Birders know Churchill as one of the meccas to check off their life lists for rare and hard to locate avian species. Sparky Stensaas journeyed to Churchill to film this video in 2017 in mid -June and captured 17 bird species for his short film. The species filmed were: Arctic Tern, Tundra Swan, Orange-crowned Warbler, Willow Ptarmigan, Pacific Loon, Bonaparte’s Gull, Blackpoll Warbler, Gray Jay, Nelson’s Sparrow, Parasitic Jaeger, Spruce Grouse, White-crowned Sparrow, Hudsonian Godwit, Whimbrel, Hoary Redpoll, Long-tailed Duck, and Common Eider. A harbor seal and numerous beluga whales were also sighted and also filmed.
Churchill is the hotspot to see over 200 bird species June through August. Consider going to fill your lists and experience an incredible landscape and culture that compliment extraordinary wildlife adventures!
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The amazing Arctic tern is the phenom of all migrating birds. With an annual round trip of roughly 45,000 miles, this stellar specimen is rivaled by no other in endurance and perseverance in seeking out prime conditions fro feeding and breeding for survival of the species. Churchill is a key summer destination with a bounty of food and nesting areas.
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Three magnificent photos from Andy Murch in Churchill. The Arctic tern is an amazing bird with the longest migratory path of any bird travelling pole to pole throughout the year. Watching terns scavenge capelin from the waters surface in Churchill after being churned up by feeding beluga whale pods is quite an experience. Arctic Terns are truly an opportunistic species!
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This Arctic tern photo by David Hemmings is a fitting salute to the final days of Churchill’s Arctic summer season. Most of these birds will be making their return voyage south of around 22,000 miles to Antarctica. They will make their zig – zag return of the same amount of miles next year to the rich feeding grounds of the Arctic and the Churchill region!
Arctic tern with a capelin in mouth. David Hemmings photo.
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An overcast day in Churchill provided the perfect setting for some beautiful photographs of the natural surroundings of the region. Birds are nesting and the wildflowers are blooming all over the tundra. Beluga whales are arriving in the Churchill River in pods and we will be posting photos soon from some Natural Habitat Adventures trips in July. Enjoy these Awesome photos!
Arctic tern in a nesting area. Rhonda Reid photo.
This exquisite close – up image of an Arctic Tern incubating eggs on its nest shows just how camouflaged their eggs are. It took me awhile to even see the one egg in front of the tern since it blends so well into the tundra. Arctic terns lay 1 – 3 eggs and both the male and female incubate the eggs for up to 22 days. After birth the parents supply small fish up until they fledge at three to four weeks old. Female and male Arctic terns mate for at least a year and can mate for life. Females lay eggs once a year. Terns live on average up to 34 years.
The photo of the three Arctic tern eggs illustrates the magnificent camouflage adaptation the eggs have developed over many years. The way animals and their eggs adapt to the environment using camouflage is fascinating. Survival of species depends on these slight changes over periods of time. The faster a species can adapt the longer they can survive in nature.
The Precambrian shield rolls down to the Hudson Bay in Churchill. Rhonda Reid photo.
Precambrian shield with a bog and krumholz spruce. Rhonda Reid photo.
These two photos of Precambrian shield rolling toward the Hudson Bay show how the rocks have been smoothed over in previous eras by ice and water covering them. If you look closely you can see marks or “striations” caused from rocks embedded in the bottom of glaciers that were dragged over them during the slow movements of the massive ice formations. It’s quite interesting to search out these striations while hiking over the shield in Churchill.
Eider duck female and her brood of five chicks. Rhonda Reid photo.
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