Wild Turkey

A Guaranteed Sighting

Few Zion animals are as easy to find as the wild turkey. Flocks of ten to twenty birds - a group is called a rafter - forage along the canyon floor trails and near the campgrounds, scratching through leaf litter for seeds and insects. They're big, loud, and completely at ease around people.

The Spring Strut

Spring is the show. Males (toms) fan their tail feathers into a full display, puff out their iridescent bronze-and-green plumage, and strut for the hens with a low, resonant gobble that carries across the canyon. It's one of the most entertaining wildlife spectacles in the park, and it happens in plain sight.

Where & When to See Them

Check the canyon floor near the Visitor Center and the South and Watchman campgrounds, especially in the morning. Turkeys are active year-round, but spring and fall - and the early hours - are the most reliable times to find a rafter working the trailside.