WhenToBird

Rallus limicola · Rallidae

When Do Virginia Rails Arrive in Montana?

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

Virginia Rails arrive in Montana in mid March, peak in early May (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of January.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakMay 1-7early May
Most gone byJan 8-14the second week of January

Best: early May. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by the second week of January. Peak: on about 1.1% of Montana checklists.

  1. Jancommon
  2. Febrare
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Deccommon

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

0%0.5%1%1.5%Jan 1-7: 0.9% of 7987 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.2% of 5561 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.4% of 5613 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.2% of 7881 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.2% of 5018 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 5598 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.2% of 7247 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 5531 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.2% of 6110 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.2% of 6623 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.4% of 7687 checklistsMar 22-31: 0.4% of 11095 checklistsApr 1-7: 0.6% of 7774 checklistsApr 8-14: 0.6% of 8785 checklistsApr 15-21: 0.9% of 9684 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 13805 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 11847 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.0% of 13547 checklistsMay 15-21: 0.9% of 13019 checklistsMay 22-31: 0.7% of 20456 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.8% of 12993 checklistsJun 8-14: 0.6% of 11594 checklistsJun 15-21: 0.6% of 11159 checklistsJun 22-30: 0.5% of 13786 checklistsJul 1-7: 0.4% of 9584 checklistsJul 8-14: 0.3% of 9078 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.5% of 7905 checklistsJul 22-31: 0.6% of 10906 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.5% of 7335 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 6868 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.4% of 6866 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.6% of 10076 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.6% of 7670 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.6% of 7490 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.4% of 6804 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.5% of 8016 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.3% of 5996 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.3% of 6156 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.6% of 5742 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.4% of 7790 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 5353 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.4% of 5475 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 4603 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.2% of 6067 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 4362 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.4% of 4467 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.4% of 5328 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.4% of 6672 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 Montana 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 Montana

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Ravalli CountyBest late October · 332 checklists that week, 16,671 in all6.9%
  2. Madison CountyBest the second week of January · 15 checklists that week, 7,008 in all6.7%
  3. Daniels CountyBest late August · 14 checklists that week, 481 in all6.3%
  4. Sheridan CountyBest mid July · 12 checklists that week, 2,316 in all5.7%
  5. Deer Lodge CountyBest mid April · 250 checklists that week, 8,732 in all4.3%
  6. Roosevelt CountyBest the second week of May · 23 checklists that week, 484 in all3.6%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge (northeast)Ravalli County, best late October · 32 checklists that week, 838 in all46%
  2. Lake Helena Wildlife Management AreaLewis and Clark County, best the second week of September · 27 checklists that week, 1,103 in all33%
  3. Cherry River Fishing Access SiteGallatin County, best late December · 25 checklists that week, 2,025 in all32%
  4. Lee Metcalf National Wildlife RefugeRavalli County, best late October · 31 checklists that week, 1,477 in all21%

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

Best time of day

In Montana, the Virginia Rail is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (0.8% of those checklists).

0%0.5%1%12 am: too few checklists (183) to judge1 am: too few checklists (169) to judge2 am: too few checklists (163) to judge3 am: too few checklists (212) to judge4 am: too few checklists (503) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4022) to judge6 am: 0.9% of 12719 checklists7 am: 0.7% of 31202 checklists8 am: 0.5% of 47646 checklists9 am: 0.5% of 44624 checklists10 am: 0.6% of 40704 checklists11 am: 0.5% of 33825 checklists12 pm: 0.4% of 29407 checklists1 pm: 0.4% of 27959 checklists2 pm: 0.5% of 26928 checklists3 pm: 0.4% of 25313 checklists4 pm: 0.4% of 22151 checklists5 pm: 0.5% of 16884 checklists6 pm: 0.6% of 13780 checklists7 pm: 0.8% of 9926 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (5765) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2099) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (595) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (230) 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
January0.9%0.2%0.4%0.2%
February0.2%0.1%0.2%0.1%
March0.2%0.2%0.4%0.4%
April0.6%0.6%0.9%1.3%
May0.9%1.0%0.9%0.7%
June0.8%0.6%0.6%0.5%
July0.4%0.3%0.5%0.6%
August0.5%0.7%0.4%0.6%
September0.6%0.6%0.4%0.5%
October0.3%0.3%0.6%0.4%
November0.3%0.4%0.5%0.2%
December0.3%0.4%0.4%0.4%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives mid February, 4 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Utah: arrives mid July, 16 weeks later than Montana
  • Washington: arrives mid February, 4 weeks earlier than Montana
  • Oregon: arrives mid February, 4 weeks earlier than Montana

Common questions

When do Virginia Rails arrive in Montana?
Virginia Rails arrive in Montana in mid March, peak in early May (1.1% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of January.
When do Virginia Rails leave Montana?
Most Virginia Rails have left Montana by the second week of January, when reports fall below half their usual rate.
When is the best time to see a Virginia Rail in Montana?
The Virginia Rail is reported most often in early May, on about 1.1% of Montana checklists.
Where in Montana are Virginia Rails seen most often?
By county, Ravalli County, Madison County, and Daniels County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Virginia Rail (counties with at least 200 checklists).