Nebraska mammals

Eastern Red Bat in Nebraska

Lasiurus borealis

Native to Nebraska S3 Vulnerable in Nebraska

Not listed as nonindigenous in Nebraska by USGS NAS; native to its Nebraska 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 Nebraska, by the numbers

Occasional in Nebraska 38th most recorded of 95 mammals logged in Nebraska

65 occurrence records
26 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 6, 2026 Last seen in Nebraska

Records from 2000–2026.

65 total records count every Nebraska occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 63 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Red Bat in Nebraska

Most sightings fall in July.

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

Monthly Nebraska records (table)
MonthRecords
January0
February0
March0
April3
May3
June5
July26
August14
September8
October4
November0
December0

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Nebraska, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Red Bat has been recorded in Nebraska

65 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

65 Nebraska records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Greenvale Wildlife Management 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 Nebraska

CountyRecords
Lancaster County 9
Buffalo County 7
Nemaha County 6
Richardson County 6
Douglas County 5
Banner County 5
Thomas County 4
Valley County 3
Sarpy County 2
Adams County 2
Knox County 1
Cass County 1
13 other counties 14

The complete county distribution, spread across 25 Nebraska counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Eastern red bats carry a NatureServe S3 vulnerable rank in Nebraska that matches the species’ G3 global rank, reflecting broader range-wide pressure, largely from wind-turbine mortality during migration. The record leans toward GBIF (59 records) over iNaturalist (26), since this solitary, foliage-roosting bat is harder to photograph than to detect through acoustic or capture surveys along the wooded Platte and Missouri river corridors.

Records spike sharply in July (26 of the year’s monthly-tallied sightings, exactly 40 percent of the total), tracking peak summer maternity-colony activity, with the record going completely silent from November through March as the bat migrates south for winter.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

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 Nebraska 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"