WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Rhode Island?

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

Turkey Vultures are in Rhode Island all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in late April (15% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of June. In the quietest week (mid December) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.

When to look

Numbers buildMar 15-21mid March
PeakApr 22-30late April
Fall back byJun 8-14the second week of June
FewestDec 15-21mid December

Best: late April. Here all year; numbers build from mid March and fall back by the second week of June. Peak: on about 15% of Rhode Island checklists.

  1. Januncommon
  2. Febuncommon
  3. Marpeak season
  4. Aprpeak season
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Juncommon
  7. Julcommon
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%5%10%15%20%Jan 1-7: 3.6% of 5678 checklistsJan 8-14: 4.0% of 4004 checklistsJan 15-21: 2.7% of 3691 checklistsJan 22-31: 3.8% of 4738 checklistsFeb 1-7: 3.8% of 3178 checklistsFeb 8-14: 4.6% of 3262 checklistsFeb 15-21: 4.3% of 4286 checklistsFeb 22-28: 6.1% of 3449 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.0% of 3014 checklistsMar 8-14: 9.4% of 3259 checklistsMar 15-21: 9.9% of 3320 checklistsMar 22-31: 12% of 4692 checklistsApr 1-7: 12% of 3280 checklistsApr 8-14: 14% of 3872 checklistsApr 15-21: 15% of 4037 checklistsApr 22-30: 15% of 5595 checklistsMay 1-7: 14% of 5699 checklistsMay 8-14: 13% of 6089 checklistsMay 15-21: 12% of 4937 checklistsMay 22-31: 11% of 5445 checklistsJun 1-7: 8.6% of 3031 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.0% of 2793 checklistsJun 15-21: 8.8% of 2736 checklistsJun 22-30: 7.7% of 3318 checklistsJul 1-7: 5.8% of 2629 checklistsJul 8-14: 5.1% of 2561 checklistsJul 15-21: 5.0% of 2580 checklistsJul 22-31: 5.1% of 3654 checklistsAug 1-7: 4.7% of 2629 checklistsAug 8-14: 4.2% of 2912 checklistsAug 15-21: 6.1% of 2850 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.0% of 4007 checklistsSep 1-7: 9.1% of 2893 checklistsSep 8-14: 9.1% of 2850 checklistsSep 15-21: 11% of 2770 checklistsSep 22-30: 8.5% of 3888 checklistsOct 1-7: 9.9% of 3174 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 3278 checklistsOct 15-21: 11% of 3008 checklistsOct 22-31: 7.9% of 3678 checklistsNov 1-7: 9.1% of 3270 checklistsNov 8-14: 7.3% of 3405 checklistsNov 15-21: 6.9% of 2907 checklistsNov 22-30: 4.4% of 3607 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.2% of 2415 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.8% of 2345 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.6% of 2836 checklistsDec 22-31: 2.0% of 4826 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 Rhode Island 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Rhode Island

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Washington CountyBest the second week of April · 1294 checklists that week, 65,038 in all18%
  2. Newport CountyBest early May · 1027 checklists that week, 33,574 in all16%
  3. Providence CountyBest late April · 1311 checklists that week, 40,898 in all14%
  4. Kent CountyBest mid April · 544 checklists that week, 16,966 in all12%
  5. Bristol CountyBest the second week of April · 357 checklists that week, 15,899 in all8.4%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Branch RiverProvidence County, best mid May · 24 checklists that week, 526 in all83%
  2. Great Swamp Management AreaWashington County, best late March · 63 checklists that week, 1,033 in all54%
  3. North Main RoadNewport County, best early February · 38 checklists that week, 325 in all47%
  4. Indian Cedar Swamp Barrens FeeWashington County, best the second week of May · 48 checklists that week, 1,202 in all47%

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

Best time of day

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

0%5%10%15%12 am: too few checklists (42) to judge1 am: too few checklists (58) to judge2 am: too few checklists (45) to judge3 am: too few checklists (69) to judge4 am: too few checklists (319) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3170) to judge6 am: 4.0% of 10493 checklists7 am: 5.9% of 17631 checklists8 am: 8.4% of 18834 checklists9 am: 11% of 17725 checklists10 am: 12% of 16696 checklists11 am: 11% of 14799 checklists12 pm: 11% of 12580 checklists1 pm: 9.2% of 12779 checklists2 pm: 7.7% of 12302 checklists3 pm: 6.5% of 11884 checklists4 pm: 5.9% of 9762 checklists5 pm: 4.2% of 6442 checklists6 pm: 2.8% of 3947 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (2119) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (452) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (105) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (69) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (53) 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
January3.6%4.0%2.7%3.8%
February3.8%4.6%4.3%6.1%
March6.0%9.4%9.9%12%
April12%14%15%15%
May14%13%12%11%
June8.6%9.0%8.8%7.7%
July5.8%5.1%5.0%5.1%
August4.7%4.2%6.1%8.0%
September9.1%9.1%11%8.5%
October9.9%11%11%7.9%
November9.1%7.3%6.9%4.4%
December4.2%3.8%3.6%2.0%

Neighboring states

  • Massachusetts: arrives the second week of February, 5 weeks earlier than Rhode Island
  • Connecticut: arrives the second week of September, 23 weeks later than Rhode Island
  • New Hampshire: arrives late December, 11 weeks earlier than Rhode Island
  • Vermont: arrives early March, 2 weeks earlier than Rhode Island

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Rhode Island?
Turkey Vultures are in Rhode Island all year, but most are here in spring: numbers build from mid March, peak in late April (15% of checklists), and fall back by the second week of June. In the quietest week (mid December) they are still on about 2.9% of checklists.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Rhode Island?
Turkey Vultures never fully leave Rhode Island: numbers fall back below half their usual rate by the second week of June, but some are still reported in every week, about 2.9% of checklists at the low.
When is the best time to see a Turkey Vulture in Rhode Island?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in late April, on about 15% of Rhode Island checklists.
Where in Rhode Island are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Washington County, Newport County, and Providence County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).