This week on Discover Nature, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF) invite both new and experienced birders to join the 2026 Missouri Birding Challenge (MBC) May 1-22! Registration will be open April 1-30.
MBC participants will compete alone or on teams in five categories based on age, birding location, or experience. Birders will use eBird (eBird.org) to record their lists of birds identified at public natural areas around the state, or even in their own backyards.
There is a fee of $15 per person, or $10 per team in the youth Fledgling category. Fees are collected by MBC partner MCHF and contribute to migratory bird conservation efforts and projects. Registration fees were reduced from last year based on participant feedback, and a new Big Day category will challenge registrants to record as many bird species as possible in the 24 hours of World Migratory Bird Day on May 9.
Once participants complete a category and submit their team’s mandatory eBird report, they will be entered into a drawing for fun, bird-related prizes such as binoculars and gift cards. The Missouri Birding Society (mobirds.org/) and Columbia Audubon Society (columbia-audubon.org) are prize sponsors of the MBC.
Learn more about the 2026 MBC and register between April 1-30 at mdc.mo.gov/MObirdingchallenge.
