Data Visualization · 2025
Where the Birds Are
A data portrait of birding across Newfoundland and Labrador, mapping diversity, hotspots, and habitat composition from the 2025 eBird field season.
Project Details
Produced for the Johnson Geo Centre in St. John's, this infographic transforms thousands of citizen-science birding records into a single visual narrative.
It shows where birders are watching, which regions have the highest diversity, and how species composition varies across Important Bird Areas.
The project includes a print-ready 36x24 landscape poster built in Python and Matplotlib, plus an interactive Dash dashboard for exploratory analysis.
Tech Stack
- Data source: eBird Basic Dataset (2025), filtered to Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Core tooling: Python, Matplotlib, Pandas, NumPy, GeoPandas, PIL, Plotly Dash, Jupyter Notebook.
- Output: print-ready poster and companion interactive dashboard for deeper exploration.
Python
Matplotlib
Pandas
GeoPandas
Plotly Dash
Jupyter
27,000+Observations
280+Unique Species
1,400+Localities
Infographic Poster
A print-ready 36×24 landscape poster that combines the three core visualizations into one narrative for the Johnson Geo Centre.
36 x 24 inch landscape poster · 200 DPI · Python / Matplotlib
Interactive Dashboard
A Plotly Dash web app pairs with the poster so viewers can filter the eBird dataset by category, month range, and county, then explore hotspots, regional richness, and seasonal activity in one place.
Plotly Dash · dark UI · linked filters across map and charts
Observation Hotspots
Bubble map of NL localities with category and month-range filters; bubble size reflects observation volume and color shows species richness.
Species Richness by County
Horizontal bar chart ranking regions by unique species count, with a median reference line and category filter.
Seasonal Activity
Multi-line chart of monthly observation trends by bird group, filterable by county to compare migration and breeding peaks.
Three Visualizations
Geographic Hotspots
Scatter mapping of NL localities where marker size shows observations and color intensity shows species diversity.
County Species Richness
Horizontal ranking of all counties by unique species count with tiers and labels for quick comparison.
IBA Species Composition
Stacked bars for top Important Bird Areas showing relative species-group composition across habitats.
Key Findings
~65%
Of all observations come from the Avalon Peninsula, reflecting access and birder density.
11 Counties
Species richness varies significantly across the province, with Avalon leading.
8 IBAs
Distinct ecological profiles appear across coastal and inland Important Bird Areas.
Songbirds
Songbirds dominate most IBAs while seabirds lead in key coastal birding zones.