Category: Canada

After a day of grey and blowing snow, we had some luck around 3pm as the weather started changing quickly. Contrast and clear northern light leapt into full, beautiful splendour around us as the sun emerged in brilliance. Deep in the willows, previously unseen, a polar bear lifted his head, sniffed, then stretched luxuriously, radiating a mellow, soft, yellowness, and eliciting gasps of wonder from us all. Read More >

Guiding in Churchill is a flexibility workout. Daily schedules are action-packed and fun on a normal day, but rarely is there ever a normal day! Bear reports come in, unearthly sunsets create unexpected pauses in the unfolding of events, and the intricate dance of adventurous groups around town amazingly still stays balanced. Read More >

One of my oft-repeated lines to people who have not yet travelled to Churchill is ‘There’s more than just bears in Churchill’. Invariably, I get a sidelong glance and a smile which says I’m a little crazy. And that’s fair enough, when you travel halfway round the world to see a polar bear then those Ursus Maritimus sightings really are the most important. But I haven’t had a trip yet which has been lacking some amazing other wildlife encounters, and this one is no exception. Read More >

Flying to Churchill is always fascinating, especially if we can see the ground, because you travel over a vast tract of the largest intact forest ecosystem in the world – the heart of the Canadian boreal forest. But regardless of how interesting it is, or how much you like travelling by plane, it is generally unanimously agreed that taking a break for lunch is a good thing to do on arrival in Churchill itself. But first you have to actually get to town…. Read More >

Today’s wildlife highlight reminded me of an old First Nations story, that explains the origins of a feud between the snowy owl and the raven.

The story goes that both birds started out pure, shining white like the snow, but the smart raven suggested to the vain owl that they should paint one another to become more beautiful.  The owl agreed, and so the raven set to painting a beautiful speckled pattern on the plumage of the owl.  The owl was so pleased with the result that he admired himself for a while before in turn painting an elaborate pattern on the raven.  However, when the owl finished he realized that he’d made the raven more beautiful than he himself was.  In disgust, he quickly tipped the whole bucket of paint over the unsuspecting raven, leaving him as black as pitch, and causing much chagrin on the side of the raven. Read More >

There is one reason why Churchill is the Polar Bear Capital of the World: polar bears gather here waiting for the sea-ice to form on Hudson Bay, because this is one of the places on the Bay where the ice first gets thick enough to hunt for seals. The bears we see have been on land for the summer months, where their opportunities to hunt and eat are limited, and they are now just biding their time until they can head out to sea again and feed properly. Read More >

One of the joys of guiding is sharing insights that provide increased understanding and therefore increased awe at the things we see.  However, much of the time nature does its own talking.  I love it when things are naturally incredible, and this evening was one of those unscripted mind-blowing Churchill experiences.   Read More >

Back to Churchill today! A new group, a new trip, new adventures to have. Again I’m glued to the window to see if there are any bears actually visible from the plane or airport (there’s no reason why there wouldn’t be, but I have yet to experience that kind of welcome to Churchill!). Cookies devoured and a brisk wind blowing, the group is ready to disembark before we even touchdown. But it turns out there’s some excitement in store for us first as the captain comes on the tannoy to announce some turbulence due to high winds in Churchill. Read More >