Now this could all be different depending upon where we all live. I live in the greater Chicagoland burbs and I and other birders have noticed a huge increase in cedar waxwings in the area during the fall and winter, especially this year. It has also been noted that the robins have been staying around quite a bit more lately as well.
I wouldn't attribute any of this to global warming or anything catastrophic. (I know you were all just kidding about global warming) However, what has been happening in my area is that a LOT of townhomes have been built. With the townhomes comes extensive landscaping. A lot of the landscaping companies like to put flowering trees in the neighborhoods, which include flowering crabapples. I've noticed hundreds of cedar waxwings feeding on the dried fruit and robins doing so as well, and of course, lets not forget those "dreaded" starlings too! In fact, the starlings seem to congregate in huge flocks when they feed on these trees.
My guess is that maybe your general flora has been changed to these fuit-bearing, flowering trees as well which seems to attract a lot of birds that eat the fruit once it has dried during the fall and winter months, hence making the change in their wintering behaviors.
