WhenToBird

Coragyps atratus · Cathartidae

When Do Black Vultures Arrive in Maryland?

Adult Black Vulture
Photo: Cricket Raspet, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

The Black Vulture is in Maryland all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 9.9% in its quietest week (the second week of July).

When to look

PresentAll year
Peak weekOct 22-31late October
Quietest weekJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: late October. Here all year. Peak: on about 18% of Maryland checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octpeak season
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 15% of 28716 checklistsJan 8-14: 15% of 21449 checklistsJan 15-21: 14% of 21267 checklistsJan 22-31: 15% of 29144 checklistsFeb 1-7: 15% of 21347 checklistsFeb 8-14: 13% of 22166 checklistsFeb 15-21: 14% of 29986 checklistsFeb 22-28: 16% of 22427 checklistsMar 1-7: 17% of 21389 checklistsMar 8-14: 16% of 22192 checklistsMar 15-21: 17% of 22823 checklistsMar 22-31: 17% of 33720 checklistsApr 1-7: 17% of 25513 checklistsApr 8-14: 18% of 27718 checklistsApr 15-21: 18% of 29328 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 42595 checklistsMay 1-7: 15% of 38532 checklistsMay 8-14: 15% of 42722 checklistsMay 15-21: 15% of 31936 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 36903 checklistsJun 1-7: 13% of 23191 checklistsJun 8-14: 12% of 21853 checklistsJun 15-21: 12% of 21000 checklistsJun 22-30: 11% of 25133 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.9% of 18715 checklistsJul 8-14: 10% of 16376 checklistsJul 15-21: 9.4% of 15793 checklistsJul 22-31: 10% of 21969 checklistsAug 1-7: 11% of 16013 checklistsAug 8-14: 11% of 15249 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 15674 checklistsAug 22-31: 12% of 24925 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 19808 checklistsSep 8-14: 13% of 18513 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 21901 checklistsSep 22-30: 16% of 22901 checklistsOct 1-7: 16% of 19111 checklistsOct 8-14: 17% of 18482 checklistsOct 15-21: 19% of 17380 checklistsOct 22-31: 18% of 23992 checklistsNov 1-7: 18% of 17915 checklistsNov 8-14: 17% of 18905 checklistsNov 15-21: 18% of 16259 checklistsNov 22-30: 17% of 22852 checklistsDec 1-7: 15% of 16108 checklistsDec 8-14: 14% of 16512 checklistsDec 15-21: 16% of 18952 checklistsDec 22-31: 16% of 29728 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 Maryland 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 Maryland

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kent CountyBest the second week of March · 191 checklists that week, 13,396 in all31%
  2. Charles CountyBest mid October · 110 checklists that week, 10,064 in all29%
  3. Cecil CountyBest late October · 338 checklists that week, 18,620 in all28%
  4. Queen Anne's CountyBest late October · 531 checklists that week, 26,875 in all28%
  5. Harford CountyBest mid November · 699 checklists that week, 39,311 in all26%
  6. Anne Arundel CountyBest the second week of April · 2239 checklists that week, 93,516 in all25%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Mezick PondsAnne Arundel County, best late July · 33 checklists that week, 2,996 in all84%
  2. Chesapeake Beach Railway TrailCalvert County, best mid September · 38 checklists that week, 986 in all83%
  3. OctoraroCecil County, best late March · 29 checklists that week, 470 in all82%
  4. Fort George G Mead JunctionAnne Arundel County, best early January · 37 checklists that week, 136 in all81%

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

Best time of day

In Maryland, the Black Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (20% of those checklists).

0%10%20%30%12 am: too few checklists (486) to judge1 am: too few checklists (451) to judge2 am: too few checklists (447) to judge3 am: too few checklists (766) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2076) to judge5 am: too few checklists (11098) to judge6 am: 9.9% of 56604 checklists7 am: 11% of 139255 checklists8 am: 14% of 148626 checklists9 am: 19% of 126820 checklists10 am: 20% of 106973 checklists11 am: 19% of 87483 checklists12 pm: 18% of 74808 checklists1 pm: 17% of 69428 checklists2 pm: 17% of 67800 checklists3 pm: 15% of 67688 checklists4 pm: 12% of 60927 checklists5 pm: 10% of 43876 checklists6 pm: 6.6% of 32930 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (19051) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (5708) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1977) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1170) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (635) 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
January15%15%14%15%
February15%13%14%16%
March17%16%17%17%
April17%18%18%17%
May15%15%15%15%
June13%12%12%11%
July9.9%10%9.4%10%
August11%11%12%12%
September14%13%16%16%
October16%17%19%18%
November18%17%18%17%
December15%14%16%16%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Black Vultures arrive in Maryland?
The Black Vulture is in Maryland all year. It turns up on about 18% of checklists at its peak (late October) and on 9.9% in its quietest week (the second week of July).
When do Black Vultures leave Maryland?
The Black Vulture does not leave Maryland: it is reported all year, from 9.9% of checklists in the second week of July to 18% in late October.
When is the best time to see a Black Vulture in Maryland?
The Black Vulture is reported most often in late October, on about 18% of Maryland checklists.
Where in Maryland are Black Vultures seen most often?
By county, Kent County, Charles County, and Cecil County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Black Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).