Live From Churchill: October 26, 2009

A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.

Talk about camouflage! NHA photo. Arctic fox Churchill

Talk about camouflage! An Arctic fox roams the tundra undetected. NHA photo.

A brilliant red sun hung over the horizon this morning as temps hovered around the freezing mark at 31°F. Scattered flurries wet windshields, though no accumulation on the land. The Hudson Bay remains calm and ice-free. Out in the CWMA on the tundra, Guide Sandra and her group followed a Gyrfalcon out to Gordon point as it searched the land for a meal. Guide Elise and Guide Brad and their travelers meanwhile roamed around Halfway Point area and found 11 bears. One big male they dubbed “Snaggletooth,” stemming from a disjointed tooth protruding from his lip. Sparring with another male may have accounted for this. A Ringed Seal reclining on a rock out off the coast kept a watchful eye on the shore in an effort to not become the lunch special of the day. Any bears venturing out in that direction would be walking on thin ice for sure. Brad’s folks caught up with another two Caribou and a Snowy Owl as well.

Approaching the point, two healthy Caribou were spotted grazing on any remaining greenery rich in protein, stockpiling energy in fat reserves for the approaching winter. Once winter hits, the Caribou will dig through snow to reach grayish or yellow-green, root-free lichen in the Cladonia family aptly named Caribou Lichen. The four species of Cladonia in the Churchill area are rich in sugars, about 90%, providing the animals with necessary energy and sustenance to carry them through the harsh cold winter. After a fulfilling afternoon of eight bear sightings, the group wound back along the trail to launch under unexpected sunny, blue skies. (more…)

Live From Churchill: October 25, 2009

A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.

Stillness and temps around 26°F under overcast skies provided Sunday’s backdrop for our travelers. Churchill proper was quiet on this lazy Sunday though the tundra inside the Churchill Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) once again was flush with action of the polar bear variety.

HelicopterWhile our helicopter journeys have been spotting upwards of 20 or so bears roaming Wapusk National Park and the CWMA, our rovers with guides and their travelers averaged around 10 bears on Sunday. Guide Sandra’s group saw 11 polar bears, mostly lounging…of course seven of the eleven were males and it was Sunday (and much to their chagrin, ‘da Bears from Chicago lost…to the Bengals no less. Ouch!). Throughout the afternoon the group also saw a cross fox, arctic fox playing in the willows, gyrfalcon and snowy owl perched on a spruce searching for lemmings.

Guide Brad and his clan observed 10 plus sub-adults, mostly out at Gordon’s Point in and out of the kelp beds. When up and about, the photographs were highlighted by a nice backdrop of shore ice starting to build a little in the rocky shallows. Out past the ice, above the bay, the group viewed common eider ducks flying over open water. Back inland, a gyrfalcon nabbed a bird and had lunch as the camera shutters clicked. Perfect light. (more…)

Live From Churchill: October 24, 2009

A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.

Saturday in Churchill came with warmer temps at just about 31°F with cloudy skies and little air movement. It remains status quo for this time of year weather-wise, though we all know ’tis the calm before the wintery storms of early November. Clouds remain even now in the early evening with dimming chances of seeing any aurora borealis tonight.

Photo: M. Bruscia

Photo: M. Bruscia

The tundra was serene today with nice light for Guide Eric’s photographers. They were able to get images of numerous bears lounging on the tundra as the higher temps tempered their movement. As the temps elevate, the bears relax and conserve their precious energy therefore allowing them to wait out the fall and survive until the ice in the Hudson Bay forms once again. This year’s bears are big and thick from the extended ice season so watch out when the temps start to dive. Every day is different on the tundra in the Churchill area. The thrill of the day for the group was seeing a sleek black mink weaving its way across frozen ponds in the distance. Another first sighting for the season…and a quite rare one at that. (more…)

Live From Churchill: October 23, 2009

A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.
The northern lights are amazing here! Photo: Patrick Endres

The northern lights are amazing here! Photo: Patrick Endres

The best aurora borealis spectacle of the season happened last night as travelers emerged from our evening cultural presentations throughout Churchill. The greenish glow provided a nightcap to finish off another fine day of Arctic pleasure.

Last night also brought the first cracker shells from Manitoba’s finest Conservation Officers. As I lay in bed, I heard the streamers going off just down the alley and somewhere behind LaDune’s stone hotel which lies like ruins on the Hudson Bay (even though the construction process has been going on for more than 12 years). A polar bear careened toward Caribou Hall. The shells rang louder and more frequent as the bear seemed to be only two houses down. They faded out again down toward the bay and behind the town complex building. It’s a sequence one will never get used to and my imagination once again allows my thoughts to drift into the uncanny possibility of living in a war zone. However, the feeling quickly turns to exhilaration instead of terror. I fall back asleep dreaming of next year’s world championship hopes for the Boston Red Sox. (more…)

Live From Churchill: October 22, 2009

A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.

Aurora faded into dawn as guides made their way to breakfast with respective groups of travelers. Then to launch and across the tundra. The sky soon became mostly cloudy all over the Churchill region. Pockets of bright blue sky opened up over Button Bay on the western side of Fort Prince of Wales across the Churchill River. No wind and temps around 24°F allow for prime wildlife viewing conditions.

Photo: Dennis Minty

Photo: Dennis Minty

Meanwhile, our early morning helicopter journeys are already seeing upwards of 15 bears, five or six moose, and scattered caribou en route to Wapusk National Park(WPN) and a landing at Nester One; a bird banding and general research outpost just down east of Cape Churchill. Between there and Broad River, farther southwest, some groups also observed a fresh seal kill being enjoyed by another bear. Most sighted polar bears this season are in good shape due to last spring/summer’s late ice break-up but this animal wasn’t taking any chances, I guess. (more…)

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