Stories in Flight

watercolour art – mural – waves of migration – hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ glossary – gratitude – sources

Created by Paula Gomez Villalba | Feb 2026

Stories in Flight was born out of many sunrises filled with birdsong, hours walking across the sandy soil on Iona Island (xʷəyeyət in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓), and animated conversations about what we can see here as the seasons change.

Listen to a morning in May at Iona Island:

Millions of migrating birds come here to rest, recharge, and breed. It’s where the Fraser River meets the Pacific Ocean. The Iona Island Bird Observatory (IIBO) sits in the forested part of the park, a banding station run by the non-profit WildResearch that offers opportunities to study birds up close and take part in hands-on science. Since I began volunteering at the Iona Island Bird Observatory (IIBO) in 2019, the people, birds, and my other experiences have shaped my approach to conservation – one that is grounded in people’s connections to nature and a deep respect for the land.

Warbler banding in the IIBO banding station, with laptop in the background. — *Photo by Bristol Kennedy.*

Paula smiling while holding two Yellow Warblers with the forest in the background. — *Photo by Bristol Kennedy.*

I am a biologist, science communicator, and Latina settler who grew up on Muisca traditional territory in Colombia and on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territory in Richmond, B.C. Both my home and the IIBO are based on Musqueam territory, and I am incredibly grateful for their stewardship across millennia and history standing up for their land and values.

This project reflects a desire to create space and make the IIBO more accessible, inclusive, and fun. The outdoors is for everyone. Stories in Flight brings together science, art, and land connection to share stories of the estuary, plants, and birds in a good way weaving in Musqueam resources.

From the beginning, I knew it was essential to reach out to Musqueam’s Environmental Stewardship Department – for consent, guidance, and to find meaningful ways to include hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ words to highlight the connection between language, history, and land. My hope is that these stories invite you to deepen your relationships with the land, water, and living beings, rooting them in respect.

Map by Paula Gomez Villalba with icons by Malkolm Boothroyd.

Colour carries stories of the estuary through watercolour art created by Julia Avison, a pilot and artist originally from Ontario, who grew up exploring Canada’s wilderness through backpacking and camping. The natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest sparked her passion for painting and sharing her love of nature through traditional ink and watercolor paint techniques.

*Chinook swim up the Fraser River to spawn, while young smolts move downstream to the estuary, adapting to saltwater.*

Art and conservation will also come together inside the banding hut through ʔiyəs, a mural created by Manuel Axel Strain.

Manuel is an artist from the lands and waters of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Simpcw, and Syilx peoples. They drew on pre-classical Coast Salish visual languages to create a bird form that moves across a photographic field, mixing new and old visual cultures.

Coast Salish creation stories often highlight that when humans were created, we descended from the sky and the clouds, and then χe:l̕s the transformer, turned different people into animals, rocks, and plants. The bird form embodies this theme of transformation. ʔiyəs is both documentation and relational storytelling, reflecting the Iona Island Bird Observatory’s monitoring work while honouring Indigenous understandings of birds as relatives and messengers.

While we can tell stories through art and words, at the IIBO the birds share their stories with us through their feathers and presence. We can look at the growth patterns on a bird’s wing and body to understand their age and whether the feathers are worn from flying south last fall and back.

Two Yellow Warblers held with their right wings outstretched. — *Patterns in these wing feathers show that the warbler above is at least one year older than the one below. Photo by Bristol Kennedy.*

Male Common Yellowthroat in the hand. — *Patterns in these wing feathers show that the warbler above is at least one year older than the one below. Photo by Bristol Kennedy.*

A bird’s presence here is shaped in part by the emergence of the plants and insects they rely on, and the length of their journey. They arrive at Iona Island not all at once, but in waves of migration. There’s rhythm in their flights. These waves of migration are reflected in the numbers of the 10 most frequently banded species throughout the spring.

Top 10 most banded birds in the spring at the Iona Island Bird Observatory. Graph with curves of number of birds banded in a typical day by date in the spring monitoring season. — *Banding data pooled across years (2015-2025). A day represents 84 net-hours (14 nets open for 6 hours).*

Learn more about the science and stories behind waves of migration here.

You can view the art and explore these stories through interpretive signage at the Iona Island Bird Observatory when spring migration begins. Take a walk around the banding station too, and learn about native plants and their connection to birds and people.

Stories in Flight Community Event, where Manuel led a plant walk and folks got an inside look at the interpretive signage.

On the main sign, there’s a section on Walking with Respect that says, “By listening to Musqueam teachings, supporting restoration, and treading lightly, we can honour both the land and the people who hold its stories.” Please take time to explore xʷməθkʷəy̓əm: qʷi:l̕qʷəl̕ ʔə kʷθə snəw̓eyəɬ ct—Musqueam: giving information about our Teachings. There are beautiful interviews, stories about impact on the Fraser River, important histories, and more. It is our responsibility to learn (and unlearn).

hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ glossary

Learn about the history and pronunciation of Musqueam’s traditional language, hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓.

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm – Musqueam
xʷəyeyət – Iona Island
stal̕əw̓ – River
ʔiyəs – Happy (title of Manuel’s mural)

*More to come in the spring

acknowledgments

I am incredibly thankful to everyone who supported Stories in Flight and helped bring to life ideas that had been swimming around in my head for years.

Julia Avison and Manuel Axel Strain, your creativity and unique styles really elevated this project, and will help people of all ages connect to nature through art into the future.

Thank you to Shaan Aroeste and Sarah Skapski at Musqueam; Shaye O’Donnel and Amy Charles at Ocean Wise; Melanie Blendell, Alison Pocock, and Jennifer Swanston at Metro Vancouver Parks; and of course WildResearch’s Vik Juciute, Vinci Au, and Angela Hansen for all the support and feedback.

Community is at the centre of Stories in Flight, with over 200 hours of volunteer time coming together during the fall and winter. Thank you also to:

Jacob Ke
Justin Choi
Maria Luisa Horan
Camila Hernandez
Nata Culhane

Justin Chan
Bridget Spencer
Ashpreet Thind
John Martin
Rae Xamin

sources

Bressette, D. K. (n.d.). Native Plants North Pacific West. https://nativeplantspnw.com

British Columbia Ministry of Environment. (2006). Estuaries in British Columbia: Ecosystems in British Columbia at risk [PDF]. https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/Estuaries06_20.pdf

Camosun College. (n.d.). Native plants (Na’tsa’maht Indigenous Plant Garden). https://camosun.ca/about/sustainability/operations/land-and-habitat/natsamaht-indigenous-plant-garden/native-plants

Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula). All About Birds. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet

Galiano Conservancy Association. (2022). Osoberry. https://galianoconservancy.ca/species/osoberry

Galiano Conservancy Association. (2022). Red elderberry. https://galianoconservancy.ca/species/red-elderberry

Hebda, R. (2016, December 15). June plum. Royal BC Museum. https://staff.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/2016/12/15/june-plum

Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership. (n.d.). Fraser River Estuary (Site 11056): Key Biodiversity Area factsheet. https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/site/factsheet/11056

Musqueam First Nation, & Museum of Anthropology at UBC. (2018). xʷməθkʷəy̓əm: qʷi:l̕qʷəl̕ ʔə kʷθə snəw̓eyəɬ ct (Musqueam: giving information about our teachings) — Teacher’s resource [PDF]. Museum of Anthropology at UBC. https://moa.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Teachers-Resource-ENGLISH-March30_sm.pdf

Musqueam Indian Band. (n.d.). Musqueam place names map. https://www.musqueam.bc.ca/our-story/our-territory/place-names-map

Pojar, J., & MacKinnon, A. (2016). Plants of Coastal British Columbia: Including Washington, Oregon and Alaska (Rev. ed.). Lone Pine Publishing.

School District No. 35 (Langley). (n.d.). Learn hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓. https://www.sd35.bc.ca/learn-h%C9%99nq%C9%99min%C9%99m

UBC Student Housing and Community Services. (n.d.). Musqueam plants. University of British Columbia. https://vancouver.housing.ubc.ca/musqueam-plants

Washington Native Plant Society. (n.d.). Typha latifolia. https://www.wnps.org/native-plant-directory/42-typha-latifolia

xʷəlməxʷqən Cultural Society (XWCS). (n.d.). hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language page. FirstVoices. https://www.firstvoices.com/xwcs

Posted: February 24, 2026