Virginia mammals

Eastern Red Bat in Virginia

Lasiurus borealis

Native to Virginia S4 Apparently Secure in Virginia

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

Common in Virginia 21st most recorded of 105 mammals logged in Virginia

318 occurrence records
298 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 7, 2026 Last seen in Virginia

Records from 2000–2026.

318 total records count every Virginia occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 316 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Eastern Red Bat in Virginia

Most sightings fall in April.

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

Monthly Virginia records (table)
MonthRecords
January9
February13
March20
April49
May21
June31
July41
August47
September32
October22
November17
December14

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

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Eastern Red Bat has been recorded in Virginia

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Virginia records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Shenandoah National Park 5
Colonial National Historical Park 4
Blandy Experimental Station 3
George Washington National Forest 3
Prince William Forest Park 3
Lake Moomaw Public Fishing Lake 2
Jefferson National Forest 2
Bull Run Mountains State Natural Area Preserve 2

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 Virginia

CountyRecords
Fairfax County 23
Fauquier County 18
Montgomery County 15
Prince William County 14
Arlington County 11
Northampton County 11
James City County 11
Albemarle County 10
Spotsylvania County 10
Falls Church County 9
Stafford County 8
Norfolk County 7
69 other counties 171

The complete county distribution, spread across 81 Virginia 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 trace both sides of Virginia: the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and Blue Ridge Parkway in the west, and Great Dismal Swamp, Mason Neck, and Chincoteague toward the coast. April offers an early reporting pulse before a stronger July–August run; acoustic work, captures, and chance finds all affect those records, which do not count the bats present.

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 Virginia 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"