A few FNA staff members had the opportunity to head up to Churchill this past week to participate in our Belugas, Birds and Blooms program. On the first day, the group participated in a half-day Tundra Buggy® excursion where Tundra Swans, Golden Plover chicks and even a hefty polar bear were spotted.
The group then made their way up the Churchill River on a two-hour beluga whale excursion where many adult beluga whales and their calfs were spotted playfully swimming beside the boat. The stereo hydrophones on the boat gave everybody on board the opportunity to hear the whales’ chirps to each other underneath the water! Very cool.
After a quick lunch, the FNA crew then participated in a Roads and Trails tour around the Churchill where they viewed the outside of the Polar Bear Compound, the Ithaca Shipwreck, and some wildlife, including an Arctic Loon on her nest, on the taiga around the Bay.
Here are some photos of the trip:
Belugas spotted from the boat
Polar bear spotted from the Tundra Buggy
[...] The ship made its final stop in Churchill, where Laura was greeted by thousands of beluga whales in the Churchill River (and by a few FNA staff members on a Belugas, Birds & Blooms FAM Trip!) [...]