I inadvertently found a park right on the Spokane River. It is only a few miles from me. I found it while walking on the Centennial Trail; a sign pointed right and said, Corbin Park. Tango and I took the turn and walked a mile, from the urban trail through an open brushy meadow and then right into a shady pine forest along the edge of a gravelly beach. The park is not exactly quiet—it is home to an extensive and well-used Frisbee golf course. The back parking lot is full of Frisbee-er cars. The front parking lot is full of people attending an outside wedding reception. Tango and I walked along the river. Signs warned against swimming due to undercurrents, but a young family splashed and played close to the shore. Lovely! Everyone outside on a Sunday evening when the summer sky is light until 10 PM.

As we walked back to the Centennial Trail I passed through such a variety of mini ecosystems—the  pine forest, a meadow, a stand of shrubs, houses on large lots, more shrubs lining the trail. Now, I bring this up because that is a prime bird-watching territory. Osprey, eagles, and water birds live near rivers; warblers hop around the pine forest, and even more birds live in the meadow and shrubs. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary that day so I vowed to return with binoculars.

Last night, Tango and I drove over to the park in the van. After a stroll around on the park roads we settled on the beach. A steep hill rises from the opposite river bank. Several homes balanced on stilts grip onto the hillsides. To the left, some of the hill is only rock cliffs and ledges. The first birds I see are Bank Swallows. The swallows dart up and down, over the water, flitting, flitting in that swallow way. Next, I scan the dense evergreen treetops and find a large, flat raptor nest. Huge, so it could only be an eagle or osprey; however, no one was home at the time and I could not see any babies or fledglings.

Then, then, I focused the binoculars further left and, on an old snag, found either the mama osprey or a fledgling hanging out, peacefully scanning for fish. I laughed because this is a classic description of an Osprey: “Often perching on tall snag surveying the water below”. Yahoo. Thanks for posing exactly like the book says—makes ID certain.

It gets better. As I scanned a bit further to the left, on the uppermost edge of the rocky cliffs, papa Osprey landed. He simply stood there, also scanning the water 50 feet below. I watched, glassing back and forth between the two birds. Would I get lucky and see them dive or even return to the nest? Not this night. They sat endlessly just as I did. Tango was finished foraging along the shore and sat with me. Whenever the kids down the way threw a big rock into the river, all of us- birds, dog, human- turned towards the loud thud. How long? An hour? More? We lost track. The swallows flitted without concern (Osprey eat fish unlike other raptors who would have chowed down on the swallows).

Finally, reluctantly, Tango and I walked back to the van. We only registered 2,500 steps (1.25 miles) for the evening due to the extended bird watching, but we left satisfied with the views!  As we drove up and out of the pine forest and away from the river’s edge, we entered the shrubby/tree area then the long-grass meadow. Right in front of me, two quail crossed the road and scurried into the grass cover. Quail? Quail. Did I beam down to Arizona? When I lived there in the 70s I often saw quail, so I associated them with AZ only. Quail in the ID panhandle? I was certain I was hallucinating, but I double-checked for the distinctive quail top. Yep!!!! Let’s get home, Tango, and look that one up. Sure enough, the California Quail live here- a new life-list bird for me.

Sometimes I drive great distances to go birding. Other times—often times—interesting birds flit around ordinary  urban settings, along the edge of town, even at a city dump. City parks can host an awesome array of birds. Soon: another trip to the river-side with my scope to watch the Osprey. Will I see them back at the nest? Can’t wait! I was home by 8 PM, and will go a bit later this time