My nest survey started with a muggy bus ride, engulfed in the exhalations of my fellow passengers. I don’t take the bus much – I favour my feet – but every time I’m bewildered by how mesmerized we are by our phones. Like the stale air, almost everyone has their worlds enveloped by headphones and small screens, severing any ties to the world around them. The bus makes an unexpected quick stop, people hanging onto the poles to stop from falling. Unprepared, lost in digital hypnosis.

It’s easy enough, and perhaps justified, to dismiss my thinking as that of a curmudgeonly Luddite. But it’s hard to argue for how this technology has been used against us, consuming our attention with a Fata Morgana of hope and meaning, knowing that behind the curtain greedy men laugh and profit.

But what am I talking about? Let’s get on with the gulls…

Chimney Nest

Two birds at Chimney Nest. Last year this nest failed, hopefully this year is different.

Grassy Nest

Still brooding, maybe another two weeks before we see chicks?

Engineer Nest

Right before this photo was taken the two adults switched roles.

Culinary Nest

Brooding quietly despite the deterrent device. Still no word back from Environment and Climate Change Canada about the legality of this.

Culinary Nest

Take a look on the building past Culinary Nest and you’ll see two gulls settled down in the corner of that rooftop. Is this a new nest, or just two gulls having a rest?

Possible new nest

A close-up of the two gulls. I’ll find out on my next survey what’s going on here.

Corner Nest

One of the gulls at the new Corner Nest brooding.

Crossfit Nest

A brooding adult looking a little awkward.

Clipper Nest #2

Both parents hanging around the nest.

Clipper Nest #1

…and here too.

Burrard Nest #2

I have to refer to my maps from previous years for the numbering of these nests on the Burrard Street Bridge towers. Although they are numbered quite straightforwardly, I always get confused. Here’s an adult brooding at Burrard Nest #2.

Pyramid Nest

A brooding adult wedged into Pyramid Nest. Quite possibly our banded gull we always see here.

Cambie Nest

Things were uneventful at Cambie Nest.

Restaurant Nest

No gulls have nested at this location since 2024 when it was abandoned.

QGIS

I’ve almost got a new map ready to go, but I’m working out a few strange issues.

Until next time…

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