Indiana Birding Trail 2026 Challenge Leaderboard and Prizes

IBT Challenge Leaderboard

If you need the full rundown on how the 2026 IBT Challenge works, just hop back to the main page for the big picture. This page is all about tracking progress and celebrating how far everyone has wandered in 2026.

Ready to log your latest sites or badges?

Update Your Progress

Disclaimer: The leaderboard is updated at the end of each month. New form submissions will not be reflected until that time.

Rank	Username	Sites Visited	Completion %	Total Points	Most Recent Location
1	AmberRae	33	47%	330	Potato Creek State Park
1	mikeminium	29	41%	330	Lincoln State Park
3	ZaddyRuddy	25	35%	270	Potato Creek State Park
3	EntropysLittleHelper	23	33%	270	Kankakee Sands – Nature Conservancy
5	Rputman963	17	24%	230	St. Patrick’s County Park
6	Tessa tichenor	22	31%	220	Salamonie Lake
7	TC	15	21%	210	Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
8	Vanessa	15	21%	170	Eagle Creek Park
8	Homeschoolofthree	15	21%	170	Tippecanoe River State Park
10	shuss09	14	20%	160	Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
11	Kassidy	11	16%	110	Indiana Dunes State Park
11	[un]CommonLoon	11	16%	110	Cope Environmental Center
13	Michael Topp	8	11%	100	Indiana Dunes State Park
14	Brad Bumgardner	9	13%	90	Mary Gray Bird Conservancy
14	julz7799	7	10%	90	Wing Haven Nature Preserve
16	Kathryn R	5	7%	70	Celery Bog Nature Area
16	Lindzlou11	5	7%	70	Fort Harrison State Park
16	Blackheron42	7	10%	70	Hammond Lakefront Park
16	meish1	5	7%	70	Mounds State Park
20	Lo	6	9%	60	Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
20	R Ackley	6	9%	60	Eagle Creek Park
22	Sheila Lawrence	3	5%	50	Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
22	BirdrBeau	5	7%	50	Mounds State Park
22	TmacDee	5	7%	50	Mounds State Park
25	Cole Buffenbarger	2	3%	40	Eagle Marsh Nature Preserve
25	home-birdy	2	3%	40	Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
25	BeanieBaby1029	2	3%	40	Eagle Creek Park
28	WestcoastA	3	4%	30
28	Zach Smith	3	4%	30	Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve
28	LaynieBird	3	4%	30	Fall Creek Trail at Geist Dam
28	Marissa Shoffner	3	4%	30	Summitt Lake State Park
31	holly.eileen	2	3%	20	Turkey Run State Park
31	LizMagee-gee-gee	2	3%	20	Salamonie Lake
33	Miriam Eck	2	3%	20	Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area
33	Borbwatcher	1	1.5%	10	Mississinewa Reservoir
33	Matt Meisberger	1	1.5%	10	Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
33	lsinke	1	1.5%	10	Reynold’s Creek Game Bird Habitat
33	Libby Keyes	1	1.5%	10	Mary Gray Bird Sanctuary
27	Zach Smith	1	1.5%	10	Hayes Arboretum
27	Whitney Yoerger	1	1.5%	10	Eagle Creek Park

How Do I Earn Points?

Every time you submit an update to the leaderboard, you earn points for your activity. The challenge runs on the honor system, so just report what you have done and we will take it from there.

You earn points for:

Visiting a new Indiana Birding Trail site: 10 points for each site you visit for the first time in 2026. “New” means new to you during the 2026 challenge year.
Completing a habitat badge: 40 points for each habitat badge you finish. This requires visiting every site in that habitat type (Forest, Wetland, Open Water, Grassland).
Completing a regional badge: 20 points for each region you finish. This requires visiting every site in that IBT region (Northwest, Northeast, Central, Southwest, Southeast).
Earning the Site Steward badge: 20 points for becoming a Site Steward. You earn this badge by visiting the same site 5 or more times in 2026.
Earning the Climate Hero badge: 40 points for becoming a Climate Hero. You earn this badge by visiting 5 or more sites using carbon neutral transportation, such as walking or biking.

Your points are totaled from all of your leaderboard submissions and used for both seasonal drawings and year end prize tiers.

How Do Points Connect to Prizes?

You don’t have to be a top birder to have a shot at prizes. Points translate into entries for seasonal drawings and into tiers for year end drawings.

SEASONAL DRAWINGS

Seasonal prize bundles are awarded four times each year, one for each calendar quarter.
Any points you earn in that quarter give you entries in the drawings.
For every 50 points you earn in a quarter, you get one entry in that season’s drawing.
Seasonal drawings are one win per person. After you win a seasonal prize, you sit out the remaining seasonal drawings but stay fully eligible for year-end drawings.

YEAR-END DRAWINGS

At the end of the challenge, your total points for the year place you into one of three tiers. Each tier has its own drawing so that birders at every activity level have a realistic chance.

Explorer: 50 to 199 points
Trailblazer: 200 to 349 points
Trail Champion: 350 or more points

Prize partners and specific bundles for each season and each tier will be announced as they are confirmed. For now, think of your points as your ticket into both the seasonal fun and the big year end celebration.

Note: Indiana Audubon staff and members of the Indiana Audubon Board of Directors are not eligible to win IBT Challenge prizes.

What Can You Win?

Prize bundles are taking shape behind the scenes, and we’ll add additional prizes below as sponsors confirm their contributions. Think of this space as the trailhead bulletin board, where fresh updates get posted as they roll in and the surprises are usually worth the wait.

Prizes will be drawn at random for each drawing from participants who submit their progress.

SEASONAL PRIZE BUNDLES

Season	Prize Bundle
Winter (January–March) Theme: “Keep it Cozy”	A winter bundle with a $50 State Parks Annual Pass, a BROME Squirrel Buster® Nut Feeder ($100 value) and a $25 gift card from Wild Birds Unlimited Crown Point.
Spring (April–June) Theme: “Migration Kickoff”	A spring-focused bundle that includes a a BROME Squirrel Buster® Plus Feeder ($130 value) and a $25 gift card from Wild Birds Unlimited Schererville to make the height of migration feel even more rewarding.
Summer (July–September) Theme: “Trail Adventures”	An adventure-ready bundle featuring a $25 gift card to REI, a $100 gift card from Roberts Camera (usable at robertscamera.com, usedphotopro.com, or in-store), and a $25 gift card from Wild Birds Unlimited Carmel.
Fall (October–December) Theme: “Migration Tech”	An autumn birding bundle built for the cooler months, featuring Terra Station ($299 value) and a $25 gift card from Wild Birds Unlimited Valparaiso to help keep you birding as the leaves drop.

YEAR-END PRIZE BUNDLES

Tier	Prize Bundle
Explorer (50–199 points) Recognition goes to a birder who stayed active through the seasons and kept year-round birding in motion.	Prizes include a 2027 pair of Basic Registrations to the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival ($130 value), a BROME Squirrel Buster® Evolution Feeder ($73 value), and a private bird guiding experience with Indiana Audubon (2 hours for up to two people).
Trailblazer (200–349 points) Awarded to one participant who explored multiple sites, completed badges, or engaged regularly in seasonal submissions.	Prizes include a BirdWeather PUC ($259 value), a BROME Squirrel Buster® Suet Feeder ($117 value), and a $200 gift card for Indiana State Parks Inns.
Trail Champion (300+ points) Honors one of the most active birders in the IBT Challenge who traveled widely or completed multiple badge sets.	Prizes include a complete spotting scope setup for bird viewing, plus an adapter for taking photos through the scope: a Vortex Optics Viper HD 15-45×65 Spotting Scope ($700 fair market value), a Vortex Optics High Country II Tripod Kit ($165 value), and an Ollin Snapshot Spotter Adapter for Digiscoping ($135 value).

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Our prize partners make the 2026 IBT Challenge even more rewarding! As sponsors come on board, their logos will appear here so you can see who is helping support your year of exploring Indiana’s wild places.