MIGRATION PATTERNS OF CEDAR WAXWINGS IN THE EASTERN UNITED-STATES

Records for 327 Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) banded or recovered in eastern North America (<105-degrees-W) from 1921-1990 were analyzed to determine migration patterns. Southward migration occurred November-January; northward migration in March-May. Eastern waxwings wintered in the coastal plain from South Carolina to Texas and were at their greatest distance from breeding sites in February (xBAR = 2082 +/-1787 [SD] km, n = 27). Recoveries of waxwings banded during summer suggested that birds of divergent breeding populations mix at wintering sites. There was little interchange of birds across the Rocky Mountains. As few encounters occurred in Florida, it was not possible to establish the existence of a geographic source of Cedar Waxwings that may damage early ripening fruits such as blueberries in Florida.