WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Florida?

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

Turkey Vultures are in Florida all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late October, peak in mid January (47% of checklists), and fall back by late March. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 14% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildOct 22-31late October
PeakJan 15-21mid January
Fall back byMar 22-31late March
FewestJul 8-14the second week of July

Best: mid January. Here all year; numbers build from late October and fall back by late March. Peak: on about 47% of Florida checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febpeak season
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprcommon
  5. Mayuncommon
  6. Jununcommon
  7. Juluncommon
  8. Auguncommon
  9. Sepuncommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

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

0%20%40%60%Jan 1-7: 44% of 74446 checklistsJan 8-14: 46% of 60074 checklistsJan 15-21: 46% of 62945 checklistsJan 22-31: 47% of 84954 checklistsFeb 1-7: 45% of 59204 checklistsFeb 8-14: 44% of 63259 checklistsFeb 15-21: 41% of 77150 checklistsFeb 22-28: 45% of 62850 checklistsMar 1-7: 44% of 58560 checklistsMar 8-14: 42% of 57756 checklistsMar 15-21: 38% of 54898 checklistsMar 22-31: 33% of 76702 checklistsApr 1-7: 27% of 55096 checklistsApr 8-14: 23% of 55892 checklistsApr 15-21: 20% of 59358 checklistsApr 22-30: 18% of 73124 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 47915 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 44114 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 31858 checklistsMay 22-31: 16% of 40723 checklistsJun 1-7: 16% of 31668 checklistsJun 8-14: 15% of 27802 checklistsJun 15-21: 15% of 26698 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 32346 checklistsJul 1-7: 14% of 23826 checklistsJul 8-14: 14% of 23071 checklistsJul 15-21: 14% of 22903 checklistsJul 22-31: 14% of 32952 checklistsAug 1-7: 15% of 25093 checklistsAug 8-14: 15% of 24888 checklistsAug 15-21: 15% of 26030 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 38612 checklistsSep 1-7: 16% of 31023 checklistsSep 8-14: 15% of 30022 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 31611 checklistsSep 22-30: 17% of 42108 checklistsOct 1-7: 18% of 36219 checklistsOct 8-14: 22% of 43113 checklistsOct 15-21: 28% of 40987 checklistsOct 22-31: 33% of 53457 checklistsNov 1-7: 38% of 38587 checklistsNov 8-14: 40% of 39208 checklistsNov 15-21: 41% of 39729 checklistsNov 22-30: 41% of 54965 checklistsDec 1-7: 42% of 42070 checklistsDec 8-14: 43% of 43424 checklistsDec 15-21: 45% of 50581 checklistsDec 22-31: 43% of 82405 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 Florida 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 Florida

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Lafayette CountyBest late November · 24 checklists that week, 1,203 in all79%
  2. Hardee CountyBest late November · 36 checklists that week, 1,078 in all74%
  3. Union CountyBest the second week of March · 12 checklists that week, 661 in all74%
  4. Glades CountyBest early December · 49 checklists that week, 6,182 in all73%
  5. Okeechobee CountyBest mid January · 182 checklists that week, 5,380 in all72%
  6. Calhoun CountyBest the second week of March · 18 checklists that week, 570 in all71%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Oleta River State ParkMiami-Dade County, best late February · 20 checklists that week, 803 in all98%
  2. Barr Hammock PreserveAlachua County, best late November · 25 checklists that week, 410 in all98%
  3. West LakeMiami-Dade County, best early February · 24 checklists that week, 836 in all97%
  4. Winding Waters Natural AreaPalm Beach County, best late January · 44 checklists that week, 950 in all95%

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

Best time of day

In Florida, the Turkey Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (42% of those checklists).

0%20%40%60%12 am: too few checklists (771) to judge1 am: too few checklists (771) to judge2 am: too few checklists (701) to judge3 am: too few checklists (752) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1378) to judge5 am: too few checklists (9462) to judge6 am: 15% of 94591 checklists7 am: 22% of 296183 checklists8 am: 30% of 319987 checklists9 am: 38% of 254830 checklists10 am: 43% of 209480 checklists11 am: 41% of 163924 checklists12 pm: 41% of 133478 checklists1 pm: 41% of 125012 checklists2 pm: 39% of 125299 checklists3 pm: 35% of 131072 checklists4 pm: 28% of 134410 checklists5 pm: 18% of 113373 checklists6 pm: 11% of 69886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (37509) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (8966) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2093) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1485) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (862) 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
January44%46%46%47%
February45%44%41%45%
March44%42%38%33%
April27%23%20%18%
May16%16%16%16%
June16%15%15%14%
July14%14%14%14%
August15%15%15%15%
September16%15%16%17%
October18%22%28%33%
November38%40%41%41%
December42%43%45%43%

Neighboring states

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Florida?
Turkey Vultures are in Florida all year, but most are here in winter: numbers build from late October, peak in mid January (47% of checklists), and fall back by late March. In the quietest week (the second week of July) they are still on about 14% of checklists.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Florida?
Turkey Vultures never fully leave Florida: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by late March, but some are still reported in every week, about 14% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Turkey Vulture in Florida?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in mid January, on about 47% of Florida checklists.
Where in Florida are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Lafayette County, Hardee County, and Union County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).