Maryland mammals

Northern Hoary Bat in Maryland

Lasiurus cinereus

Native to Maryland S3 Vulnerable in Maryland

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

Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted furHoary bat roosting in a tree bark hollow, frosted fur blending with the surrounding lichenHoary bat hanging from an exposed branch in daylight, showing its full frosted coatHoary bat roosting among grapevine foliage, a typical solitary tree roost
Photo: Gjon Hazard · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted furPhoto: Nelson Balcar · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat roosting in a tree bark hollow, frosted fur blending with the surrounding lichenPhoto: Konshau Duman · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat hanging from an exposed branch in daylight, showing its full frosted coatPhoto: Kalvin Chan · CC BY 4.0Hoary bat roosting among grapevine foliage, a typical solitary tree roost

Northern Hoary Bat in Maryland, by the numbers

Occasional in Maryland 57th most recorded of 100 mammals logged in Maryland

11 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Northern Hoary Bat in Maryland

Most sightings fall in March.

11 Maryland occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Maryland records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February0
March2
April0
May1
June0
July1
August1
September1
October2
November2
December0

Monthly northern hoary bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Maryland, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Sparse observation record in Maryland; presence confirmed but timing of activity not well documented.

Occurrence map

Where Northern Hoary Bat has been recorded in Maryland

11 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

11 Maryland records mapped

Where it's recorded in Maryland

CountyRecords
Frederick County 3
Baltimore County 3
Anne Arundel County 1
Charles County 1
Wicomico County 1
Queen Anne's County 1
Other localities 1

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 Maryland counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Northern hoary bat is a solitary, tree-roosting species that migrates long distances rather than hibernating in caves, which makes it far harder to survey than colonial cave bats even in good habitat like Savage River and Green Ridge state forests near Deep Creek Lake. NatureServe ranks the species S3, Vulnerable, in Maryland.

The state’s few records spread thinly across the year with no strong seasonal signal, consistent with a migratory species that passes through rather than settling into one detectable roost.

Hoary bat in flight against blue sky, wings spread to show its yellow throat patch and heavily frosted fur
Full species profile Northern Hoary Bat Lasiurus cinereus Size 13–15 cm5.1–5.9 in Weight 26 g0.9 oz Lifespan Up to 14 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Maryland 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