Bohemian Waxwing

This larger relative of our familiar Cedar Waxwing gets its name from its high nomadic behavior during the non-breeding season. Bohemian Waxwings are one of our classic “irruptive” winter birds, meaning that numbers fluctuate dramatically in response to food availability. Although they feed on insects during the summer, waxwings are fruit specialists, and in their core breeding range in Alaska and western Canada they consume species including cranberries, wild cherries, and mountain ash.

When berry crops are sparse in the fall, Bohemian Waxwings head south and east in search of more reliable foraging. During these invasions they are likely to occur with other fruit eaters like Cedar Waxwings and American Robins, and are most easily found in ornamental trees such as crab apples. Irruptions as far south and east as New Hampshire tend to occur every other year, and if an invasion is imminent the first signs will be of scattered birds in the south, often toward the coast and usually in November. Larger flocks tend to start arriving in December or January and work their way south as local fruit crops are consumed. Peak numbers in the southeastern portion of the state often don’t occur until March or April, and the birds are gone entirely soon thereafter.

There is much to be learned about the movements of Bohemian Waxwings. Studies on the breeding grounds are rare, and it’s not clear if birds return to the same area to nest each year, the alternative being they continue to wander in search of the most reliable resources. Banding studies have shown that winter flocks shift in size and composition over time, with some birds staying in a local area and others dispersing perhaps hundreds of miles.