street Bridge. Last year I saw four pairs on the corners of these towers.

Clipper Nest #1

Clipper Nest #1

Clipper Nest #1

Once again we have two nests on the roof of the Clipper building. Here’s a terrible photo of the first nest – it’s clear I’ve got to relearn how to photograph gulls in the sunlight without blowing out the highlights…

Clipper Nest #2

Clipper Nest #2

Clipper Nest #2

Clipper nest #2 looks lovely, doesn’t it?

I suspect we’ve got another 2-3 weeks before we see the first chicks?

That’s all I have for today. Get out and pay attention.