WhenToBird

Rallus limicola · Rallidae

When Do Virginia Rails Arrive in Michigan?

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

Virginia Rails arrive in Michigan in early April, peak in late April (2.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.

When to look

First arrivalsApr 1-7early April
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone bySep 1-7early September

Best: late April. First arrivals early April; most are gone by early September. Peak: on about 2.1% of Michigan 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. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%1%2%3%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 38160 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 24696 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 23771 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 31347 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 23225 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 27398 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 36606 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 27127 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 29700 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 31587 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.1% of 32118 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.2% of 47777 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.4% of 38557 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.0% of 42207 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.5% of 42759 checklistsApr 22-30: 2.3% of 64458 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 60998 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.6% of 72091 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.8% of 59058 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.5% of 64724 checklistsJun 1-7: 1.3% of 35990 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 32595 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.1% of 30017 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.1% of 33988 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.0% of 28708 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.8% of 25175 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.8% of 24084 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.8% of 33522 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.9% of 25098 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 24353 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 25059 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 37489 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.5% of 28410 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.5% of 27887 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 26614 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 32557 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.4% of 25844 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 27741 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.1% of 24693 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 32460 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 23660 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 21542 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19922 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 25069 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 18272 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 18961 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 24171 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 30908 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 Michigan 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.

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Where in Michigan

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Bay CountyBest mid June · 402 checklists that week, 16,522 in all11%
  2. Roscommon CountyBest early June · 339 checklists that week, 7,054 in all10%
  3. Clinton CountyBest early June · 186 checklists that week, 10,597 in all9.4%
  4. Livingston CountyBest late September · 599 checklists that week, 31,033 in all9.1%
  5. Gladwin CountyBest late May · 107 checklists that week, 3,292 in all6.9%
  6. Ottawa CountyBest late April · 3275 checklists that week, 71,787 in all6.1%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ellis LakeBarry County, best mid April · 28 checklists that week, 292 in all61%
  2. Allegan State Game Area (east 2)Allegan County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 237 in all59%
  3. Houghton Lake State Wildlife Research AreaRoscommon County, best early May · 22 checklists that week, 387 in all56%
  4. Peters BayouManistee County, best late April · 33 checklists that week, 216 in all47%
  5. Upper Macatawa Natural Area - EastOttawa County, best late April · 140 checklists that week, 1,785 in all47%
  6. Munuscong State Wildlife Management Area (Little Munuscong River)Chippewa County, best late May · 51 checklists that week, 264 in all46%

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

Best time of day

In Michigan, the Virginia Rail is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (1.3% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%1.5%2%12 am: too few checklists (712) to judge1 am: too few checklists (592) to judge2 am: too few checklists (532) to judge3 am: too few checklists (516) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1592) to judge5 am: too few checklists (6849) to judge6 am: 1.9% of 39298 checklists7 am: 1.1% of 120344 checklists8 am: 0.8% of 180109 checklists9 am: 0.6% of 171966 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 156332 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 134964 checklists12 pm: 0.5% of 120967 checklists1 pm: 0.5% of 113852 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 110773 checklists3 pm: 0.5% of 105530 checklists4 pm: 0.6% of 100958 checklists5 pm: 0.7% of 80085 checklists6 pm: 1.0% of 62883 checklists7 pm: 1.3% of 44912 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (21062) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5920) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1629) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (775) 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%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%
April0.4%1.0%1.5%2.3%
May2.2%1.6%1.8%1.5%
June1.3%1.2%1.1%1.1%
July1.0%0.8%0.8%0.8%
August0.9%0.7%0.6%0.6%
September0.5%0.5%0.4%0.5%
October0.4%0.3%0.1%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

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

Common questions

When do Virginia Rails arrive in Michigan?
Virginia Rails arrive in Michigan in early April, peak in late April (2.1% of checklists), and most are gone by early September.
When do Virginia Rails leave Michigan?
Most Virginia Rails have left Michigan by early September, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Virginia Rail in Michigan?
The Virginia Rail is reported most often in late April, on about 2.1% of Michigan checklists.
Where in Michigan are Virginia Rails seen most often?
By county, Bay County, Roscommon County, and Clinton County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Virginia Rail (counties with at least 200 checklists).