# Birdie Sanders

> POLITICO's bird encounter clip drew 35K likes; Sanders turned the moment into a sticker.

- Owner: Bernie Sanders
- Kind: Moment
- Sector: Politics & civic
- Seed date: 2016-03-25
- Peak date: 2016-03-26
- Spread Score: 47 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Real-world spectacle, Identity badge, Platform jump, Press loop, Political adoption

## Summary

A bird landed on Sanders's podium during a Portland rally. Footage and #BirdieSanders spread on Twitter and Facebook, then drew birding and late-night coverage. The campaign offered stickers, and other sellers made merchandise.

## Timeline

- 2016-03-25 — Bernie Sanders (Open web) — A bird landed on Sanders's lectern during his Portland rally before clips circulated online.
- 2016-03-25 — POLITICO (X) — POLITICO posted a clip of a bird joining Sanders at his lectern during the Portland rally.
- 2016-03-25 — Bernie Sanders (X) — Sanders shared the POLITICO clip with the hashtag #BirdieSanders.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/birdie-sanders

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Birdie Sanders.” Case HIS-00051. Spread Score v1.2: 47/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00051