On 8 April, a solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over parts of Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Check your location on this map to see if and when the eclipse will be visible in your area.
There is considerable interest from researchers and birders alike in the impact of solar eclipses on bird activity. It’s not always easy to see what birds are doing during an eclipse! Fortunately, recent developments in computing power and data processing, combined with public bird observations from around the world, offer new opportunities for continental-scale study.
This eclipse is an exciting opportunity to continue research from the previous total eclipse in August 2017. We want to see what information we can add through your eBird checklists. If you’re going to be in the path of the eclipse on 8 April, please go eBirding! Submit complete checklists that are stationary, and between 5-10 minutes in duration. If you’re going to be in the totality zone, please submit a 3-4 minute checklist during the period of actual totality. By sharing your observations with eBird, you’ll make them available for ongoing analysis as well as future studies.
For an added challenge, try to collect sound recordings and/or photographs during the eclipse and upload them to your checklists. We’ll be doing the same from our favorite patches. Enjoy!
IMPORTANT: be sure to use proper eye protection if looking at or pointing optics at the eclipse.
Is there a local roost of birds that you could check? A regularly-reported eclipse behavior is midday roosting. Photo by Tom Ringold/Macaulay Library