USA 2014 - James T Slavin Wildlife Conservation Area and Spokane Riverside State Park

After breakfast we headed out, aiming to find the James T Slavin Wildlife Conservation Area, which we eventually did.  It was worth it:

The wetland preserve was raucous with birdsong and activity, the noisiest being the Yellow-headed Blackbird:

Savannah Sparrow were common along the path from the car park to the lake:

The air was abuzz with swallows and martins, the ground with terrapins and the lake had numerous ducks, coots, etc.

We had a good view (but not long enough for a photograph) of a Black Tern - a lifer for us and a bird we've been trying to see for years.

We also saw sign of and then briefly a Coyote from the trail, as well as White-tailed Deer and managed to work our way around the flooded part of the trail before heading back to Spokane and a picnic lunch at the Spokane Riverside Park.

The river running through the park was very full, no doubt fed by various snow-melt streams from higher elevations:

It looks like the weather and or river triggers landslides from time to time, certainly this area of the trail gave that impression:

It's a pretty park to have in the middle of a large city:

And good to see a number of birds, including this Common Merganser (Goosander) preening in a calmer part of the river:

We headed back to the hotel for an early dinner and early night.