Photo by Dave Wilkins This shot of the annular solar eclipse Thursday morning was taken from a location near Martz-Kohl Observatory.

FREWSBURG — Some early birds in the region caught a look at a partial eclipse of the sun.

The moon passed between the sun and the earth at about sunrise locally. Because of their relative distances from viewers on earth, the moon appeared slightly smaller than the sun, resulting in an annular — or ring of fire — eclipse.

The timing of the eclipse and the surroundings at Martz-Kohl Observatory in Frewsburg prevented the telescopes there from having a good view of the event.

However, observatory members found some better locations with portable gear. Dave Wilkins, one of the members who is also a photographer, was at a Roper Hollow Road location in Warren County from sunrise at about 5:42 until the end of the eclipse at about 6:40 a.m.

“I thought I would have a better view of the northeastern sky where the sun was rising than I would have had at the observatory,” Wilkins said.

He captured an image of the crescent sun with a haze of fog rising off of the Allegheny Reservoir at 6:04 a.m. with a 400-mm lens using a Thousand Oaks solar filter.