This is a combo of two exposures made in manual mode on my 5D. One exposure was for the majority of the image and the second (about five or six stops down) was for the sun. I merged the two in Photoshop using layers and masks.

The birds flying across the sun were completely accidental as I was partially blinded and couldn't see them at the time. My eyes were also watering from the dust in the air -- every farmer in the area was out combining in the fields that evening.