WhenToBird

Cathartes aura · Cathartidae

When Do Turkey Vultures Arrive in Washington?

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

Turkey Vultures reach Washington in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in mid June (9.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.

When to look

First arrivalsMar 8-14the second week of March
Common byMar 22-31late March
PeakJun 15-21mid June
Most gone byOct 1-7early October

Best: mid June. First arrivals the second week of March; most are gone by early October. Peak: on about 9.9% of Washington 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%Jan 1-7: 0.1% of 41928 checklistsJan 8-14: 0.1% of 31152 checklistsJan 15-21: 0.1% of 31753 checklistsJan 22-31: 0.1% of 42530 checklistsFeb 1-7: 0.1% of 29739 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.1% of 32746 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.1% of 40328 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.3% of 28432 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.7% of 30758 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.3% of 29368 checklistsMar 15-21: 3.0% of 32580 checklistsMar 22-31: 5.3% of 45614 checklistsApr 1-7: 6.7% of 33997 checklistsApr 8-14: 7.7% of 34729 checklistsApr 15-21: 8.0% of 38474 checklistsApr 22-30: 8.5% of 52185 checklistsMay 1-7: 9.2% of 44236 checklistsMay 8-14: 9.5% of 48708 checklistsMay 15-21: 10% of 41742 checklistsMay 22-31: 9.9% of 57082 checklistsJun 1-7: 9.5% of 39193 checklistsJun 8-14: 9.7% of 36042 checklistsJun 15-21: 10% of 34003 checklistsJun 22-30: 9.7% of 39711 checklistsJul 1-7: 9.0% of 31949 checklistsJul 8-14: 8.6% of 29086 checklistsJul 15-21: 8.1% of 28045 checklistsJul 22-31: 7.7% of 38275 checklistsAug 1-7: 7.5% of 28846 checklistsAug 8-14: 7.4% of 28036 checklistsAug 15-21: 7.2% of 27614 checklistsAug 22-31: 8.1% of 40356 checklistsSep 1-7: 7.9% of 31214 checklistsSep 8-14: 7.8% of 27795 checklistsSep 15-21: 9.1% of 29677 checklistsSep 22-30: 7.5% of 35241 checklistsOct 1-7: 4.0% of 28605 checklistsOct 8-14: 1.5% of 28655 checklistsOct 15-21: 0.3% of 24643 checklistsOct 22-31: 0.2% of 34874 checklistsNov 1-7: 0.1% of 25658 checklistsNov 8-14: 0.1% of 25700 checklistsNov 15-21: 0.1% of 24331 checklistsNov 22-30: 0.1% of 32784 checklistsDec 1-7: 0.1% of 24099 checklistsDec 8-14: 0.1% of 23339 checklistsDec 15-21: 0.1% of 27666 checklistsDec 22-31: 0.1% of 42130 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 Washington 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 Washington

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Skamania CountyBest mid April · 200 checklists that week, 10,140 in all53%
  2. Wahkiakum CountyBest the second week of August · 88 checklists that week, 5,618 in all51%
  3. Cowlitz CountyBest mid September · 285 checklists that week, 15,273 in all39%
  4. Klickitat CountyBest mid June · 506 checklists that week, 19,718 in all33%
  5. Pacific CountyBest late June · 386 checklists that week, 19,516 in all31%
  6. Clark CountyBest mid September · 879 checklists that week, 53,250 in all28%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Hamilton IslandSkamania County, best late August · 36 checklists that week, 794 in all93%
  2. Burdoin Mountain Special Management AreaKlickitat County, best early May · 23 checklists that week, 388 in all85%
  3. Nelson (Kalama River)Cowlitz County, best late August · 20 checklists that week, 660 in all79%
  4. Yakima River Canyon Area of Critical Environmental ConcernKittitas County, best mid June · 38 checklists that week, 809 in all78%

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

Best time of day

In Washington, the Turkey Vulture is most often listed on checklists started between 10 am and 12 pm (5.7% of those checklists).

0%2%4%6%12 am: too few checklists (796) to judge1 am: too few checklists (776) to judge2 am: too few checklists (709) to judge3 am: too few checklists (901) to judge4 am: too few checklists (3221) to judge5 am: too few checklists (16576) to judge6 am: 3.7% of 56744 checklists7 am: 4.1% of 133294 checklists8 am: 4.8% of 184196 checklists9 am: 5.4% of 186303 checklists10 am: 5.8% of 177063 checklists11 am: 5.7% of 154936 checklists12 pm: 5.4% of 138061 checklists1 pm: 5.4% of 127449 checklists2 pm: 5.1% of 121511 checklists3 pm: 4.8% of 107793 checklists4 pm: 5.3% of 82862 checklists5 pm: 5.3% of 57183 checklists6 pm: 4.1% of 39886 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (26969) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (12427) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (3658) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (1500) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (834) 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
January0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
February0.1%0.1%0.1%0.3%
March0.7%1.3%3.0%5.3%
April6.7%7.7%8.0%8.5%
May9.2%9.5%10%9.9%
June9.5%9.7%10%9.7%
July9.0%8.6%8.1%7.7%
August7.5%7.4%7.2%8.1%
September7.9%7.8%9.1%7.5%
October4.0%1.5%0.3%0.2%
November0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
December0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Neighboring states

  • Oregon: arrives late February, 2 weeks earlier than Washington
  • Idaho: arrives the second week of March, in the same week than Washington
  • Montana: arrives mid March, 1 week later than Washington
  • Nevada: arrives mid February, 3 weeks earlier than Washington

Common questions

When do Turkey Vultures arrive in Washington?
Turkey Vultures reach Washington in the second week of March, are common by late March, peak in mid June (9.9% of checklists), and most are gone by early October.
When do Turkey Vultures leave Washington?
Most Turkey Vultures have left Washington 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 Washington?
The Turkey Vulture is reported most often in mid June, on about 9.9% of Washington checklists.
Where in Washington are Turkey Vultures seen most often?
By county, Skamania County, Wahkiakum County, and Cowlitz County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Turkey Vulture (counties with at least 200 checklists).