by Steve Selden | Oct 28, 2009 | Churchill News, Tour News
A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.
More of the same, weather-wise…temps around 32°F with scattered flurries. Cloudy skies lightened later in the day, then finally gave way to dense thick fog that smothered the Churchill area. The gradual warming trend has led to some melting of the ice over the scattered ponds allowing for moisture levels in the air to rise. Fortunately, before the precipitation came, all the travelers were safely settled in their dinner venues enjoying Churchill’s fine northern cuisine.
Polar bears sparring in the Churchill willows. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.
News from the tundra in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) focuses on the mothers and cubs that are showing up on the land. Guides Scott and Karen with their respective groups remained stationary in their polar rovers out just past the lodge on the trail to Gordon point. Guide Karen reports watching a mom and two two-year-old cubs, one male and one female, resting peacefully near their rover while intermittent nursing occurred. When a lone male bear appeared, mom became nervous and the cubs stood up to see him. The family proceeded, led by mom, to run across the track in front of the rover then back to the rear of the vehicle and off onto an icy pond. The male subsequently remained in the area and then stood up against the rover’s wheel and peered inside. Mmmmm, Nanaimo bars! On the way back to launch, Scott’s folks spotted a Lemming and a beautiful Snowy Owl hot on the trail. (more…)
by Steve Selden | Oct 27, 2009 | Churchill News, Tour News
A daily field report on polar bears from our guide Steve Selden in our Churchill, Manitoba office! Check out our polar bear tours here.
Warmer temperatures prevailed as the mercury settled around 31°F for the day. Low clouds and fog canceled our helicopter excursions, so many visitors elected to go dog-sledding, whipping through the willows by the ponds just outside of town. Though on wheels, the custom-made carts provide an excellent way for travelers to experience northern dog teams hard at work. And until we switch over to sleds following a heavy snowfall, the ride tends to be slightly more on the “Ruff” side. Sorry.
Dog sledding is an awesome activity in Churchill. Colin McNulty photo:
The big news from the tundra and the Churchill Wildlife Management Area (CWMA) was the initial spottings of mother and cub polar bears out around the Tundra Lodge. First reports came in from Lodge Guides Rinie and Leah themselves as they reported one mom with a yearling and another with a cub of the year or “coy” as they are known. This captured full attention of all lodge guests as the cameras buzzed throughout the afternoon. “Rocky,” the big 900-pound male, seemingly welcomed the respite from the attention as he snoozed unconcerned by the willows to the west. (more…)
by Steve Selden | Oct 26, 2009 | Churchill News, Tour News
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! 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…)
by Steve Selden | Oct 25, 2009 | Churchill News, Tour News
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.
While 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…)
by Steve Selden | Oct 24, 2009 | Churchill News, Tour News
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
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…)
by Steve Selden | Oct 23, 2009 | Tour News
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 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…)
