In this episode of Secrets of the Viz, Ana Lucia Gonzalez and Prina Shah from The Guardian joins us to share about building a bird migration data visualization. They discuss how a broad pitch became bird “diaries,” the challenge of sourcing and verifying uneven migration datasets across regions, and layering routes with temperature and vegetation data. Prina explains iterative design decisions, especially the landscape-map vs portrait-mobile problem; and moving from a globe concept to cropped flat maps that worked for mobile-first scrollytelling. They cover why animation and timelines suited migration, how smooth motion and faded “tails” were achieved with an interactive journalist, and how radar, GPS trackers, community-sourced bird sounds, and illustrations filled gaps where photos and video were limited, including a featured bird that follows hurricanes.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/oct/16/bird-migration-is-changing-what-does-this-reveal-about-our-planet-visualised-aoe

00:00 - Globe or Flat Map

00:33 - Meet the Guests

01:12 - Project Origins

02:11 - Hunting Migration Data

04:05 - Mobile Map Design

06:33 - Mobile vs Desktop

08:22 - Animating the Journey

10:52 - Tracking Birds Science

12:57 - Illustrations and Audio

14:55 - Favorite Birds and Stories

17:50 - Wrap Up and Next Projects

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ℹ️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?

Welcome to "Secrets of the Viz", where I dive deep into the amazing vizzes in #TableauPublic and other #DataVisualization tools. Have you ever wondered how these stunning visualizations come to life? I'll be peeling back the layers with the authors themselves as they share their inspirations, design processes and unique techniques. Join me as we explore, learn, and get inspired together.

Don't forget to subscribe, follow for more tips and check out the full playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVkjBKxQASMmwlAE89dt97IMSFqTpGldh

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

🤝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐚

▶ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-lucia-gonzalez-paz-b800244/

▶ https://x.com/anlugonz

▶ https://linktr.ee/analuciagonzalez

▶ https://bsky.app/profile/anlugonz.bsky.social

🤝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚

▶ https://www.linkedin.com/in/prina-shah-939b94101/

▶ https://x.com/PrinaShah2

▶ https://bsky.app/profile/prinashah.bsky.social

🤝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐛𝐞

▶ https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebe-weston-ab156bb4/

▶ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHQBxx1w4u5N6jfhP_xakiQ

▶ https://x.com/phoeb0

🤝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨

▶ https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniovoce/

#datavisualization #analytics #design #infographic #journalism #newspaper #digitalstories #birds #birdsmigration #ecosystem #birdwatching #migration #nature