🦉The birds of Bogota, Colombia 🐦

This project is part of the Virtual Laboratory of Data Visualization: Arte_Funcional created by Idartes and its Art, Science and Technology Strategic Line and directed by Néstor Andrés Peña.

A development of experimentations that starts with the rapid prototyping of visualizations and the use of web language tools: javascripts, d3js, as well as online platforms such as: Github, ObservableHQ, for the publication, dissemination, and learning about data visualization as well as its communicative scope and proposals in the field of art.

In the end, the project developed deepens the possibilities offered by augmented reality filters articulated with data visualization by Ana María Cárdenas.

Development:

According to the National Network of Open Data on Biodiversity (SiB) and the Colombian Association of Ornithology, to date it is possible to know exactly that Colombia has 1954 species of birds, approximately 20% of the diversity of birds on the planet. This makes the interest in bird watching or bird watching in Colombia grow significantly as a leisure and scientific activity.

Currently in Bogota, we have more than 250 species of birds, four of them endemic, which can be sighted in the 76,000 hectares of the District System of Protected Areas: wetlands, hills, ecological parks and urban parks.

Database Source: Ecological corridor – Protected areas system [datosabiertos.bogota.gov.co]

👆 DataViz - Sighting of 250 species of birds of Bogota on the map of ecological corridors and system of protected areas of the capital.

Today, there are several citizen or participatory science web platforms that allow people to record bird sightings. For this exercise we relied on data from iNaturalist, an initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, of which Colombia is an active member.

We observed the geolocation of 12834 bird records made in the last 10 years, which show the concentration by zones in Bogotá.

As a breakdown of the total database we can visualize in 222 records the geographic position of the 13 most threatened species in their different habitats.

Bird counts are one of the methods for monitoring species, management of natural areas and urban expansion processes. They can also generate valuable information on the effects of climate change and urbanization on biodiversity.

The “must-see” birds

In Bogota we can identify some birds catalogued as “must-see” for experts and amateurs, including endemic and near-endemic species. This potential is an anchor for Avitourism, an activity that attracts a large number of tourists and foreign ornithologists who are willing to pay to see the birds or even to listen to them.

Functional art

From some examples of data visualization in the ObservableHQ platform, we transform some images referenced in the data.

Using the “Generative Art” filter, we obtained several visualizations that will be used in the next augmented reality module.

From the visualization of the database, we took as an example one of the 4 endemic birds “Tingua Bogotana” that is currently threatened and built a graphic piece with all the relevant information.

Augmented Reality

As a complementary exercise to the data visualization, an augmented reality filter is being developed (in process) with the Lens Studio software of the SnapChat application.

This filter displays on the user’s face one of the 13 endangered species in Bogota. It is based on a situation of danger where the bird on the user’s face remains in the spotlight. With the USERNAME and the subsequent text, a question is asked that seeks not only to raise awareness, but also to convey the sense of threat felt by birds in Bogota. Subsequently, the user can share his or her interaction on the social network.