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Each spring, thousands of white pelicans migrate from the Gulf of Mexico to one of the most remote sections of Montana. If you visit a tiny dot on the map called Medicine Lake, located in northeastern Montana, you will find these majestic birds - with a wingspan of nine feet - returning when the snow finally thaws.
Every October the birds leave the state, crossing the Rocky Mountains to spend the winters in the warm coastal climates of southern California and western Mexico. Some of the birds, however, fly east of the Continental Divide, choosing to spend the winters in the Gulf of Mexico. The Montana white pelicans are the only species of snowbirds which break into two groups - one flying west of the Divide and one flying east. It is largely unknown why this is.
To protect these bre
