Background and Methods:

In terms of the content of my project, this poster speaks for itself. I first became interested about phainopepla after seeing them in the wild, and holding one while bird tagging. They are a very charismatic species, and have unique adaptations for processing mistletoe berries.

Like many species, their habitat will change and evolve with the ongoing climate crisis. In San Diego County, my results suggest that many became reliant on fruit orchards in the Anza Borrego Desert, which they had to leave when they were closed due to water concerns.

This poster was my first project containing a cloropleth map, and I decided to split the area of San Diego county into grids to make the map more readable. I was careful to consider properties such as map balance, contrast, and readability.

My map shows a general increase of phainopepla in urban areas, and a decrease in rural and desert habitats, which are historically their homes.