Michigan mammals

Eastern Red Bat in Michigan

Lasiurus borealis

Native to Michigan S5 Secure in Michigan

Not listed as nonindigenous in Michigan by USGS NAS; native to its Michigan range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Eastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leafEastern red bat in flight against blue skyEastern red bat roosting on a pine branchEastern red bat hanging under tree leavesEastern red bat tucked among white apple blossoms
Photo: NPS Photo · Public DomainEastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leafPhoto: Chrissy McClarren and Andy Reago · CC0Eastern red bat in flight against blue skyPhoto: Christina Butler · CC BY 2.0Eastern red bat roosting on a pine branchPhoto: Summit Metro Parks · CC-BYEastern red bat hanging under tree leavesPhoto: Rev. Lee A. Payne, Jr. · CC-BYEastern red bat tucked among white apple blossoms

Eastern Red Bat in Michigan, by the numbers

Occasional in Michigan 45th most recorded of 75 mammals logged in Michigan

60 occurrence records
60 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 24, 2026 Last seen in Michigan

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Eastern Red Bat in Michigan

Most sightings fall in August to September.

60 Michigan occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Michigan records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March2
April12
May3
June6
July6
August11
September18
October1
November1
December0

Monthly eastern red bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Michigan, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Michigan, with recorded sightings peaking in August–September, with a smaller rise in April.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Red Bat has been recorded in Michigan

60 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

60 Michigan records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Warren Woods State Park 12
Newberry State Forest Area 7
Sault Ste. Marie State Forest Area 1
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore 1
Shiawassee River State Game Area 1

Protected places with the most eastern red bat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Michigan

CountyRecords
Chippewa County 13
Berrien County 13
Gratiot County 4
Wayne County 3
Alger County 2
St. Clair County 2
Kent County 2
Marquette County 1
Cass County 1
Saginaw County 1
Oakland County 1
Isabella County 1
4 other counties 16

The complete county distribution, spread across 16 Michigan counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern red bat records span nearly the length of Michigan, from Keweenaw National Historical Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula to Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge in the south. As a solitary tree bat that roosts hanging in foliage rather than in colonies or buildings, it’s rarely picked up through hibernacula counts the way cave-roosting bats are.

GBIF’s 19 records outnumber iNaturalist’s 60 more than three to one, likely reflecting acoustic and mist-net survey data collected across the bat’s long spring-to-fall reporting window. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, in Michigan even though its global G3 rank sits notably lower, a state-level buffer many bats here don’t have.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Eastern Red Bat in other states

Eastern red bat roosting among green leaves, disguised as a dead leaf
Full species profile Eastern Red Bat Lasiurus borealis Size 9.3–11.7 cm3.7–4.6 in Weight 7–13 g0.2–0.5 oz Lifespan Up to 2.6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Michigan in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"