By Liz Melville
The buzzy wRRw, wrrrr, chip-chip-chip-chip alerted our hiking group that somewhere in the swampy reeds in front of us was a Marsh Wren. My eyes followed this saucy song and finally landed on the tiny culprit.
The little brown sparrow-sized bird, with its dark cap, white eyebrows, and yellow-lined beak, was perched near the top of a forest-green reed. Here, it opened its mouth wide and sang aloud for all to hear. The bird’s antics were like icing on a rich carrot cake; another bird sighting on a day where the group had already seen the masked eyes of Cedar Waxwings, the Dr. Seuss-like baby-blue beaks of Ruddy Ducks, tuxedo-caped Eastern Kingbirds, and many species of swallows.
Being a hike docent for Inland Northwest Land Conservancy (INLC) has its benefits, one of which is the ability to organize a hike around one’s passions. Taking full advantage of this perk, I contacted Alan McCoy, president of the Spokane Audubon Society (SAS), and asked him if he would join me as a birding guide on a hike at the James T. Slavin Conservation Area.
Perhaps because of the 7 AM starting time, it was a small crew that met in the parking lot that Monday morning: McCoy, his friend Will Merg (a 16-year-old birding maven), Holly Giffin (a hiking leader for the Ms. Adventures meetup group), Jeff Nolting (a man celebrating his first day of retirement), and me (a retired teacher who is following her new passions of birding and writing.)
All morning, as we looked out across the reed-wrapped ponds and lakes, I gave thanks that we were looking at birds, not houses. It could have been so different. At the time James T. Slavin wanted to sell the family farm, the property was zoned for 5 and 10 acre parcels. It would have been easy for him to market the land to a developer. Instead, with the help of INLC, he enrolled his land in the Federal Conservation Reserve Program before selling it to Spokane County. (The county purchased the property using tax dollars raised from the Conservation Futures Program.)
Selling the property so it could become a conservation property was not the end of the Slavin property story. It took years and the work of many agencies, including Ducks Unlimited, to transform the 200 acres that had been drained long ago for agriculture back into the ponds, lakes, and wetlands that cover the land today. The time and energy were worth it as the efforts resulted in a magnificent place where people can recreate, and moose, elk, river otters, and birds can live.
On the day of our hike, McCoy and Merg identified 57 species of birds. McCoy also set up a spotting scope so our group could take turns seeing water birds that included Cinnamon Teals, Redheads, Gadwalls, and a Green-winged Teal. Our birding guides also directed our eyes upward to watch the Bank, Tree, and Violet-green swallows swoop and dive. And while the group watched the little acrobats, our leaders reminisced about the not-so-distant past when swallows were so plentiful they filled the sky. (More information about insectivores’ decline can be found in the notes at the end of the essay.) Unfortunately, the swallows’ decline is part of a much bigger tragedy. As humans build new houses, retail centers, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities, there is less and less room for wildlife habitat. This has led to mass extinctions of animal species and a rapid decline in the populations of the species that remain.
This is why the work of INLC and other non-profits, and the funding created by the Spokane County Conservation Futures Program, is so important. Without the combined endeavors of these organizations, along with efforts and donations from private citizens, places like the James T. Slavin Conservation Area would not exist. This 628-acre wild space, which supports more than 121 species of birds and provides a calving spot for moose and elk, would otherwise be just another housing development.
Perhaps we can follow the Slavin family’s example and imagine what our world could be like if we are persistent and insist that our untamed spaces be saved. It is imperative that we work towards this end so that someday our great-great-great-grandchildren can immerse themselves in nature and hear the song of a Marsh Wren while they watch the swallows’ dance.
Facts and tidbits available for the curious:
- Flycatcher and swallow populations have been rapidly declining. All insectivores (birds that eat insects) are struggling because the population density of insects is plummeting. Reasons for this include: habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, climate change, and overharvesting.
- Credit needs to be given to Ducks Unlimited for restoring wetlands and to the Spokane Mountaineers and Backcountry Horsemen for carving trails. See Rich Lander’s “Site is legacy to Slavin vision” published in the Spokesman-Review.
- If you would like to read other essays by Liz Melville, please visit her Substack Small Change by the Questioning Quail.
McCoy/Merg bird list from June 8th hike: 57 total species identified
Canada Goose 20
Blue-winged Teal 1
Cinnamon Teal 3
Gadwall 8
Mallard 16
Green-winged Teal 1
Redhead 20
Bufflehead 4
Ruddy Duck 70
California Quail 3
Eurasian Collared-Dove 3
Mourning Dove 3
Sora 1
American Coot 50
Pied-billed Grebe 8
Eared Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Turkey Vulture
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Western Wood-Pewee 12
Willow Flycatcher 2
Eastern Kingbird 2
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Mountain Chickadee 4
Bank Swallow 60
Tree Swallow 25
Violet-green Swallow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern) 35
Barn Swallow 1
Pygmy Nuthatch 6
Red-breasted Nuthatch 6
Northern House Wren 8
Marsh Wren 4
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 4
House Finch 2
Red Crossbill 12
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 3
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Savannah Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 5
Spotted Towhee 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird 40
Bullock’s Oriole 3
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Brewer’s Blackbird 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 3
Northern Yellow Warbler 3
Black-headed Grosbeak 3