Using our new heat map feature, we looked at a few Haikuboxes in the direct path of the October 14 eclipse to see if we could easily visualize any changes to bird vocalizations caused by the darkened skies.
Our quick survey didn't show much impact of the eclipse on bird vocalizations.
For example, at a Haikubox in Eugene, OR (dot A on the map), the Steller's Jay activity on October 14 was low during the eclipse (roughly 8-10:30am local time) but was even lower several days later on October 16-17.
At a Haikubox in San Antonio, TX (dot D), the Carolina Wren activity on October 14 during the eclipse (roughly 10:30am - 1:30pm local time) was lower than the prior day, but were also low on October 15 when there was no eclipse.
A deeper statistical analysis which considers the light levels, cloud cover, air temperature, precipitation, moon cycle, and other possible impacts on bird vocalizations would need to be conducted to be sure that there were no statistically significant impacts of the eclipse on bird vocalizations. Any analysis might need to take a close look at individual species and a more granular view of time.
An incredible feature of collecting and storing community science, nature monitoring Haikubox data is that they will be available for future analyses or for comparisons with potential impacts of other natural phenomenon.