eclipse through wispy clouds

Here is a rather murky shot of yesterday's eclipse seen through binoculars on a white sheet of paper. This was somewhat close to the maximum coverage in our area at about 2:30 pm or a little later. The murkiness is probably due to the thin layer or clouds that marred the pristine purity of the image/ The sudden weird silence of the birds did not take place mainly because most of the birds have already stopped singing a while ago! But you could see the strange light on the landscape as the moon crossed to its maximum East Quogue coverage! Other events of the past couple of days: two visits by troupes of Wild Turkeys, a few Royal Terns on the creek and a flycatcher that turned out to be an Eastern Wood-pewee and not an Eastern Phoebe (upright stance, slight crest on the head, no tail wagging). Eric Salzman