Each spring, hundreds of thousands of snow geese, tundra swans and other waterfowl fly from the southwestern United States on their migratory journey north. Along the way, these birds make a pit stop at Freezout Lake in the heart of central Montana — the halfway point on their flight.
In technical terms, Freezout is a staging spot on the migration corridor. It’s here where the birds stop to rest and refuel as they make their way to Canada. The lake’s location along the route, and the fact that this water habitat is surrounded by agricultural land, makes it the perfect spot for the birds to stage and feed.
“There’s a reason why these birds stop here. I mean, obviously it’s a big wetland for them to rest, [and] since development of agriculture in the area, that extra waste grain that they’re eating has actually improved things to some degree, and they’ve adapted to the extra forage out there,” says Brent Lonner.
Brent Lonner is a wildlife biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and manager of the Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area. He’s been based out of Freezout for the last 20 years.
With optimal conditions for staging, the lake gets busy as spring arrives, with over 230 species of birds stopping to refuel here. The sheer magnitude of birds that pass through this area at one time has allowed for this corner of Montana to become a mecca for birders from all over, who migrate toward Choteau — the small nearby town on the Rocky Mountain Front — in their own right to experience this migratory phenomenon and to connect with other passionate birders every March at the Wild Wings Festival.
Winters are quiet in Choteau, but this unique festival breathes life into the town during a time of year when the traffic passing through the area is much slower. It’s not unusual for 300-500 birders to descend on the town for the migration and festival.
“It’s kind of a boom or bust with tourism around here. We have our summer season — [passing] through Choteau is the shortest route from Yellowstone to Glacier — so our tourism season is short,” says local Bonnie Griffis.
From graphic design to event coordination to a stint as festival chair, Bonnie has worked hard to ensure the festival’s prosperity each year. Its success has helped to establish Choteau — and Freezout — as a tourism destination, outside of just being a stop on the way to one of the national parks.
The festival started out as guided lake tours that met at the local Stage Stop Inn, and six years later, it’s a fully fledged celebration that the whole town partakes in.
The heart of the festival takes place at the town’s pavilion, complete with booths from local and international outdoor groups, like Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Montana Audubon and the Montana Dinosaur Center. Here, attendees can catch presentations from a variety of speakers, from scientists to nature writers to industry experts. Other festival events happen in venues around Choteau — in the past, there have been film screenings at the local theater, art shows and potlucks.Then, of course, there are the lake tours from local guides that put the festival on the map back in 2019.
This event is able to thrive because of the locals who help make sure that Wild Wings is a success each year. From guiding tours to the best spots on the lake, to helping man booths and coordinating out-of-town talent to give talks to a rapt audience, Choteau’s birding community fosters a fascination and pride for this phenomenon for locals and visitors alike.
Lisa Hudnutt calls Choteau home, and loves taking visitors out on guided tours to share about the uniqueness of this little lake in the northern Rockies.
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“When we get to see a flock of 10,000 geese at once taking off, and people’s reaction to that, that’s pretty special.” - Lisa
Volunteers like Lisa, whose passion to educate about Freezout and the birds that stop here on their journey north, have helped to grow Wild Wings into an event that people want to come back to each March. The success of the event has permeated throughout the community, and even the children of Choteau get in on the fun. After hearing about how some students had never been to visit the lake, an effort was made to ensure they had the opportunity to see the migration up close. Now, local 5th graders look forward to their annual trip out to the lake, where they get to experience the staging birds firsthand after learning about them in their classes.
“The fact that there’s kids in Choteau who had never been to Freezout, it was a shame!” Bonnie says.
Incorporating Freezout into the curriculum, and allowing the students to witness a flyover with their own eyes, has helped to educate more and more people in the community about what’s going on in their own backyard and is inspiring future birders to steward the Wild Wings event into the future.
The town’s uniting passion to share this phenomenon has helped foster a unique community that continues to return to witness the annual migration. For birders and non-birders alike, seeing the sheer volume and magnitude of these birds is a once-in-a-lifetime experience — one that will keep people migrating to Freezout for years to come.
The annual Wild Wings Festival takes place each March in Choteau, Montana. Visit wildwingschoteau.org for more information on the festival. To learn more about Freezout Lake Wildlife Management Area and its migratory phenomenon, visit fwp.mt.gov.
