WhenToBird

Bombycilla cedrorum · Bombycillidae

When Do Cedar Waxwings Arrive in Ohio?

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

Cedar Waxwings reach Ohio in early May, are common by mid May, peak in early June (28% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.

When to look

First arrivalsMay 1-7early May
Common byMay 15-21mid May
PeakJun 1-7early June
Most gone byNov 8-14the second week of November

Best: early June. First arrivals early May; most are gone by the second week of November. Peak: on about 28% of Ohio checklists.

  1. Janrare
  2. Febnot usually seen
  3. Marnot usually seen
  4. Aprrare
  5. Maypeak season
  6. Junpeak season
  7. Julpeak season
  8. Augcommon
  9. Sepcommon
  10. Octcommon
  11. Novuncommon
  12. Decuncommon

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

0%10%20%30%Jan 1-7: 2.2% of 46637 checklistsJan 8-14: 1.9% of 31056 checklistsJan 15-21: 1.0% of 30129 checklistsJan 22-31: 1.2% of 38665 checklistsFeb 1-7: 1.0% of 27203 checklistsFeb 8-14: 0.8% of 30626 checklistsFeb 15-21: 0.7% of 40705 checklistsFeb 22-28: 0.8% of 31391 checklistsMar 1-7: 0.9% of 32914 checklistsMar 8-14: 0.7% of 33973 checklistsMar 15-21: 0.8% of 33678 checklistsMar 22-31: 1.0% of 49889 checklistsApr 1-7: 1.2% of 41225 checklistsApr 8-14: 1.3% of 47174 checklistsApr 15-21: 1.2% of 47017 checklistsApr 22-30: 1.5% of 73055 checklistsMay 1-7: 2.2% of 80637 checklistsMay 8-14: 5.9% of 102552 checklistsMay 15-21: 17% of 64582 checklistsMay 22-31: 27% of 52766 checklistsJun 1-7: 28% of 29279 checklistsJun 8-14: 27% of 25773 checklistsJun 15-21: 26% of 23163 checklistsJun 22-30: 23% of 27794 checklistsJul 1-7: 21% of 23334 checklistsJul 8-14: 20% of 22147 checklistsJul 15-21: 18% of 20998 checklistsJul 22-31: 16% of 29749 checklistsAug 1-7: 16% of 22899 checklistsAug 8-14: 17% of 21972 checklistsAug 15-21: 19% of 22215 checklistsAug 22-31: 19% of 35087 checklistsSep 1-7: 21% of 29148 checklistsSep 8-14: 20% of 28042 checklistsSep 15-21: 17% of 26751 checklistsSep 22-30: 14% of 32398 checklistsOct 1-7: 12% of 26209 checklistsOct 8-14: 11% of 26809 checklistsOct 15-21: 10% of 23504 checklistsOct 22-31: 11% of 33269 checklistsNov 1-7: 11% of 25563 checklistsNov 8-14: 8.8% of 23810 checklistsNov 15-21: 8.0% of 22127 checklistsNov 22-30: 5.4% of 29449 checklistsDec 1-7: 4.1% of 22370 checklistsDec 8-14: 3.9% of 21581 checklistsDec 15-21: 3.5% of 24232 checklistsDec 22-31: 3.1% of 36084 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 Ohio 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 Ohio

Best counties

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Clark CountyBest the second week of September · 328 checklists that week, 14,637 in all45%
  2. Richland CountyBest the second week of July · 274 checklists that week, 19,346 in all43%
  3. Hancock CountyBest the second week of June · 58 checklists that week, 9,040 in all42%
  4. Champaign CountyBest early June · 68 checklists that week, 2,549 in all42%
  5. Portage CountyBest the second week of June · 449 checklists that week, 27,633 in all42%
  6. Geauga CountyBest the second week of July · 580 checklists that week, 43,812 in all40%

Best spots

Share of checklists at the peak
  1. Grand River Wildlife AreaTrumbull County, best late June · 33 checklists that week, 1,401 in all89%
  2. Lexington Community ParkRichland County, best late July · 20 checklists that week, 502 in all88%
  3. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Jaite)Cuyahoga County, best early June · 28 checklists that week, 859 in all84%

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

Best time of day

In Ohio, 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 (574) to judge1 am: too few checklists (609) to judge2 am: too few checklists (466) to judge3 am: too few checklists (478) to judge4 am: too few checklists (662) to judge5 am: too few checklists (4366) to judge6 am: 19% of 43093 checklists7 am: 15% of 142017 checklists8 am: 12% of 205296 checklists9 am: 9.7% of 196322 checklists10 am: 7.8% of 170882 checklists11 am: 6.7% of 144567 checklists12 pm: 5.8% of 126551 checklists1 pm: 5.6% of 117855 checklists2 pm: 5.7% of 112869 checklists3 pm: 5.9% of 109786 checklists4 pm: 6.2% of 103116 checklists5 pm: 8.0% of 78409 checklists6 pm: 11% of 56785 checklists7 pm: 13% of 37923 checklists8 pm: too few checklists (14954) to judge9 pm: too few checklists (2710) to judge10 pm: too few checklists (854) to judge11 pm: too few checklists (486) 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
January2.2%1.9%1.0%1.2%
February1.0%0.8%0.7%0.8%
March0.9%0.7%0.8%1.0%
April1.2%1.3%1.2%1.5%
May2.2%5.9%17%27%
June28%27%26%23%
July21%20%18%16%
August16%17%19%19%
September21%20%17%14%
October12%11%10%11%
November11%8.8%8.0%5.4%
December4.1%3.9%3.5%3.1%

Neighboring states

  • West Virginia: arrives early May, in the same week than Ohio
  • Indiana: arrives late April, 1 week earlier than Ohio
  • Michigan: arrives early June, 4 weeks later than Ohio
  • Kentucky: arrives mid April, 2 weeks earlier than Ohio

Common questions

When do Cedar Waxwings arrive in Ohio?
Cedar Waxwings reach Ohio in early May, are common by mid May, peak in early June (28% of checklists), and most are gone by the second week of November.
When do Cedar Waxwings leave Ohio?
Most Cedar Waxwings have left Ohio by the second week of November, when reports fall below half their usual rate. Stragglers are still reported until the second week of January.
When is the best time to see a Cedar Waxwing in Ohio?
The Cedar Waxwing is reported most often in early June, on about 28% of Ohio checklists.
Where in Ohio are Cedar Waxwings seen most often?
By county, Clark County, Richland County, and Hancock County have the highest peak reporting rates for the Cedar Waxwing (counties with at least 200 checklists).