WhenToBird

Rallus limicola · Rallidae

When Do Virginia Rails Arrive in Illinois?

Adult Virginia Rail
Photo: sprcrkwild, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Virginia Rails arrive in Illinois in early April, peak in late April (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone byAug 8-14the second week of August

Best: late April. First arrivals early April; most are gone by the second week of August. Peak: on about 1.2% of Illinois checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novrare
  12. Decnot usually seen

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 29700 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 20189 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 19784 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 26641 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 20478 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 21967 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28735 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 24223 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 26775 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 27579 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 27193 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.1% of 42278 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.3% of 34579 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.7% of 38290 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.0% of 39261 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.2% of 59584 checklistsMay 1-7: 1.2% of 60485 checklistsMay 8-14: 0.8% of 59647 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.8% of 43173 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 47913 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.6% of 31151 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.4% of 27692 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.5% of 23983 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 28448 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.7% of 21273 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.6% of 19284 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 17712 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.5% of 24500 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 18498 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.3% of 19331 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.3% of 19983 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.2% of 31892 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.2% of 26396 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.2% of 25011 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 23597 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.1% of 30638 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 23949 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.2% of 24412 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 22359 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 29794 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21877 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 19742 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 18989 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 23905 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 16935 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 16687 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 20931 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 29011 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Share of complete checklists reporting it, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

Frequency is the share of complete checklists in Illinois that listed the bird, 2016–2025. It is not a head count, and it follows where and when people go birding. How to read it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
today
Second week of November

Each county is shaded by the share of complete checklists there that listed the bird, blended with the weeks either side. Darker is more often. It follows where people watch birds, not how many birds there are. How to read it.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Illinois

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Putnam CountyBest mid September · 61 checklists that week, 3,333 in all9.2%
  2. Fulton CountyBest mid April · 106 checklists that week, 5,877 in all9.0%
  3. Jasper CountyBest late April · 37 checklists that week, 1,292 in all8.7%
  4. Alexander CountyBest late September · 27 checklists that week, 2,108 in all8.1%
  5. Vermilion CountyBest late April · 225 checklists that week, 5,300 in all7.2%
  6. Warren CountyBest early May · 42 checklists that week, 658 in all6.7%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park (north)Lake County, best late May · 44 checklists that week, 1,059 in all42%
  2. Otter Creek Bend Wetland ParkKane County, best late April · 24 checklists that week, 136 in all38%
  3. Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge FeeFulton County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 324 in all34%

Busy spots report more of everything; compare the checklist counts before you drive anywhere.

Best time of day

In Illinois, the Virginia Rail is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.5% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (484) to judge1 am: too few checklists (631) to judge2 am: too few checklists (485) to judge3 am: too few checklists (610) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2321) to judge5 am: too few checklists (23536) to judge6 am: 0.7% of 95511 checklists7 am: 0.5% of 164584 checklists8 am: 0.3% of 163654 checklists9 am: 0.3% of 141804 checklists10 am: 0.3% of 122882 checklists11 am: 0.2% of 100640 checklists12 pm: 0.2% of 89894 checklists1 pm: 0.2% of 82729 checklists2 pm: 0.2% of 79801 checklists3 pm: 0.3% of 82169 checklists4 pm: 0.3% of 75124 checklists5 pm: 0.4% of 57708 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 41843 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (20943) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6131) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1677) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (843) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (448) to judge12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p
Share of checklists started in each local hour that reported it. It reflects when people go birding as well as when birds are active. Grey hours have too few checklists (under 2% of the state’s, or under 200) to judge.
Week-by-week table
MonthDays 1-78-1415-2122-end
January0.1%0%0%0.1%
February0%0.1%0%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
April0.3%0.7%1.0%1.2%
May1.2%0.8%0.8%0.7%
June0.6%0.4%0.5%0.5%
July0.7%0.6%0.5%0.5%
August0.5%0.3%0.3%0.2%
September0.2%0.2%0.2%0.1%
October0.3%0.2%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Indiana: arrives the second week of April, 1 week later than Illinois
  • Wisconsin: arrives mid April, 2 weeks later than Illinois
  • Michigan: arrives early April, in the same week than Illinois
  • Ohio: arrives early April, in the same week than Illinois

Common questions

When do Virginia Rails arrive in Illinois?
Virginia Rails arrive in Illinois in early April, peak in late April (1.2% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of August.
When do Virginia Rails leave Illinois?
Most Virginia Rails have left Illinois by the second week of August, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Virginia Rail in Illinois?
The Virginia Rail is reported most often in late April, on about 1.2% of Illinois checklists.
Where in Illinois are Virginia Rails seen most often?
By county, Putnam County, Fulton County, and Jasper County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Virginia Rail (counties with at least 200 checklists).