by Steve Selden | Nov 16, 2014 | Churchill Photography
Roaming polar bear on the tundra. Melissa Scott photo.
Polar bear season is coming to a close but the superb photos keep arriving from Natural Habitat guides in Churchill, Manitoba. These four pictures from longtime guide Melissa Scott represent an amazing season that started fast and has continued strong. The Hudson Bay is starting to freeze up and polar bears are testing the ice. In another two weeks most bears will be on the ice hunting seals and the aurora borealis season will start in Churchill. If it’s anything like this fall polar bear season, it will be a great one!
Sparring polar bears in Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Melissa Scott photo.
Polar bear in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Melissa Scott photo.
Polar bears emerging from the willows in the CWMA. Melissa Scott photo.
by Steve Selden | Nov 8, 2014 | Churchill News
“What a trip! The action just kept coming and we seemed to always be in the right place at the right time”, reported Natural Habitat guide Colby Brokvist. Highlights included many cub sightings, including one curious guy right up on our rover. We had sparring males so close that some of the guests on the deck of the rover were hit with snow as the bears tussled!
Polar bears in sparring mode. Colby Brokvist photo.
Other highlights included Manitoba Conservation chasing a large male polar bear out of town, and numerous fox sightings. Topping it off, the aurora borealis came out on Halloween night and the group of travelers and Colby journeyed down to the inukshuk behind the town complex to observe the amazing display around 1 am in the morning.
Aurora shining in the Arctic sky above the boreal forest. Brad Josephs photo.
Shipping News: The last grain ship is out of port and the tug boat brought in the channel buoys this past week.
Manitoba Conservation Blotter: There are currently 13 polar bears in the polar bear compound as of yesterday, including a sow with a cub caught in a bear trap near the cemetery.
Polar bear print in the snow. Karen Walker photo.
Guide
Karen Walker and group had a male polar bear come very near their polar rover, on the spit past the
lodge. The temperature was hovering around freezing, so the snow was soft and left a fantastic foot print for
photographs. “At one point we had a very close bear on the right side of our rover and sparring to the left side of the rover,” added Karen.
A fox den on Christmas Lake esker in Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Karen Walker photo.
Out along
Christmas Lake esker, the group discovered the entrance of a fox den. “We never saw the fox, but we saw lots of tracks,” stated Karen. That evening the wind really picked up and it has become quite evident that winter has set in. Over the last few days, two blizzard-like storms have descended on
Churchill.
by Steve Selden | Mar 3, 2014 | Tour News
Brad Josephs got his dream shot last night with a group of Natural Habitat travelers.
The aurora have been incredible lately in Churchill though temperatures have been frigidly cold…around 50 below zero.
Avoiding frostbite is part of the thrill of being in this environment.
A welcoming dog photographed by Brad at a train stop in Portage la Prarie.
Magnificent sun dog formed by suspended ice crystals in the air.
Aurora over the “aurora domes”, a prime indoor spot to photograph the lights.
A curious sled dog in Churchill getting ready for the Hudson Bay Quest in a couple weeks.
Incredible feel for this time of year in Churchill with sun dog framing the town.
These photographs are from the latest Natural Habitat groups in Churchill over the last two weeks. Brad Josephs has been braving the frigid temperatures to lead groups of avid travelers through the Churchill region to discover the feel for the north as well as the amazing and mysterious aurora borealis. Seems to be all working out for the groups. The aurora have been some of the best seen in years. With temperatures ranging from -17 to -65 F, it hasn’t been an easy task to brave the elements and observe and photograph. However, it has been worth a little pain as even the locals in Churchill have said that these recent displays have been some of the best they have ever seen! More to come..stay tuned!!
