On the Nesting of Snowbirds: A Question About Seasonal and Permanent Migrants

Abstract

This essay asserts that seasonal and permanent migration may be connected, although there is no direct evidence for this relationship in the current research literature. We draw circumstantial and incomplete evidence for this proposition from findings of a recent survey of Canadian snowbirds in Florida and a parallel study of Canadian-Americans using the 1980 census public use sample migrant file. Other researchers are encouraged to settle the issue by including appropriate items in surveys of snowbirds that would determine whether or not some of the permanent migrants from the same origin serve as an unofficial reception committee for winter visitors, providing for them a socially receptive place to "nest" for the season.