Pete Davidson

It’s spring, and every day brings new arrivals from the south, especially at Xwaaqw’um, one of the birdiest spots on Salt Spring, which has a little bit of everything. As very recent settlers here, my family and I were immediately drawn to the valley and bay, sandwiched between the cooler, moist forested north-facing slope and the warm oak savannah and drier fir hillsides beneath the towering cliff of Hwmet’utsum (meaning “bent over place”, from a Quw’utsun – Cowichan – creation story about the Narrows). It was springtime then, and quickly the presence of several bird species at risk signaled that we were in a special spot. Olive-sided Flycatchers sang from the tops of the old growth firs, Band-tailed Pigeons bass-cooed from the thicker canopied trees, Common Nighthawks patrolled the air column high above the valley where their insect food rises to on warm days, and Barn Swallows urgently chased us as we approached the barns where they were nesting. Three vireo, four woodpecker…