2026 Results

Great work! We cracked into the Species TOP 10 in the USA and TOP 20 in the WORLD for the first time! What a fantastic accomplishment!

Baton Rouge Region Results:

2,810
Species Documented

#16 in the world
#9 in the USA

669
People Participated

#38 in the world
#24 in the USA

18,179
Observations Made

#33 in the world
#12 in the USA

View the global iNaturalist leaderboards (observations, species, and observers).

View the iNaturalist observations from the Baton Rouge Region.

Favorite Photos and Rare Finds from the 2026 Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge

A larval Central Newt by jaik.

Rare find! Barking Tree Frog near Madisonville, by efalquet.

Mexican Free-tailed Bat at LSU, by aboulmay.

Summer Azure found at Port Hudson State Historic Site by brandonjjohnson.

A Bobcat mother carries her baby in Sunshine, by l_co

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks fly past the Louisiana Capitol by hemispingus.

First in the state in iNaturalist! Microscopic Bdelloid Rotifer found in pond water by demcheck.

Ophiocordyceps fungi coming out of its host, a Chestnut Carpenter Ant, found in Central by amberenergy.

Chocolate Tube Slime Mold found at BREC Frenchtown by lazelod_c.

Riley's 13-Year Cicada (Brood 22) that emerged a year early in Central by jbelme21.

Confluent Sigil Lady Beetle found in New Orleans by johncarlson.

Io Moth found in New Orleans by tigerkei.

Pretty blue scales of an Eastern Fence Lizard found in Loranger by janie.

Rare Find! Baldcypress Leafroller moth that just eclosed, found at Lake Verret by amberenergy.

Red Cornsnake found in Fontainebleau State Park by bill_wimley.

Rare Find! Mississippi Slimy Salamander found near Madisonville by efalquet.

North American River Otters found in Buras by romp_riverottermonitoringproject.

Hooded Merganser mother leading her 6 ducklings and 2 whistling duck ducklings through LSU campus by haileyf126.

Love bugs were very prolific this year! Found in Baton Rouge by ttitone.

Zebra Swallowtail found in West Feliciana Parish by khashagen.

State Record! Tufted Thyatirine Moth found at Lake Rosemound by amberenergy.

State Record! Sun Moth found at BREC Bluebonnet Swamp by htoyo.

State Record! First observation of Pseudochelaria walsinghami by khashagen in West Feliciana Parish. Sumac is the host plant.

Regional Record! Subtropical Pine Tip Moth by Sean Golden in BR. ncb1221 also spotted one in Mandeville.

Regional Record! Opistheurista clandestina found by shiggium in Chalmette.

State Record! New invasive species Patapius spinosus by shiggium in Chalmette.

Regional Record! Gray Petaltail Dragonfly in West Feliciana Parish by amberenergy.

State Record! Invasive Red-bellied Short-necked Turtle in Baton Rouge by jhartg44. A dumped pet?

Pale Lichen Moth found by ncb1221 in Mandeville. Rare find.

Rare iNaturalist Finds in Our Region

(Photos of these are included in the slideshow above.)

Barking Tree Frog near Madisonville, by efalquet. Rare find.
Microscopic Bdelloid Rotifer found in pond water by demcheck. First in Louisiana.
Tufted Thyatirine Moth found at Lake Rosemound by amberenergy. First in Louisiana.
Sun Moth found at BREC Bluebonnet Swamp by htoyo. First in Louisiana.
Pseudochelaria walsinghami Moth by khashagen in West Feliciana Parish. Sumac is the host plant. First in Louisiana.
Subtropical Pine Tip Moth by Sean Golden in Baton Rouge and another found by ncb1221 in Mandeville. First in Southeast Louisiana.
Opistheurista clandestina plant bug found by shiggium in Chalmette. First in Southeast Louisiana.
Patapius spinosus introduced spiny-legged bug found by shiggium in Chalmette. First in Louisiana.
Gray Petaltail Dragonfly in West Feliciana Parish by amberenergy. First in the Baton Rouge region.
Introduced Red-bellied Short-necked Turtle in Baton Rouge by jhartg44. A dumped pet? First in Louisiana.
Baldcypress Leafroller found at Lake Verret by amberenergy. Rare find.
Pale Lichen Moth found in Mandeville by ncb1221. Rare find.

If you find another observation is rare, please “fave” the observation in iNaturalist.

City Nature Challenge 2026 Results

City Nature Challenge Generates Over 3,000,000 Observations in 2026 Global Event

More than 100,000 community scientists from 754 cities around the world documented more than 5,600 rare, endangered or threatened species in over 3 million observations during the 4-day community science effort

Baton Rouge, LA (May 13, 2026) — The 11th annual City Nature Challenge (CNC) results have arrived. The yearly community science initiative saw 106,354 people across 754 cities in 61 countries on 6 continents document more than 3 million wildlife observations. More than 75,000 species were observed, with the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) once again the most observed species and plant around the world, while the Mallard (Ana platyrhynchos) is the most observed animal species. Curious community scientists can see their own area’s statistics from this year using the new tracking tool at CityNatureStats.com.

This collaborative, global event called on current and aspiring community scientists, nature and science fans, and people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and submit pictures of wild plants, animals, and fungi within their communities around the world during the stretch of April 24 - 27. As the largest annual global biodiversity census in the world, participants submitted the photos using free mobile apps such as iNaturalist, and the initiative as a whole underscores the power of community science to track real-time changes in our planet’s biodiversity.

“Documenting the rich biodiversity of our planet is essential in our rapidly changing world,” says Amy Jaecker-Jones, Associate Manager of Community Science at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and Co-director of the City Nature Challenge. “City Nature Challenge participants, including those who organize in their cities, towns, or regions, and every individual who makes or identifies an observation makes a vital contribution to fighting biodiversity loss.”

Since launching the City Nature Challenge in 2016 with just 1,000 observers across a pair of California cities, the Challenge — hosted by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) and San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences (CAS) — continues to break records year after year. Since its inception, City Nature Challenge has collected over 15 million urban biodiversity observations and engaged over 470,000 people.

"Every year during the City Nature Challenge, I take a moment to reflect on how amazing it is that while I am taking a photo of a flower in San Francisco, over 100,000 people around the world are doing the same thing in the places they call home,” says Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D. Director, Center for Biodiversity and Community Science, California Academy of Sciences, and Co-founder and Co-director of the City Nature Challenge. “This year, we collectively made observations of over 5000 threatened and endangered species and observed species that have never been recorded on iNaturalist before. Together, we have done something that would be impossible alone. The work of local and global organizers, the iNaturalist identifiers, and tens of thousands of community scientists has made the City Nature Challenge the largest annual global census of biodiversity, all driven by people paying attention to nature in our own backyards."

Action photos from the 2026 Baton Rouge Region City Nature Challenge

I spy

A Master Naturalist sweeps her net at night at BREC Frenchtown Conservation Area.

Rio Grande Chirping Frog

Master Naturalist selfie at a hike at BREC Blackwater Conservation Area.

Participants at the EBRPL Library CNC nature walk and litter pickup

Aquatic beetle at LSU Hilltop Arboretum light night

Roadside botany stop in Assumption Parish

Light night at BREC Frenchtown Conservation Area

Green tree frog serenading BREC night hike participant

Aquatic critter scope at BREC Frenchtown Conservation Area

Red-eared slider during LARE field trip. Photo by Yipin Johnson.

Bones Glorioso talks frogs at the LARE field trip.

Collecting observations by boat at Lake Verret.

Window stump at Lake Verret

Beetle and fern CNC promotional ornaments

Master Naturalists activate!

Local Leaderboard

Thank you to our participants, volunteers, partners and identifiers!

Most Species

khashagen 380
hemispingus 328
janie 315
amberenergy 299
coca_goes_outside 296
alice2019 273
guentzelr 268
yipinjohnson 239
cmbankester 232
nanetteolivier 196

Most Observations

khashagen 616
janie 555
hemispingus 550
seangolden 518
guentzelr 515
alice2019 484
coca_goes_outside 479
htoyo 477
cmbankester 468
amberenergy 379

Most Identifications

amberenergy 2,177
bill_wimley 1,169
seangolden 841
daniel_observer 724
khashagen 528
teakettle_wren 510
zmartin22 472
drbutner 411
aguilita 371
kpinso 337

Observation Hot Spots

Here are the top 10 public spots that had the most observations logged:

BREC Frenchtown Conservation Area
LSU Hilltop Arboretum
BREC Blackwater Conservation Area
BREC Bluebonnet Swamp
LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens & Burden
BREC Forest Community Park
City Park New Orleans
Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve
BREC Highland Road Park & Observatory
Mary Ann Brown Nature Preserve

Master Naturalists Emily Taylor and Sharon O’Brien taking photos of insects at BREC Frenchtown Conservation Area, the top observation hot spot during the City Nature Challenge 2026.

Baton Rouge Region Observation Quality

Verifiable Observations
Observations with photo or audio evidence and the organism is wild (meaning not captive or cultivated.)

100%

Perfect score! A 4% improvement over last year! Great job!

Research Grade
Verifiable observations that were able to be identified and can be used for scientific research.

55%

We improved 3% on this statistic and placed #213 in the world. A lower percentage most often means the organism in the photo was blurry.

Otter Games Winners!

2026 Species: Meadowhawks with 528 species documented. A big focus on insects really boosted their species count. Teammates were Amanda Marshall, Hitai Lu, Kathe Managan, Melissa Lo Verde, Rosemary Guentzel.
2026 Research Grade: Weed Whackers with 680 research grade observations. They squeaked to the lead with just 5 more than the runner up! Teammates were Janie Braud, Lori Radunzel-Davis, Mary Loofbourrow, Terry Kidd.
2026 Otter Spotter: ROMP (River Otter Monitoring Project) had 4 observations of live otters! Teammates were Dominique Fleitas, Josh Suit, and David Hamilton. The Weed Whackers saw otter paw prints, but alas, no animals.