Embracing My Inner Bird Nerd: A Product Manager's Journey into Data Engineering with 'Find A Bird' (Find A Bird: Part 1)
What’s The Big Idea?
For over 20 years, I've been a passionate bird enthusiast, or as I like to call myself, a bird nerd. While my interest in birding (bird watching) has ebbed and flowed, it's a hobby that I've carried with me wherever I go. One of my favorite tools in birding is eBird, a software application developed by the Cornell University Ornithology Lab. eBird, encompassing both a web application and a mobile app, enables birdwatchers to submit personal bird observation checklists to the eBird database. Users can track their birding data, like the number of species seen in various geographical areas, while contributing to one of the most comprehensive bird observation databases worldwide. This free product fosters a symbiotic relationship between hobbyist birders and scientists, aiding scientific research and providing users with a robust tool for tracking their observations.
A screenshot from the eBird.org website showing checklist submissions from around the world.
Recently, after a few years' break, I resumed birding with renewed enthusiasm and a fresh perspective as a Product Manager. The eBird app excels in tracking and aggregating observations up to the county level, offering daily notifications for unobserved birds in specified areas. This year, however, I've decided to concentrate my birding efforts on New Orleans City Park, a sprawling 1,300-acre haven just five minutes from my house. My mission? To observe as many bird species as possible within the park's boundaries.
This curiosity led me to questions like, 'What species have been historically spotted here?' and 'Which birds have I observed in the park during the 11 years I've lived here?' While eBird possesses this data, the app doesn't facilitate aggregation at such a specific level. Fortunately, eBird allows individuals to access their data through download requests and API access. These methods enabled me to gather the data I needed.
This line of questioning was the genesis of my project. My primary goal is to leverage the eBird database to create an automated data aggregation and notification system tailored to my local park. I’m confident this tool will be beneficial to others as well. Additionally, my secondary goal is to learn how to build an automated data engineering pipeline app using SQL and Python. While proficient in data analysis using these tools, I'm yet to explore their potential in automation and data engineering, which this project aims to address.
As I embark on this journey, combining my love for birding with my skills in product management and data analytics, I'm excited to share my experiences and learnings through this blog. Stay tuned for updates on 'Find A Bird' – where birding passion meets technological innovation.
