The last seven days on iNaturalist, checked against five years
Rare Birds in Michigan This Week
Michigan logged 176,582 confirmed bird sightings across 423 species on iNaturalist in five years, and 37 of those species have 3 or fewer confirmed sightings. The live list near Detroit covers 25 miles around the city. The Michigan Bird Records Committee reviews rare bird records here.
Near Detroit
Rare birds near Detroit this week
Every bird posted within 25 miles of Detroit in the last seven days, with the ones that are rare there, out of season or uncommon first and the reason for each.
Reading this week's bird sightings within 25 miles of Detroit from iNaturalist.
Somewhere else in Michigan? Enter your ZIP for the circle around it.
Michigan birds on the record
iNaturalist, research grade
176,582
Confirmed bird sightings
research grade iNaturalist records, five years
423
Bird species on record
seen and confirmed in Michigan
37
Species seen 3 times or fewer
9 percent of the state list, the birds that make news
25 mi
Live circle
around Detroit, or any ZIP you enter
Counted from iNaturalist’s research grade bird records in Michigan from October 9, 2021 to October 1, 2026, read October 9, 2026.
Across Michigan
The whole state this week
Every bird reported anywhere in Michigan in the last seven days, checked against the state’s own five year record: Rare here means 3 or fewer confirmed sightings in the whole state.
Reading this week's bird sightings across Michigan from iNaturalist.
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What turns up here
Who confirms a rare bird in Michigan
423 bird species have confirmed iNaturalist records in Michigan over five years, and 37 of them were confirmed 3 times or fewer. A sighting of one of those is the kind a state records committee reviews before it joins the official list.
Michigan Bird Records Committee
The committee reviews rare bird records in Michigan.
Birders and photographers setting up on an overlook. Word of an unusual bird travels this way: one person posts a photograph, and the people nearby go and look. “Birdwatchers stop to set up equipment at overlook”, Steve Hillebrand, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain
Michigan rare bird questions
The lists above, read live from iNaturalist: first the birds within 25 miles of Detroit, then the whole state. Each species is checked against five years of confirmed sightings, and the most unusual come first.
423 bird species in 176,582 confirmed iNaturalist sightings between 2021-10-09 and 2026-10-01. 37 of those species have 3 or fewer confirmed sightings in the state, so a new one of them is news.
Near Detroit or your own ZIP, a species with 3 or fewer confirmed sightings within 25 miles in five years, or one that is seen there but almost never in these weeks of the year. On the statewide list, a species with 3 or fewer confirmed sightings anywhere in Michigan.
The Michigan Bird Records Committee, whose review list is linked on this page.
Enter your ZIP on the rare bird alert for a list around your own spot, and check it each week in spring and fall migration, when most strays turn up. Each bird links to its iNaturalist species page with photographs and a range map.
Yes, for this week only, because confirmation takes days and a rare bird may be gone by then. The five year record the week is checked against counts research grade sightings only.
Sightings and records from iNaturalist, read live for this week. The lists are built from counts per species, and each bird links to its species page. For your own spot, enter a ZIP on the rare bird alert.
