My husband and I were shocked to see a Gray-Cheeked Thrush at the James A Brown Conservation Area, at 5:30 P.M., March 31. The bird was solitary and silent as it rustled among leaves, in sandy soil, then it jumped onto a fallen branch, then flew up to a tree. The Thrush had the very faintest eye ring, and a dark gray-brown back, and spotted breast. We both saw it in binoculars from about 30 to 40 feet away, for about 2 minutes. At first I thought it was a Swainson's Thrush, but the eye-ring was too faint, and the back color was too gray-brown for a Swainson's. The bird was located about 30 feet from the Minnesota River bank, in a sandy wooded area, right along the river path, before it turns 90 degrees and heads north away from the river, through a wetland. It was very near the "private property" sign on an adjacent fenced pasture. Also near the sighting of this Gray-Cheeked Thrush was an Eastern Phoebe, on low branches on a tree hanging over the river. It was a windy and co ld afternoon, 32 degrees but felt like 10 degrees. The James A. Brown Conservation Area is a large City of Eden Prairie pubic Conservation Area, adjacent to and level with the Minnesota River, just to the west of highway 169. The address of the only access to the park, a small trail that gets muddy, is 11449 Landing Road, Eden Prairie. The path is a public path. Don't park on the private road. Lisa Rolf, Hennepin County.
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