City Nature Challenge is

an attempt to catalog all living things in Planet Earth... and so much more !

Learn more about the CNC here

One of the 12-county San Antonio Metro Area's goal for CNC 2026 was to have 10 individuals capture >600 species. Quite ambitious .... but in fact, 14 individuals did just this. The top observer recorded 870 species !!!!!

The below quotes gleaned from their iNaturalist profiles shows that the CNC is not 'just a competition' and

... iNaturalist is not 'just another app' for your phone.

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'" The City Nature Challenge has changed the way I see the world—honestly, it’s changed me.

What started as a simple effort to log observations has turned into a deeper awareness of everything living around me. I’ve learned to slow down, to notice, and to appreciate the incredible diversity that exists right outside my door. Every plant, insect, bird, and fungus has a role—and now I actually see that.

iNaturalist didn’t just give me a hobby—it gave me a lens. A way to connect, to learn, and to contribute. CNC, especially, has shown me that small individual actions—observations, identifications, planting choices—add up to something meaningful. " - SA Joe

"Grateful to iNaturalist for the color and enrichment it has added to my daily adventures as I learn more about the local flora and fauna." - E.M.

" I've always been a nature lover, but I still see little outdoor surprises all the time. Who knew that praying mantises will catch and eat a gecko? (It was news to me, anyway.) iNat is a fun way to nerd out with others and enjoy being in the natural world" - dontfencemein

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... YES, THIS IS WHAT CNC IS REALLY ABOUT

CNC celebrates a LIFESTYLE, an AWARENESS and a LOVE FOR NATURE ....

2026 RESULTS

Globally

https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/2026-final-results

Globally, more than 106,000 people across 754 cities and 61 countries took part, making CNC the largest community science event of its kind.

Our 12-county San Antonio Metro Area

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-san-antonio-metro-area

These rankings are for our area compared to EVERYONE who participated across the globe

  • 2nd for species - 4,816

  • 2nd for observations - 102,653

    * 65% of these made the gold standard of "Research grade", a higher % than 1st & 2nd place

  • 5th for observers - 1,879

  • 3rd for identifiers - 1,731

It’s not just about the numbers. The biggest victory is for Citizen Science as SA Metro catalogued 69 at-risk species, 99 species found nowhere else, and 54 TX Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

What a great collaboration for SA Metro !!!!!! and SPECIAL THANKS to all who attended our talks and 5 (!) bioblitzes.

So let's keep up the momentum and continue sharing the iNaturalist and Seek mobile apps with others to continue cataloging all nature's creatures year-round : )

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View all Busy-Birding's CNC events here

We're also -

SATURDAY 4/25 : Kicking off UbarU's Bioblitz Weekend event in Mountain Home. Presentation followed by data collection and more. Free event Saturday or stay for the entire weekend ! https://www.ubaru.org/bioblitz

... and yes, were still leading a bioblitz in Kerrville that afternoon at Riverside Nature Center.

So yes, 5 events in 4 days qualifies as very B-U-S-Y !

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2026 City Nature Challenge

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2025 City Nature Challenge

City Nature Challenge : Bioblitz Reviews

JW, San Antonio - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

You are such awesome sauce!!!

PP, San Antonio - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thanks for the update, Laura! Enjoyed Love Creek!

CR, Kerrville - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

THANK YOU for helping us make this event a success! It was informative and fun!!

I loved the enthusiasm from everyone- especially the junior naturalists

RN - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thank you again for leading and guiding the day!! I know everyone learned a lot and it was fun to see our Love Creek guests get excited about the different things they were seeing and observing 😊 Great work!!

PP, San Antonio - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thanks for the update, Laura! Enjoyed Love Creek!

SD, San Antonio - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

I loved my time with you and can't wait to go back to Lost Maples!

RN - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thank you again for leading and guiding the day!! I know everyone learned a lot and it was fun to see our Love Creek guests get excited about the different things they were seeing and observing 😊 Great work!!

DF, Utopia - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Woohoo!!!! Thanks Laura, for helping to make this such a successful event at Lost Maples

PC Family, Kerrville TX - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thank you, for leading our group this passed Saturday. My husband joined us, and as a family we had the best time observing and learning about all the things we found. We were out every day right up until midnight on Monday taking picture of the moths around our porch lights. Haha! The four of us combined ended up with just over 1,000 observations! Our son surpassed his goal of 200 and finished with 311.

Thank you again. We can’t wait for next year!

RN, Medina TX (2025) - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Thank you again for leading and guiding the day!! I know everyone learned a lot and it was fun to see our guests get excited about the different things they were seeing and observing 😊 Great work!!

DF, Utopia - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Woohoo!!!! Thanks Laura, for helping to make this such a successful event.

SR, San Antonio - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

I loved my time with you and can't wait to go back to Lost Maples!

EE, Houston - 2025 City Nature Challenge bioblitz

Congratulations !!!!!!

Marveling at this … love your and your team’s enthusiasm for and love of the nature challenge!!

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2024 City Nature Challenge

KO, Rocksprings TX - 2024 City Nature Challenge

Thank you so much, we really enjoyed the day. Great to be around other nature geeks.

RS, Bandera TX - 2024 City Nature Challenge

Thank you thank you for putting this bioblitz together! I super appreciate your dedication to making us winners (City Nature Challenge National Champs) and to helping everyone get out and appreciate nature. I had a great time and learned so much from you.

BN, TX - 2024 City Nature Challenge

Thank you for coordinating the blitz yesterday!! That was awesome and everyone really enjoyed it!

We love hearing from you!

Laura@Busy-Birding.com

830-328-2662

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