A single database is used for all aspects of Atlas Project management, from species sightings to newsletter mailings. Our database software has gone through two upgrades since we started, and ArcView has also been upgraded to add tools such as Spatial Analyst. Also, a 486 DX2 PC seemed adequate when we started, but software upgrades demand greater processing power. What we have after two years of data collection can be visualized in part as coverage maps and species maps. Sample species maps shows progress in another way.
Volunteers can see their data being used and feel good about it.
Coordinators can see where there are gaps, where neighboring blocks all have breeding evidence for Black-headed Grosbeaks or Mourning Doves but one volunteer block has similar habitats and has likely missed this species. The Atlas identifies areas of high bird diversity. The number of breeding species per atlas block so far in Los Angeles County ranges from 18 to 75. A researcher looking for areas of high species diversity worth protecting will have a good start with the Atlas. The atlases in California and other places are used in the process of determining which birds should be on the Species of Special Concern Lists.