Not many beluga whales were seen in the Hudson Bay just past the mouth of the Churchill River last Tuesday. However the Churchill River was packed with the mottled white whales at at time of year when numbers of the mammal are starting to dwindle in the estuary. Something that I never saw in 10 years of guiding Churchill Summer trips came up from the depths and into view. A pod of congregation of orca whales, a pretty rare sight around Churchill, patrolled the Hudson Bay and to the west in Button Bay. Sea North Tour;s owner and operator Dwight Allen and his son were out on the water in order to capture these thrilling photographs.
“We were probably out there for a good 20 minutes before we saw something,” Remi said Thursday. After reaching a distance of almost a mile out from the mouth of the Churchill River, Dwight spotted dorsal fins in some pretty big swells.
Unable to swim safely in the more shallow estuary of the Churchill River, the orcas will stay out in the deeper Hudson Bay waters. Allen knew before they they left the river that orcas were out there. The beluga population is usually pretty thinned out by this time of year. However on Tuesday, Belugas jammed the cut in the mouth of the river in shallower water where the Churchill River meets the bay.
“They know that was the safe haven there,” Allen said. “As we made our way out, there were all these belugas coming up. They were all packed in there. Get out in the bay and not a trace of them.”
Allen guessed around 11 killer whales were out in the bay, a pod of a full-sized male (bull), females, smaller adults and calves. One of the younger whales came up above the surface just a few feet from the Sea North Tours zodiac.
“They showed absolutely no fear towards us at all,” Allen said.
“As long as I matched their speed, they didn’t care if I was in the middle of their pod. They were surfacing all around us.”
Due to the reduction of Arctic sea ice killer whales are able to find waters farther north to feed in. their fragile dorsal fins are less at risk due to more ice -free days in the Hudson Bay. Hence, the chances to sight them have increased. It still is sort of like searching for a needle in a haystack as they come and go in short time frames. Also, with the vastness of the Hudson Bay, it’s just being in the right place at the right time.
That was the case Tuesday, when Allen found out what happened when the pod went deep into the water out of sight, only to surface a short time later.
“We ripped over to where they were, over in Button Bay, and we saw this big bloodstain in the water,” he said. “I guess when they were down they killed a beluga. You could smell the blubber in the air. And the (killer whales) were moving on to the next one, like nothing had happened.
“It was pretty incredible to see.”
These are sights that only a rare few get to see around the Churchill area. Over 10 years of guiding Churchill summer trips and I’ve never been lucky enough.
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.
Guiding Churchill Summer trips for 10 plus years in by the Hudson Bay brought a lifetime of memories. The ones I have of the magnificent Arctic Tern are all fleeting …mostly the fleeting or fleeing was done by travelers and guides whenever such persons ventured near enough to a nesting area of these very protective and territorial birds
Arctic tern eggs…beautifully camouflaged for the tundra. Photo Rhonda Reid.
Let’s face it these creatures have a right to be a little impatient when it comes to relaxing for a couple of months in the Arctic and laying eggs and nurturing their young. With a migratory journey of over 40,000 miles yearly from Arctic in the summer to the Antarctic in winter, they need a break. So, if you plan to get close and …well..photograph eggs like the ones above, be prepared for an attack from above and quite possibly a wound of the head from a pointy, sharp red beak. Trust me…I’ve witnessed the assault first hand a few memorable times!
Arctic tern hovering above the nesting site ready to protect eggs. Rhonda Reid photo.
After all that strenuous travel ,which is reflected quite well in the terns’ physique, nothing is going to prevent the bird from protecting its’ nest. A fluttering , darting combination of moves through the air tends to scare most predators away from the nesting area. If these gyrations fail to create hesitancy on the ground by approaching beings, the tern has no fear and converges on the threat with reckless abandon…pecking at the subject until blood is drawn or a retreat is forced.
Arctic tern sitting on its’ nest on the tundra. Rhonda Reid photo.
Once the area has been cleared…and this usually doesn’t take long…the tern returns to the nest to settle on the eggs. An amazing amount of energy is fuel for the terns’ display….one that is efficient and quite effective. My advice is to observe Arctic terns from a distance on the land. An amazing place to observe terns is the water of the Churchill River where they follow the feeding beluga whales and enjoy a bounty of capelin.
Interesting old-time video of an Arctic US military operation. Camp Century was located on Greenland below the ice surface. Set up as a nuclear powered Arctic research camp, it was only 800 miles from the North Pole. Take a look at this intriguing video from the past. Natural Habitat Adventures will be offering a new trip to the Greenland ice cap next summer. Get some interesting background as you watch this video.
Natural Habitat traveler in Churchill. Sam Stein photo.
Igloo building in Churchill. Sam Stein photo.
Bleak and beautiful Churchill landscape. Sam Stein photo.
Natural Habitat travelers enjoyed igloo building in Churchill, Manitoba and got the true northern flavor of survival in the Arctic. The season has more groups than ever before and travelers are excited to get a feel for living in the far north on the shores of the Hudson Bay.
