Churchill has no shortage of polar bears at the moment. In fact, the 2014 season has started with a “bang”…literally. Conservation officers and the Polar Bear Alert squad have been busy patrolling the area. With 10-12 bears currently in the polar bear holding facility, formerly known as the polar bear jail, there’s a clear indication that this could be one of the most frenetic seasons in a long time.
Natural Habitat guide Karen Walker has been leading a group of quilters from the states around the Churchill area and they have had great fortune in sightings so far.
A lone polar bear skirts a pond in Churchill. Eric Rock photo.
“I’ve got a group of quilters on this trip. Luana Rubin is the organizer of the group. She came on Justin’s polar bear trip last year and this year she brought a group of quilters up with her. You can check out Luana’s website at eQuilter.com” reported Karen. The group has been connecting with local quilting groups and enthusiasts in both Winnipeg and Churchill.
After exploring Winnipeg for a day, the travelers enjoyed a mostly clear flight up to Churchill, allowing vivid views of the post-glacial – thermokarst ponds and rivers covering the land along the way. Crossing over Gillam to the south allowed a view of the hydro dam. After lunch at gypsy’s in Churchill the group experienced an orientation of the area through a visit to the Parcs Canada visitor center and a look at a polar bear den exhibit followed by some time at the revered Eskimo museum to take in the rich history of the region.
Polar bear in the willows in Churchill. Eric Rock photo.
Heading out to the tundra of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, along the Launch Road, travelers spotted their first polar bear. The male bear “was a little ways away, but it was still quite exciting for the group” according to Karen. After a quiet, relaxing evening on the tundra, enhanced by a wine and cheese offering, the group was afforded a nice view of an arctic hare on the drive back to the launch.
A planned trip out east the following day, took a turn a short way down the trail with the appearance of two bears near the Tundra Lodge, so the polar rover meandered over in that direction. A couple of other groups on rovers were in the area so one polar bear seemed a bit skittish with the crowd. As the first two rovers headed to the lodge, Karen’s rover settled in and remained near the pond and observed the adult female. Slowly becoming more comfortable, her curiosity peaked and she approached the rover. Pausing at around 30 feet of the back deck, she watched tentatively for a long while, grooming herself and then napping while the group took in the scene for over an hour. The rover then proceeded over by and just past the lodge and they settled in to watch a couple of “teenage” sub adult bears spar a bit. After exhausting their energy, they settled into the willows for a rest. “We were a little ways from them, but it was still amazing to see” Karen reported.
Two polar bears sparring near the tundra Lodge. Eric Rock photo.
On the other side of the lodge was an adult male that was napping in the open. This bear made stilted moves at rising but only lifted his head and then returned to resting. After a couple of travelers and Karen headed across Christmas Lake Esker and up to Halfway Point. Coveys of ptarmigan along the way, mostly already suited in their winter camouflage white, scurried ahead of the rover winding between willow stands.
“The weather and soft lighting was beautiful today. We had snow showers several times and some sunny breaks, and everything in between. It changed about every twenty minutes or so. Quite the majestic day on the tundra…tomorrow we’re back on the tundra. We’ll try to get out east this time” stated Karen, fulfilled from an amazing day.
Check out this cool video of beluga whales swimming in the Churchill River in Churchill,Manitoba. Although summer is coming down the stretch here in Churchill, the whales are still hanging in the shallows of the river and Hudson Bay. A beautiful time of year in Churchill when time seems to come to a standstill. Enjoy this fantastic video! Have the urge to get up close and personal with these exotic creatures? Check out the 2015 summer season at Natural Habitat’s website!
Natural Habitat guide Stephanie Fernandez has had a busy Arctic summer in Churchill. These recent photos portray an amazing July and August full of wildlife, wildflowers and tundra life. The next couple of weeks will show a subtle transition toward fall as the land begins to paint itself in more earthen colors signaling the onset of the wild winter ahead. Nothing matches the liveliness of Churchill in summertime….a naturalists and explorers dreamworld!
Sow and cub resting peacefully on the precambrian shield. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Natural Habitat travelers on the beach facing the Hudson Bay. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Churchill River weir observation tower. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Cross fox on glacial till along the beach. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
A Natural Habitat traveler tries her hand at driving the polar rover. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Sunset over the Hudson Bay. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Rare photo of a polar bear swimming. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
A beluga attracted to the bubbles and vibration of the zodiac motor. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Belugas at the back of the zodiac. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Arctic wildflowers with precambrian shield lying beyond. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
The beluga’s melon is used for echolocation. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Here’s an on -site report from Natural Habitat guide Stephanie Fernandez direct from Churchill ,Manitoba…home to some of the most amazing wildlife in the Arctic. So far the summer has been incredible with polar bears all across the tundra. Beluga whales are the highlight of the summer though we have seen bears regularly as well.
Polar bear sow and cub on the coast. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
“Off we go at the speed of… well, 2 mph. Slowly we enter the world of Churchill’s subarctic tundra where life seems to be at a standstill (except the wind). Shallow ponds dominate the flat landscape. Lichens and miniature plants cover the ground while willow thickets and stands of white spruce add increased dimension to the scenery.
White crowned sparrow on lichen encrusted rock. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
As we continue our journey on-board the Tundra Rover, our eyes constantly catch the movement of the feathered inhabitants of the tundra. We continue on searching for the furred members. Bill (our rover driver) stops as he has spotted a bear. Where we ask? All we see is a cream colored rock where he is pointing to way out in the distance nestled in the many other rocks. It does not move. Off we go.
Polar bears on the coast. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
An hour later we arrive at Half Way Point, at the edge of Hudson Bay, where we park to prepare our rover dinner. Bill still sees “his” bear. We look and look, but it does not move. Between us and the distant “bear”, a single young caribou is roaming freely, grazing.
Hey, look closer! bears! Susan and Emily announce. There they are, a beautiful and healthy sow with her chubby cub of the year. We all watch intently through our binoculars after the initial commotion of the sighting.
Polar bear sow and cub in the Hudson Bay. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
They walk slowly in our direction but disappear behind the rocks. We hold our breaths. Mom appears first over the gravel mound with cub in tow. They stop. She is inquisitive about our presence. She sniffs the air for a few moments and nonchalantly continues behind the rocks, down onto the beach, finds a spot on the washed up bed of kelp, and dozes off into a nap. Her cub stretches before cuddling up against her.
Sow and cub in the rocks off Eskimo Point. Stefanie Fernandez photo.
We celebrate with a delicious grilled rover dinner!
But wait, what happened to the “bear” that Bill sighted? It actually woke up momentarily, stretched and went back to be being a “rock” bear again.
Polar bear sow and cub out near Halfway Point. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
On the way back to the Rover Launch station, we spot an Arctic fox running ahead of us, perhaps in pursuit a lemming.”
Here are some landscape photo’s with Natural Habitat travelers enjoying the solitude of summer in the sub Arctic. Churchill, at the south end of the Hudson Bay is an accessible place to experience the wonders of a world that remains secluded to an ever growing shrinking planet. Development continues to erode our most iconic and beautiful, natural environments…though the Arctic remains a place where the mind can be free and open to endless possibilities of the unexplored natural world.
Natural Habitat travelers enjoying the Hudson Bay coast. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
The coastline around Churchill has been developing over millions of years. The precambrian sheild that frames the bay is some of the oldest rock on the planet and continues to emerge from the land. Isostatic rebound is the process of the land rising up from the enormous weight of the past ice age. Even though the weight of the ice is long gone, the land or sheild, continues to rise up from the event. Incredible when you think of the slow process.
Photographing the rocks from a past era. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
With thousands of beluga whales migrating to the Churchill River estuary in the summer, the opportunities abound to experience wildlife in a pristine environment. A short zodiac excursion on the river presents pods of whales feeding on capelin and often curious enough to approach the boats at arms length.
Zodiac excursion onto the Churchill River in search of beluga whales. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Polar bear season in the fall is one of the most scintillating experiences on Earth…a dramatic encounter with one of the most fascinating creatures to live. The mystery of the north adds to their beauty by capturing the imagination of an unexplored world. Seeing bears in the summer is an even more singular event defined by a feeling of isolation.
Polar bears on Eskimo Point. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Enjoying a BBQ on a journey to the coast via polar rover. Stephanie Fernandez.
Natural Habitat’s first Churchill Arctic Summer group enjoyed an amazing week of flora, whales, birds and even five polar bears! An incredible feast of wildlife and wildflowers to start the summer.
Here’s the bird list..Bonnie Chartier would be proud…
White-crowned sparrow with lunch. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
The five polar bears for July is quite a bounty. Here’s what Natural Habitat guide Stephanie Fernandez came across with her travelers. An adult male, A sow with two yearlings out at Eskimo Point and a snow white sow and cub out near halfway point while the group was on their polar rover excursion.
Sow and yearlings (coy’s) in the rocks off Eskimo Point. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
The colors of summer in Churchill are not in the sky but on the ground in the form of wildflowers. A continuous cycle of color explodes throughout the short growth season and then morphs into the earthen colors preceding fall. Life of the earth.
