Oregon

If hawks are still circling during the eclipse, can you get one in front of the obscured sun? Photo by Mike V.A. Burrell/Macaulay Library.

On 21 August, a solar eclipse will be visible across North America, as well as parts of northern South America, western Africa, and western Europe. Check your location on this map to see when the eclipse will be visible, and what percentage of the sun will be obscured. Past solar eclipses have featured accounts of strange bird behavior: unusual song, lack of song, roosting behavior, frantic flight, and more. For this eclipse, we want to see what information we can add through your eBird checklists. If you’re going to be in area that is eclipsed on 21 Aug, 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-minute checklist for the actual totality. We currently don’t have any plans for analyzing these data, but as long as you collect it, anyone can analyze it! An additional, fun challenge? Get a shot of a bird in front of the eclipse. We’ll be trying at our local patches. Enjoy!

IMPORTANT: be sure to use proper protection if looking at or pointing optics at the eclipse.

Is there a local roost of birds like cranes that you could check? A regularly-reported eclipse behavior is midday roosting. Photo by Tom Ringold/Macaulay Library.