Three and a half weeks ago I posted some photos of baby western seagulls that were in a nest atop some pilings at the launch ramp in the Port of Gold Beach. I don’t know how many eggs were originally in the clutch, but when I started taking photos, there were three babies. Several days later, I returned and saw only two. I didn’t know if the third one was “hiding” because they can hunker down in the holes on the pilings and they’re invisible when they do. But I eventually realized one was really gone. A few days later, there was only one, and a few days after that I went down there and didn’t see any. Now, however, I’ve discovered there is still one and sometimes it does hide.

I don’t know what happened to the others. A few people suggested predators may have gotten them. But I’ve watched them jump from one part of the nest to another and, if they stumble and fall,  it’s a long way from the nest to the dock and the water and there’s no way of them getting back up.

This is a photo from almost a month ago. The babies seemed to like going from the “hole” atop one of the pilings to the hole atop the next one and jumping back.

This is the set of pilings where the nest is located. As you can see, a misstep or an errant breeze when it’s jumping could be catastrophic to a baby that can’t fly.

This is when they were down to two.

Then there was one.

This, of course is a different angle from the one I usually shoot them from.

I don’t know if this one has survived just because it isn’t as adventurous as the other two. It always seems to be atop the one piling.

This is the latest photo. The parents seem to hover around the nest. Maybe they realize this is going to be their only offspring this summer.

I don’t have any great affection for Western Seagulls. I think it’s because there are so many of them and they’re here year-round, so I just don’t see them anymore.

However, a friend pointed out a Western Seagull nest at the launch ramp at the Port of Gold Beach. No matter how you feel about seagulls, babies are babies and almost universally cute. So, I’m now photographing them.

Here’s the nest, atop some pilings, and I think that may be Mom and Dad watching over them.

I wondered why the one here was peering into the other side of the nest.

He or she was about to pay its other sibling a visit.

Maybe it was just trying to get away from the sibling that was crowding it with its wings. Whatever its intentions, if it falls, it’s about 15 feet to the floating dock and the water below, and these guys can’t fly, yet.