WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Utah?

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

Turkey Vultures reach Utah in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in late April (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakApr 22-30late April
Most gone bySep 22-30late September

Best: late April. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by late September. Peak: on about 16% of Utah checklists.

  1. Jannot usually seen
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marcommon
  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 10857 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 8333 checklistsJan 15-21: 0% of 8360 checklistsJan 22-31: 0% of 10516 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 7416 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 8082 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 9643 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.1% of 7960 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.5% of 7998 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.0% of 8581 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.3% of 8637 checklistsMar 22-31: 9.5% of 13006 checklistsApr 1-7: 15% of 10562 checklistsApr 8-14: 15% of 11694 checklistsApr 15-21: 16% of 11382 checklistsApr 22-30: 17% of 16626 checklistsMay 1-7: 16% of 13523 checklistsMay 8-14: 16% of 14714 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 13711 checklistsMay 22-31: 15% of 16546 checklistsJun 1-7: 14% of 10284 checklistsJun 8-14: 14% of 9530 checklistsJun 15-21: 14% of 8854 checklistsJun 22-30: 14% of 10566 checklistsJul 1-7: 13% of 7987 checklistsJul 8-14: 11% of 7471 checklistsJul 15-21: 11% of 7240 checklistsJul 22-31: 11% of 9329 checklistsAug 1-7: 13% of 6521 checklistsAug 8-14: 12% of 6423 checklistsAug 15-21: 12% of 6208 checklistsAug 22-31: 15% of 9089 checklistsSep 1-7: 15% of 7081 checklistsSep 8-14: 17% of 7306 checklistsSep 15-21: 16% of 7208 checklistsSep 22-30: 13% of 8876 checklistsOct 1-7: 5.7% of 7265 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.1% of 7226 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.2% of 7007 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.1% of 8443 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 6711 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 6290 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 6169 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 8228 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 6011 checklistsDec 8-14: 0% of 6044 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 6721 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 9982 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 Utah 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 Utah

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Morgan CountyBest the second week of September · 50 checklists that week, 3,178 in all46%
  2. Daggett CountyBest the second week of June · 81 checklists that week, 1,885 in all39%
  3. Wasatch CountyBest the second week of May · 277 checklists that week, 7,780 in all34%
  4. Summit CountyBest mid April · 282 checklists that week, 13,829 in all32%
  5. Kane CountyBest the second week of September · 170 checklists that week, 6,105 in all31%
  6. Garfield CountyBest mid April · 385 checklists that week, 10,367 in all30%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Zion National Park (The Organ)Washington County, best late April · 31 checklists that week, 510 in all76%
  2. Dry CreekUtah County, best the second week of September · 33 checklists that week, 2,498 in all73%
  3. Spencer Number Two Reservoir (historical)Kane County, best mid September · 26 checklists that week, 605 in all70%
  4. Rockport State ParkSummit County, best early July · 20 checklists that week, 1,614 in all69%
  5. Zion National Park (Goose Creek Knoll)Washington County, best late May · 20 checklists that week, 299 in all69%
  6. Refrigerator CanyonWashington County, best late April · 23 checklists that week, 475 in all69%

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

Best time of day

In Utah, the Turkey Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 9 and 11 am (9.9% of those checklists).

0%5%10%12 am: too few checklists (242) to judge1 am: too few checklists (178) to judge2 am: too few checklists (169) to judge3 am: too few checklists (162) to judge4 am: too few checklists (284) to judge5 am: too few checklists (1984) to judge6 am: 7.4% of 11714 checklists7 am: 7.4% of 33209 checklists8 am: 8.3% of 46944 checklists9 am: 10% of 46290 checklists10 am: 9.8% of 43144 checklists11 am: 9.0% of 36893 checklists12 pm: 8.3% of 32758 checklists1 pm: 8.7% of 30142 checklists2 pm: 8.0% of 29414 checklists3 pm: 8.0% of 29491 checklists4 pm: 8.0% of 29154 checklists5 pm: 9.3% of 22256 checklists6 pm: 9.6% of 17383 checklists7 pm: 7.0% of 13099 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (6647) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1753) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (599) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (307) 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%0.1%0%0%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
March0.5%1.0%3.3%9.5%
April15%15%16%17%
May16%16%16%15%
June14%14%14%14%
July13%11%11%11%
August13%12%12%15%
September15%17%16%13%
October5.7%1.1%0.2%0.1%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Wyoming: arrives late March, 2 weeks later than Utah
  • Nevada: arrives mid February, 3 weeks earlier than Utah
  • Colorado: arrives mid March, 1 week later than Utah
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than Utah

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Utah?
Turkey Vultures reach Utah in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in late April (16% of checklists), and most are gone by late September.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Utah?
Most Turkey Vultures have left Utah by late September, 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 Utah?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in late April, on about 16% of Utah checklists.
Where in Utah are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Morgan County, Daggett County, and Wasatch County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).