by Steve Selden | Apr 22, 2015 | Churchill Photography
In honor of Earth Day churchill.fru.qa is requesting submissions of your favorite polar bear or other Arctic wildlife photos.You can post or share to Churchill Polar Bears Facebook page. In addition we request that you also include a short description of the photo as well as an idea for conserving energy as a means to fight global warming. We will publish them on the site over the coming months and give photographer credit for all images. The challenge is to raise global warming awareness and the affects on polar bears. What a great way to celebrate Earth Day and take a pledge to make this Earth year with stimulating ideas on how to protect the planet!
Here are some of our favorite images from Churchill celebrating the pristine wild of the sub- Arctic region!
Polar bear on the Hudson Bay coast. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.
Polar bear cubs with mother by the coast of Hudson Bay. Kurt Johnson photo.
Polar bear greeting travelers. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.
Polar bear sow and cub out near Halfway Point. Stephanie Fernandez photo.
Polar bear looking for a free lunch. Brad Josephs photo.
Early season photo of a sleepy polar bear. Paul Brown photo.
by Steve Selden | Apr 21, 2015 | Churchill Photography
These two images by Katie de Meulles in Churchill just this past week are really great shots of a pine grosbeak perched on a spruce in the boreal forest. The red, green and blue all make for a vibrant color scheme. The flight shot gives a sense of motion that is caught without much fuzziness in the image. Churchill has incredible bird-life as spring transcends to summer.
red poll perched on a spruce in the boreal forest. Katie de Meulles photo.
Red poll takes flight from a spruce in Churchill. Katie de Meulles photo.
by Steve Selden | Apr 20, 2015 | Tour News
These photos from Churchill are from local contributor and old friend Katie de Meulles. The northern lights continue to shine in the sub-Arctic skies and these have some different foreground features. With spring coming the birds are starting to appear across the landscape as well. These are some fun shots from northern life near Churchill….enjoy!
Northern lights with shadow of the weir observation tower in foreground. Katie de Meulles photo.
Weir observation tower by the Churchill River with aurora borealis. Katie de Meulles photo.
Old cabin in Churchill, MB. Katie de Meulles photo.
Sign post in Churchill, Mb. Katie de meulles photo.
Pine grosbeak perched on a spruce in Churchill, MB. Katie de Meulles photo.
Red poll taking flight in Churchill. Katie de Meulles photo.
Northern living in Churchill….couch on a sled being pulled by a ski do. Katie de Meulles photo.
by Steve Selden | Apr 19, 2015 | Churchill Photography
October and November, during polar bear season in Churchill, are the best months to see polar bears squaring off in mock fights. Churchillian’s know that nearly every month is polar bear season and really never let their guard down. During true polar bear season one of the main attractions is sparring usually by adult or sub-adult male polar bears preparing for the long winter on the Hudson Bay ice.
Polar bears sparring in the Churchill wildlife management Area. Brad Josephs photo.
When polar bears venture onto the ice in the Hudson Bay come late November they are prepared for potential confrontations with other bears over territory dominance of mating disputes. Sparring sessions in the Churchill wildlife Management Area and around the Hudson Bay Coast play an integral part in polar bear interactions and communication all year round. A dominance and respect is established through these fights and on the whole most bears know when to stop before serious injury is inflicted. There is also reason to believe the bears use the mock fights as a way to keep fit and alert for the long seal hunting season out on the pack ice.
The fight sessions are incredible to witness in person on the tundra in the Churchill wildlife Management Area.
Sparring bears captured up close with a telephoto lens. Brad Josephs photo.
Polar bears sparring in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. Colby Brokvist photo.
Polar bears sparring in the willows. Kurt Johnson photo.
Two polar bears sparring near the tundra Lodge. Eric Rock photo.
by Steve Selden | Apr 18, 2015 | Churchill News
You’ve heard the expression “Island time”. In fact you’ve probably uttered it once or twice yourself after experiencing the casual, slowed down lifestyle of people in places that seem to have figured out how to enjoy life…well at least vacation life…usually by the warm, blue water somewhere.
Sundogs in Churchill, Manitoba. Brad Josephs photo.
`
Well “tundra time” is a similar lifestyle but perhaps comes from the opposite end of the weather comfort spectrum. Churchill and the rest of the northern Arctic region of Canada moves at a pace most southerners would call…um…slow. And that’ s being generous. Maybe because the north exists in a cryogenic state of frozen time for a good part of the year there’s really no energy to go fast at any point. Tundra time.
When visiting Churchill, everything moves slower. Restaurant service is slower..hence meals take longer. Vehicles move slower…especially Polar Rovers looking for slow, ambling polar bears. Maybe that’s the key…polar bears set the pace for everything around the area. They are in no hurry to go anywhere…except out on the ice. However, they can’t make the ice form so they instinctively know to take it easy….cause it’s “tundra time” mon!
Polar bear cooling off in Churchill, MB. Natural Habitat Adventures photo.
The train….ha..well anyone that has traveled with Via rail along the Hudson Bay Railway knows the literal definition of “tundra time”. The train tracks often turn a 36 hour trip into a 42 hour trip or more. Why? Because the tracks wind across the tundra that contains permafrost….icy ground. When that icy permafrost heats up and melts a bit, especially in summer, the tracks move slightly and a speeding train has to slow down so to not exert too much force on the steel rails and then end up on ..er..the tundra…stopped in the middle of nowhere. Tundra time.
Most of all the people in Churchill move slower. Churchillian’s by and large are not going far. Well, they can’t drive far as there are no roads out of town unless you want to go to the Churchill Northern Studies Center or a bit further out to Twin Lakes. People in Churchill actually have time to talk with one another, not email or telephone. They actually meet at Gypsy’s or the Seaport Hotel and sit and talk for sometimes hours and enjoy multiple cups of coffee. There’s a “local table” at Gypsy’s up front that is just for that…talking….slowly … and in person. Tundra time.
Nearly everything in the north operates on tundra time. We should all experience it once in awhile.
