WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Colorado?

Adult Turkey Vulture
Photo: Andrew Murray, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Turkey Vultures reach Colorado in mid March, are common by early April, peak in mid May (16% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 15-21mid March
Common byApr 1-7early April
PeakMay 15-21mid May
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: mid May. First arrivals mid March; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 16% of Colorado checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Maruncommon
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novnot usually seen
  12. Decnot usually seen

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 0% of 32254 checklistsJan 8-14: 0% of 23278 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 22933 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 30856 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0% of 21464 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 22910 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0% of 28739 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0% of 21833 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.1% of 23066 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.1% of 23783 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.7% of 24797 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.0% of 38439 checklistsApr 1-7: 11% of 31676 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 35092 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 36778 checklistsApr 22-30: 14% of 50885 checklistsMay 1-7: 15% of 44186 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 49011 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 40784 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 53073 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 32432 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 29978 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 29457 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 36072 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 28857 checklistsJul 8-14: 12% of 27224 checklistsJul 15-21: 12% of 27629 checklistsJul 22-31: 12% of 37318 checklistsAug 1-7: 12% of 25893 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 24870 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 24035 checklistsAug 22-31: 13% of 35691 checklistsSep 1-7: 14% of 27068 checklistsSep 8-14: 14% of 26709 checklistsSep 15-21: 14% of 26098 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 31550 checklistsOct 1-7: 6.7% of 24110 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.4% of 23352 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 21895 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 28319 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 21698 checklistsNov 8-14: 0% of 21061 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 19855 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 25798 checklistsDec 1-7: 0% of 18626 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 19004 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 23103 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 30802 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 Colorado 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 Colorado

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Baca CountyBest early May · 371 checklists that week, 3,209 in all51%
  2. Montezuma CountyBest late August · 409 checklists that week, 15,992 in all45%
  3. Las Animas CountyBest mid April · 61 checklists that week, 3,491 in all45%
  4. Bent CountyBest the second week of September · 95 checklists that week, 5,275 in all41%
  5. La Plata CountyBest early September · 523 checklists that week, 21,744 in all38%
  6. Costilla CountyBest mid August · 39 checklists that week, 1,323 in all36%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Castlewood Canyon State Park (northwest)Douglas County, best late May · 23 checklists that week, 358 in all92%
  2. Matthews/Winters ParkJefferson County, best late April · 56 checklists that week, 502 in all87%
  3. Two Buttes Reservoir State Wildlife AreaBaca County, best early May · 63 checklists that week, 392 in all86%
  4. Castlewood Canyon State ParkDouglas County, best mid June · 30 checklists that week, 794 in all86%
  5. Two Buttes Reservoir State Wildlife Area (west)Baca County, best early May · 32 checklists that week, 160 in all85%
  6. Bobcat Ridge Natural AreaLarimer County, best the second week of July · 25 checklists that week, 833 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In Colorado, the Turkey Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 8 and 10 am (10% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (512) to judge1 am: too few checklists (468) to judge2 am: too few checklists (513) to judge3 am: too few checklists (656) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1918) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16045) to judge6 am: 6.1% of 71991 checklists7 am: 7.8% of 159189 checklists8 am: 10% of 177206 checklists9 am: 10% of 165269 checklists10 am: 9.1% of 141029 checklists11 am: 8.4% of 115283 checklists12 pm: 7.5% of 96068 checklists1 pm: 7.6% of 89512 checklists2 pm: 7.3% of 86319 checklists3 pm: 7.2% of 82496 checklists4 pm: 8.2% of 71648 checklists5 pm: 9.3% of 52445 checklists6 pm: 8.0% of 40199 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (24246) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (7986) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2004) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (888) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (450) 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%0%0%0%
February0%0.1%0%0%
March0.1%0.1%0.7%5.0%
April11%14%15%14%
May15%16%16%16%
June14%14%14%14%
July14%12%12%12%
August12%12%12%13%
September14%14%14%13%
October6.7%1.4%0.2%0.1%
November0.1%0%0.1%0.1%
December0%0%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives late March, 1 week later than Colorado
  • New Mexico: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Colorado
  • Utah: arrives the second week of March, 1 week earlier than Colorado
  • Nebraska: arrives mid March, in the same week than Colorado

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Colorado?
Turkey Vultures reach Colorado in mid March, are common by early April, peak in mid May (16% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Colorado?
Most Turkey Vultures have left Colorado by early October, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of October.
When is the best time to see a Turkey Vulture in Colorado?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in mid May, on about 16% of Colorado checklists.
Where in Colorado are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Baca County, Montezuma County, and Las Animas County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).