Since we were going to be in Manitoba during the polar bear migration in Churchill (October/November), we decided to book a one-day package tour with Heartland International Travel & Tours. The tour we booked was on October 28, 2006, and included the flight from Winnipeg to Churchill, bus to the Tundra Buggy Launch site, all day on the Tundra Buggy, and supper in a restaurant after the tour.

Our day began around 7:00 am, when we boarded the small plane for Churchill. We took off while it was still dark, and got to see a beautiful sunrise while in the air. As we flew north you could see the landscape changing into a vast wilderness area that had a lot of partially frozen lakes and light snow cover. After about a 2 1/2 hour flight, we landed in Churchill. On the descent, we saw 7 moose and 3 polar bears - so the trip was off to a good start!

The weather was overcast with light flurries. We next boarded a bus which took us out to the Tundra Buggy Launch site. We then boarded the buggy we sat in the very back. We wanted to have close access to the back door where you could go out on a viewing platform to photograph the bears.

The Tundra Buggy headed out on the trail and the first interesting sighting we came across was a flock of Willow Ptarmigan, which was a lifer bird for me. The next exciting thing we saw was an Artic Fox. We actually ended up seeing two Arctic Foxes on this trip, which was a real bonus. Our driver, Mark, would turn the buggy's engine off each time we stopped which the photographers really appreciated. The next sighting was a Snowy Owl, and we also saw many flocks of Snow Buntings all throughout the day.

We drove on and the buggy drove through a lot of flooded out trail. Then we finally started seeing Polar Bears. The first couple of bears we saw were a fair distance away so we didn't spend a long time with those ones. When we got near one of the Tundra Buggy Lodges we started to see a lot of bears, and at fairly close range. I was very excited when we saw our first bear, even though it was at quite a distance. But when I got to see them up close, I was just beside myself with excitement and couldn't believe I was actually here with these beautiful, magnificant creatures. I didn't know whether to put up my camcorder or take still photos. My camera ended up winning every time, as I gave still photos higher priority than video. Only after I was satisfied with the shots I got would I switch to the camcorder. I think a large zoom lens was the best tool for this trip (I had a Sigma 170-500mm) because it allowed you to adjust your focal length as the bears moved towards or away from you. Many of the photographs we took were frame-filling images, many at focal lengths less than 500mm. At one point while we were viewing a bear the driver pulled over to the side of the road to park and turned off the engine. The buggy was on a slight tilt to the left. Once it stopped, everyone rushed over to the left side windows to look at the bear, and the buggy tipped to the left and felt as though it was going to flip right over! People immediately started going back to the right when they felt it tip so it balanced itself out again. Gave me a bit of a scare there for a minute though!

Later in the afternoon the sun peeked out from the clouds and created the most amazing light; and the bears we were photographing were on the right side of the light - what luck.

There is a sad reality about these polar bears. Global warming is causing the sea ice to break up earlier every year, which gives the polar bears less time on the ice to feed (their main source of food being ringed seals), and more time on land in "walking hibernation". The Hudson Bay polar bears are unique in that they become landlocked for a few months of the year. During that time their weight drops significantly. If global warming continues and the ice breaks up earlier and earlier every year, one day the polar bears may starve to death. Today the effects of the early ice break-up due to global warming are causing declining weight in both male and female bears, and female bears are having fewer cubs. Since the sea ice season is the shortest in Hudson Bay of all the regions of the Arctic Ocean, these bears' survival is threatened as they are likely to be among the first to be affected by sea ice decline.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and it was time to head back. However on the way back we were all treated to great looks at an Arctic Hare, who sat there cleaning his foot while we watched and took pictures. It was dark when we boarded the plane for our return flight to Winnipeg. To top off a incredible day, we had a fantastic display of northern lights from the plane. What a great way to end the day!

We met some wonderful people, made some new friends, and hope to do this trip again someday but stay longer next time. Many thanks to Don Finkbeiner of Heartland Travel, the trip organizer, for offering a one-day tour which made this long time dream of mine an affordable reality. The book provided to all participants at the end of the tour was a real nice bonus that we weren't expecting.

Cheers,
Cindy