WhenToBird

Bombycilla garrulus · Bombycillidae

When Do Bohemian Waxwings Arrive in Alaska?

Adult Bohemian Waxwing
Photo: Nigel Voaden, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Bohemian Waxwings are winter birds in Alaska: the first arrive in mid October, they are common by early November, peak in early December (9.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.

When to look

First arrivalsOct 15-21mid October
Common byNov 1-7early November
PeakDec 1-7early December
Most gone byMar 15-21mid March

Best: early December. First arrivals mid October; most are gone by mid March. Peak: on about 9.9% of Alaska checklists.

  1. Janpeak season
  2. Febcommon
  3. Marcommon
  4. Apruncommon
  5. Mayrare
  6. Junrare
  7. Julrare
  8. Augrare
  9. Sepnot usually seen
  10. Octuncommon
  11. Novpeak season
  12. Decpeak season

Darker months: more checklists report it. Outlined: peak month.

0%5%10%15%Jan 1-7: 8.1% of 3788 checklistsJan 8-14: 7.0% of 2852 checklistsJan 15-21: 8.0% of 2810 checklistsJan 22-31: 7.2% of 3629 checklistsFeb 1-7: 7.9% of 2519 checklistsFeb 8-14: 6.8% of 2927 checklistsFeb 15-21: 5.6% of 3743 checklistsFeb 22-28: 5.2% of 2846 checklistsMar 1-7: 6.7% of 2904 checklistsMar 8-14: 4.8% of 3073 checklistsMar 15-21: 4.2% of 3359 checklistsMar 22-31: 3.6% of 5855 checklistsApr 1-7: 3.1% of 4329 checklistsApr 8-14: 2.5% of 4949 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.1% of 7114 checklistsApr 22-30: 0.8% of 10916 checklistsMay 1-7: 0.9% of 11827 checklistsMay 8-14: 1.4% of 14115 checklistsMay 15-21: 1.5% of 12152 checklistsMay 22-31: 1.1% of 19919 checklistsJun 1-7: 0.9% of 15816 checklistsJun 8-14: 1.2% of 17194 checklistsJun 15-21: 1.2% of 15943 checklistsJun 22-30: 1.3% of 16192 checklistsJul 1-7: 1.6% of 9815 checklistsJul 8-14: 1.6% of 8263 checklistsJul 15-21: 0.9% of 7081 checklistsJul 22-31: 1.0% of 9434 checklistsAug 1-7: 0.7% of 6380 checklistsAug 8-14: 0.7% of 6258 checklistsAug 15-21: 0.6% of 6114 checklistsAug 22-31: 0.3% of 8189 checklistsSep 1-7: 0.3% of 5848 checklistsSep 8-14: 0.4% of 4853 checklistsSep 15-21: 0.2% of 4415 checklistsSep 22-30: 0.3% of 5086 checklistsOct 1-7: 0.4% of 3576 checklistsOct 8-14: 0.8% of 4212 checklistsOct 15-21: 1.2% of 3339 checklistsOct 22-31: 2.4% of 4169 checklistsNov 1-7: 4.4% of 2844 checklistsNov 8-14: 5.9% of 2753 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.6% of 2291 checklistsNov 22-30: 9.8% of 3066 checklistsDec 1-7: 10% of 2199 checklistsDec 8-14: 10% of 2472 checklistsDec 15-21: 8.1% of 3071 checklistsDec 22-31: 7.3% of 3442 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 Alaska 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 Alaska

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Matanuska-Susitna BoroughBest early December · 230 checklists that week, 23,028 in all24%
  2. Anchorage MunicipalityBest late December · 654 checklists that week, 65,703 in all23%
  3. Skagway MunicipalityBest the second week of November · 12 checklists that week, 2,045 in all20%
  4. Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaBest the second week of July · 158 checklists that week, 2,835 in all16%
  5. Fairbanks North Star BoroughBest early April · 346 checklists that week, 23,771 in all12%
  6. Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaBest early July · 172 checklists that week, 3,009 in all12%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Smith Lake (Troth Yeddha’)Fairbanks North Star Borough, best the second week of October · 21 checklists that week, 131 in all59%
  2. Chester Creek Greenbelt (Thompson)Anchorage Municipality, best late January · 23 checklists that week, 448 in all57%
  3. Chester Creek Greenbelt (Westchester Lake)Anchorage Municipality, best late January · 51 checklists that week, 2,640 in all35%
  4. Smith LakeFairbanks North Star Borough, best late May · 48 checklists that week, 412 in all26%
  5. Creamer's Field (north)Fairbanks North Star Borough, best late May · 21 checklists that week, 315 in all25%

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

Best time of day

In Alaska, the Bohemian Waxwing is most often listed on checklists started between 12 and 2 pm (3.1% of those checklists).

0%1%2%3%4%12 am: too few checklists (549) to judge1 am: too few checklists (365) to judge2 am: too few checklists (291) to judge3 am: too few checklists (624) to judge4 am: too few checklists (1241) to judge5 am: too few checklists (3532) to judge6 am: 1.1% of 9751 checklists7 am: 1.4% of 17236 checklists8 am: 1.8% of 24936 checklists9 am: 2.3% of 30139 checklists10 am: 2.8% of 30866 checklists11 am: 2.9% of 28207 checklists12 pm: 3.1% of 25650 checklists1 pm: 3.2% of 24144 checklists2 pm: 3.0% of 23323 checklists3 pm: 2.4% of 20763 checklists4 pm: 1.7% of 18245 checklists5 pm: 1.3% of 14895 checklists6 pm: 1.4% of 11707 checklists7 pm: 1.2% of 9365 checklists8 pm: 0.9% of 6934 checklists9 pm: too few checklists (4176) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (2050) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (952) 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
January8.1%7.0%8.0%7.2%
February7.9%6.8%5.6%5.2%
March6.7%4.8%4.2%3.6%
April3.1%2.5%1.1%0.8%
May0.9%1.4%1.5%1.1%
June0.9%1.2%1.2%1.3%
July1.6%1.6%0.9%1.0%
August0.7%0.7%0.6%0.3%
September0.3%0.4%0.2%0.3%
October0.4%0.8%1.2%2.4%
November4.4%5.9%7.6%9.8%
December10%10%8.1%7.3%

Neighboring states

  • Idaho: arrives mid November, 4 weeks later than Alaska
  • Montana: arrives late October, 1 week later than Alaska
  • Wyoming: arrives mid November, 4 weeks later than Alaska
  • North Dakota: arrives late October, 1 week later than Alaska

Common questions

When do Bohemian Waxwings arrive in Alaska?
Bohemian Waxwings are winter birds in Alaska: the first arrive in mid October, they are common by early November, peak in early December (9.9% of checklists), and most are gone by mid March.
When do Bohemian Waxwings leave Alaska?
Most Bohemian Waxwings have left Alaska by mid March, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until mid April.
When is the best time to see a Bohemian Waxwing in Alaska?
The Bohemian Waxwing is reported most often in early December, on about 9.9% of Alaska checklists.
Where in Alaska are Bohemian Waxwings seen most often?
By county, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Anchorage Municipality, and Skagway Municipality have the highest peak reporting rates for the Bohemian Waxwing (counties with at least 200 checklists).