WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Oregon?

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

Turkey Vultures reach Oregon in late February, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of May (26% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsFeb 22-28late February
Common byMar 15-21mid March
PeakMay 8-14the second week of May
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: the second week of May. First arrivals late February; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 26% of Oregon checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febrare
  3. Marpeak season
  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%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 0.6% of 34973 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.5% of 26807 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.5% of 26567 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.8% of 36019 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.9% of 24020 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 25765 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.7% of 31019 checklistsFeb 22-28: 3.9% of 24582 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.2% of 24834 checklistsMar 8-14: 10% of 24642 checklistsMar 15-21: 15% of 27420 checklistsMar 22-31: 20% of 39913 checklistsApr 1-7: 23% of 28817 checklistsApr 8-14: 24% of 31221 checklistsApr 15-21: 25% of 34402 checklistsApr 22-30: 26% of 47144 checklistsMay 1-7: 26% of 37716 checklistsMay 8-14: 25% of 39651 checklistsMay 15-21: 26% of 37496 checklistsMay 22-31: 25% of 56967 checklistsJun 1-7: 23% of 35893 checklistsJun 8-14: 22% of 31880 checklistsJun 15-21: 23% of 30942 checklistsJun 22-30: 22% of 38478 checklistsJul 1-7: 23% of 27409 checklistsJul 8-14: 23% of 25161 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 25473 checklistsJul 22-31: 22% of 33920 checklistsAug 1-7: 23% of 24310 checklistsAug 8-14: 23% of 23675 checklistsAug 15-21: 24% of 23623 checklistsAug 22-31: 25% of 33762 checklistsSep 1-7: 24% of 25120 checklistsSep 8-14: 25% of 24458 checklistsSep 15-21: 25% of 25528 checklistsSep 22-30: 21% of 31631 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 25498 checklistsOct 8-14: 4.8% of 25161 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.3% of 23701 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.6% of 30996 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.3% of 21089 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.5% of 21880 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.5% of 21501 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.4% of 28930 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.3% of 19807 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.3% of 21022 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.3% of 24817 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.5% of 37592 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 Oregon 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 Oregon

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Polk CountyBest the second week of September · 340 checklists that week, 29,096 in all47%
  2. Harney CountyBest the second week of September · 1053 checklists that week, 40,943 in all44%
  3. Wasco CountyBest late April · 379 checklists that week, 13,127 in all43%
  4. Douglas CountyBest the second week of May · 491 checklists that week, 17,976 in all43%
  5. Josephine CountyBest early August · 308 checklists that week, 20,837 in all43%
  6. Curry CountyBest mid June · 226 checklists that week, 12,513 in all43%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Table Rocks Area of Critical Environmental ConcernJackson County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 253 in all96%
  2. Green IslandLane County, best the second week of April · 24 checklists that week, 296 in all95%
  3. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (south)Harney County, best the second week of September · 51 checklists that week, 992 in all94%
  4. Rogue RiverJosephine County, best late April · 26 checklists that week, 408 in all93%
  5. Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic ViewpointJefferson County, best early June · 22 checklists that week, 370 in all92%
  6. Willamette Park and Natural Area (Stahlbusch Island)Benton County, best late May · 29 checklists that week, 1,275 in all91%

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

Best time of day

In Oregon, the Turkey Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (18% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (1505) to judge1 am: too few checklists (675) to judge2 am: too few checklists (626) to judge3 am: too few checklists (1641) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3696) to judge5 am: too few checklists (14524) to judge6 am: 10% of 50677 checklists7 am: 11% of 125347 checklists8 am: 14% of 163668 checklists9 am: 18% of 160351 checklists10 am: 18% of 148940 checklists11 am: 17% of 124743 checklists12 pm: 16% of 112537 checklists1 pm: 16% of 98999 checklists2 pm: 15% of 94690 checklists3 pm: 15% of 87923 checklists4 pm: 15% of 75235 checklists5 pm: 16% of 54504 checklists6 pm: 14% of 40469 checklists7 pm: 7.2% of 33675 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (18715) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (5839) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2704) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (1549) 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
January0.6%0.5%0.5%0.8%
February0.9%1.2%1.7%3.9%
March6.2%10%15%20%
April23%24%25%26%
May26%25%26%25%
June23%22%23%22%
July23%23%23%22%
August23%23%24%25%
September24%25%25%21%
October12%4.8%1.3%0.6%
November0.3%0.5%0.5%0.4%
December0.3%0.3%0.3%0.5%

Neighboring states

  • Washington: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks later than Oregon
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of March, 2 weeks later than Oregon
  • Nevada: arrives mid February, 1 week earlier than Oregon
  • California: year-round, peaks late April

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Oregon?
Turkey Vultures reach Oregon in late February, are common by mid March, peak in the second week of May (26% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Oregon?
Most Turkey Vultures have left Oregon 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 Oregon?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in the second week of May, on about 26% of Oregon checklists.
Where in Oregon are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Polk County, Harney County, and Wasco County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).