WhenToBird

Bombycilla cedrorum · Bombycillidae

When Do Cedar Waxwings Arrive in Illinois?

Adult Cedar Waxwing
Photo: Sean Frey, CC BY 4.0 via iNaturalist

Cedar Waxwings reach Illinois in early May, are common by mid May, peak in mid August (24% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 15-21mid May
PeakAug 15-21mid August
Most gone byNov 1-7early November

Best: mid August. First arrivals early May; most are gone by early November. Peak: on about 24% of Illinois checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febrare
  3. Marrare
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augpeak season
  9. Seppeak season
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novcommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 2.3% of 29700 checklistsJan 8-14: 2.1% of 20189 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.6% of 19784 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.8% of 26641 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.5% of 20478 checklistsFeb 8-14: 1.2% of 21967 checklistsFeb 15-21: 1.0% of 28735 checklistsFeb 22-28: 1.2% of 24223 checklistsMar 1-7: 1.2% of 26775 checklistsMar 8-14: 1.1% of 27579 checklistsMar 15-21: 1.2% of 27193 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.1% of 42278 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.1% of 34579 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.4% of 38290 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.1% of 39261 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.3% of 59584 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.3% of 60485 checklistsMay 8-14: 6.6% of 59647 checklistsMay 15-21: 16% of 43173 checklistsMay 22-31: 24% of 47913 checklistsJun 1-7: 21% of 31151 checklistsJun 8-14: 22% of 27692 checklistsJun 15-21: 25% of 23983 checklistsJun 22-30: 23% of 28448 checklistsJul 1-7: 25% of 21273 checklistsJul 8-14: 24% of 19284 checklistsJul 15-21: 23% of 17712 checklistsJul 22-31: 22% of 24500 checklistsAug 1-7: 22% of 18498 checklistsAug 8-14: 25% of 19331 checklistsAug 15-21: 25% of 19983 checklistsAug 22-31: 24% of 31892 checklistsSep 1-7: 24% of 26396 checklistsSep 8-14: 23% of 25011 checklistsSep 15-21: 20% of 23597 checklistsSep 22-30: 19% of 30638 checklistsOct 1-7: 17% of 23949 checklistsOct 8-14: 15% of 24412 checklistsOct 15-21: 14% of 22359 checklistsOct 22-31: 14% of 29794 checklistsNov 1-7: 13% of 21877 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.7% of 19742 checklistsNov 15-21: 7.4% of 18989 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.9% of 23905 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.5% of 16935 checklistsDec 8-14: 4.0% of 16687 checklistsDec 15-21: 4.4% of 20931 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.3% of 29011 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 Illinois 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.

Embed this map on your site

Where in Illinois

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Kendall CountyBest the second week of June · 237 checklists that week, 21,004 in all51%
  2. Lake CountyBest mid August · 1382 checklists that week, 113,940 in all49%
  3. McHenry CountyBest mid August · 501 checklists that week, 45,486 in all45%
  4. Boone CountyBest late September · 51 checklists that week, 3,174 in all43%
  5. Lee CountyBest the second week of June · 169 checklists that week, 6,175 in all42%
  6. Vermilion CountyBest early November · 84 checklists that week, 5,300 in all42%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Winston VillageWill County, best early September · 20 checklists that week, 556 in all93%
  2. Lake MendotaLa Salle County, best mid June · 23 checklists that week, 1,574 in all89%
  3. Perry Farm ParkKankakee County, best early July · 22 checklists that week, 810 in all87%
  4. Saw Wee Kee ParkKendall County, best early September · 21 checklists that week, 1,327 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In Illinois, the Cedar Waxwing is most often listed on checklists started between 6 and 8 am (16% of those checklists).

0%5%10%15%20%12 am: too few checklists (484) to judge1 am: too few checklists (631) to judge2 am: too few checklists (485) to judge3 am: too few checklists (610) to judge4 am: too few checklists (2321) to judge5 am: too few checklists (23536) to judge6 am: 18% of 95511 checklists7 am: 15% of 164584 checklists8 am: 13% of 163654 checklists9 am: 10% of 141804 checklists10 am: 8.5% of 122882 checklists11 am: 7.4% of 100640 checklists12 pm: 7.0% of 89894 checklists1 pm: 6.9% of 82729 checklists2 pm: 7.0% of 79801 checklists3 pm: 6.7% of 82169 checklists4 pm: 8.1% of 75124 checklists5 pm: 11% of 57708 checklists6 pm: 13% of 41843 checklists7 pm: too few checklists (20943) to judge8 pm: too few checklists (6131) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (1677) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (843) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (448) 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
January2.3%2.1%1.6%1.8%
February1.5%1.2%1.0%1.2%
March1.2%1.1%1.2%1.1%
April1.1%1.4%1.1%1.3%
May2.3%6.6%16%24%
June21%22%25%23%
July25%24%23%22%
August22%25%25%24%
September24%23%20%19%
October17%15%14%14%
November13%8.7%7.4%5.9%
December4.5%4.0%4.4%3.3%

Neighboring states

  • Indiana: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Illinois
  • Wisconsin: arrives early June, 4 weeks later than Illinois
  • Michigan: arrives early June, 4 weeks later than Illinois
  • Iowa: arrives late May, 3 weeks later than Illinois

Common questions

When do Cedar Waxwings arrive in Illinois?
Cedar Waxwings reach Illinois in early May, are common by mid May, peak in mid August (24% of checklists), and most are gone by early November.
When do Cedar Waxwings leave Illinois?
Most Cedar Waxwings have left Illinois by early November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until early January.
When is the best time to see a Cedar Waxwing in Illinois?
The Cedar Waxwing is reported most often in mid August, on about 24% of Illinois checklists.
Where in Illinois are Cedar Waxwings seen most often?
By county, Kendall County, Lake County, and McHenry County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cedar Waxwing (counties with at least 200 checklists).