Karl Puckett

kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com

FAIRFIELD — Migrating waterfowl have begun arriving in droves at Freezout Lake in northcentral Montana, with this year’s migration beginning slightly earlier than usual, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

Birders are flocking to one of the best bird-watching locations in the West to get a glimpse of the spectacle of huge flocks of white geese circling in the skies and landing on the lake.

On Wednesday, between 20,000 to 25,000 “white geese” — mostly lesser snow geese and also Ross’s geese — were counted.

An estimated 200 tundra and trumpeter swans also were on the lake Wednesday.

“Wow, look at that,” said Lois Crepeau of Missoula, as she watched while wave after wave of flocks of white snow geese with jet black wing tips fly overhead emitting high pitched honks bordering on squawks.

Crepeau was among a group of friends that drove 145 miles from western Montana to see the show, arriving Tuesday and staying overnight.

“Usually it’s fantastic,” said Crepeau, who’s made the trip for the past 16 years. “Thousands of birds.”

Waterfowl by the tens of thousands recently began stopping at the lake during the annual south-north spring migration, with snow geese and tundra swans the main attraction.

The main lake and six ponds are located within 12,000 acres surrounded by farm fields where birds can feed, making it an ideal place to stop and rest and eat.

It’s considered one of the most spectacular waterfowl hunting and viewing areas in the state, if not the entire northern Great Plains, according to FWP, which runs the wildlife management area.

“It’s getting to be a pretty popular thing to do in the spring compared to what it was 15 or 20 years ago,” said Brett Lonner, a FWP wildlife biologist, of people traveling to Freezout to watch birds.

FWP employees counted more than 50 vehicles at the Freezout Wildlife Management Area on Sunday, when an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tundra swans still were at the lake.

Over the past 15 years, 70,000 has been the average daily peak of white geese. So far this year, the highest number of geese counted on one day is 30,000.

“This year migration has been spread out a little longer than normal,” said Lonner, offering an explanation for this year’s lower daily numbers so far.

The peak of migration for white geese could hit this weekend, Lonner said.

Birds usually begin arriving in mid-March and hang around to about the second week of April.

This year, some birds began arriving a bit sooner than usual, probably because they encountered less severe weather on their journeys due to warmer temperatures, which has expanded the window of arrival for the migrating birds, Lonner said.

Waterfowl are migrating from wintering grounds in the south to nesting grounds in the north, Lonner said. For example, large flocks of white geese spend winters in central California and the summers in nesting colonies in the Alaskan and Canadian arctic.

There’s about a million white geese in the flyway and Freezout may see 30 to 40 percent in any given year, Lonner said.

Migration is spurred by the increasing number of daylight hours, Lonner said. Specific weather conditions in the flyway affect travel as well.

Freezout lake is the first refueling stop on the journey north for many of the birds, Lonner said.

Water is not the only attraction. Geese, for example, spend time on the water and in nearby farm fields where they find food.

Freezout used to be more of a fall attraction, especially with hunters.

But FWP is seeing more visitors in the spring interested in watching the birds, Lonner said.

It’s one of the best places in Montana to view birds in terms of variety and numbers, and probably among the 10 best in the northwestern United States, Lonner said.

Bird watchers stationed in a parking area at about 11 a.m. witnessed thousands of geese fly directly overhead when they left farm fields and returned to the lake.

The sky was noisy as V-shaped flying formations kept coming.

“We live in such an amazing place,” said Hannah Warner of Stevensville. “It’s just so cool we get to see this.”

If you go

Freezout Lake is located on U.S. Highway 89 just north of Fairfield. The best time to see birds is at first light, late morning and dusk, according to FWP. Those are the times birds are moving between ponds and farm fields where they feed, Lonner said