Raptor View Research Institute is seeking observations from local birders to help us better understand the nesting phenology of turkey vultures in western Montana.
Unlike many other raptors, turkey vultures nest in secluded locations — rock crevices, caves, hollow logs, and abandoned buildings — making their nests extremely difficult to find. As a result, we know surprisingly little about the timing of key breeding events, such as hatching and fledging.
As part of an ongoing research project, we have GPS transmitters deployed on approximately 30 adult turkey vultures in the area surrounding Missoula. Knowing when juvenile vultures begin appearing each summer will help us better interpret movement data and improve future field efforts for locating nest sites. We suspect that juvenile vultures will fledge from nests July through August.
If you begin seeing recently fledged juvenile turkey vultures (birds hatched this breeding season), please record the date and location of your observation and contact Kylie Denny,
kdenny@raptorview.org. Juveniles that are flying and scavenging have already fledged from the nest, making these observations especially valuable.
The accompanying graphic highlights the easiest way to distinguish recently fledged juveniles from adults:
