[obol] CASSIN'S VIREO MANNING Oregon

[Norgren Family]

     The vireo I heard Saturday morning
is apparently on territory. It was singing
in the same spot yesterday and allowed
me an excellent study. I recommend it to
all interested parties as it is almost as
easy to view as the Chat some 200m to the
se.
    Park at Dairy Queen or the Elements Cafe.
Walk across the Hwy to a private driveway that
gives access to the railroad. This is Port of
Tillamook Bay RR with less than a train a week.
You'll hear the train when it's 2 miles away
so don't worry about it. Turn left(nw) on the
tracks and walk 70m or so to where there is
a break in the trees on your right(ne)side. You
can see a fence and pasture. A small black locust
is at the east end of this gap and a cascara at
the west end. The CASSIN'S VIREO is most often
singing in the middle of a very large Scouler
Willow directly across the tracks from the west
end of this gap. He moves around a lot, and at
7am the morning sun is low, behind you, affording
fabulous lighting. I also saw the vireo(Probably
the pair) in the cascara across the tracks. It has
much denser foliage, thwarting satisfactory looks.
     The Elements Cafe has a drive-up window open
at 5am and starts serving breakfast at 6 (7 on
Sundays). Service is very friendly, prices very
reasonable. An early viewing is recommended for
both the Chat and Cassin's Vireo, esp. in hot weather.
Mountain Quail have now hatched and should be increasingly
evident along nearby logging roads. I got good looks
of a male on Johnson Road about two weeks ago. This
is maybe 7-8 miles north on Hwy 47.
     The linear trail from Manning into Banks has consistently
disappointed my ornithological expectations. I would be
hard pressed to recommend it for birding by bicycle. This
was going through my mind as I watched the vireo. Then
low and behold I stumbled onto the Chat. I was bicycling
into town to retrieve my car from the auto shop.
Lars Norgren