Incredible Beluga Encounters everyday!
From the first day until the last day, this year’s beluga encounters were incredible! The visibility was outstanding as well (for Hudson Bay) so the photography and videography encounters were especially good.
Although the photography opportunities were epic, I decided to concentate on videography this year, so I hope the videos give you an idea of how amazing the encounters really were!
As usual, the belugas arrived at the end of June to feast on capelin (their favorite fish) and to mate, moult, give birth, and frolic in the Churchill River Estuary.
Food fish are so abundant in the river mouth, that the belugas do not have to spend much of their day chasing dinner, so they have plenty of time to play and socialize. That’s why Churchill is the perfect place to interact with them.
As soon as our zodiac left the dock on the first day, some of the more playful belugas immediately swam towards us, so we rolled onto our ‘beluga-board’ and stared down through our masks at the beautiful white whales staring back at us.
The encounters were consistently excellent virtually every day. We had one weather day, but we were able to make up for it by going out on a super early tide the next morning.
The viz was also excellent (for Churchill) which made the encounters even better.
I feel as though the belugas get friendlier every year, which makes sense because belugas live for many years so many of them must be quite used to us by now.
Intellegent Whales
While laying on the beluga board, I spent a lot of time wondering what was going on behind the belugas permanently smiling faces. Some things are immediately obvious.
Firstly, the whales appear to be gleefully fascinated by the strange animals with the shiny glass faces staring down at them. I try not to anthropomorphise wild animals, but I can’t imagine any practical reason for them to waste their time with us other than if they really enjoy it.
Secondly, belugas have crossed an intellectual line. They are intelligent sentient animals that are capable of feeling intrigued by another species that is not ‘one of them’.
Thirdly, by listening to there vocalizations, its clear that communication is in their DNA. Belugas make hundreds of different noises that we are just starting to unravel. We suspect that some of those calls may be warnings, or to signal where there is abundant food, or maybe just to let other pods know that they’re nearby, but we may be underestimating the complexity of their meaning. Either way, belugas are born communicators and they appear to recognise that we are communicators too.
Whatever they’re thinking or trying to say to us, spending time with them is simply awe inspiring!
Summer Polar Bear Activity
The polar bear density around Churchill ramps up in the fall (which is when we run our dedicated VIP Polar Bear Photography Tours) but the summer is usually pretty good for bear activity as well and this year was no exception.
We saw bears on most days of the trip; either from the zodiacs while we were on our beluga tours, or while driving around the tundra each day, specifically looking for bears and other terrestrial wildlife.
Northern Lights
We also went out chasing auroras in the dead of night. One week was cloudy every night with minimal solar activity, but the rest of the time we had some great Northern Lights action. It was well worth staying up until 1am to watch the fire in the sky!
The auroras are so spectacular around Churchill that in March 2027, we’re planning to start running dedicated Northern Lights trips 🙂
Beluga Boarding 2026-2027
It was a very successful beluga season and we’re hoping to be just as lucky next summer. Join us in Churchill and see the smartest, friendliest, most playful whales in the world for yourself.
Not surprisingly, our 2026 beluga boarding tours are full and even our 2027 Beluga trips are filling up quickly, so please drop us a line if you’d like to reserve a spot or two! If you sign up for 2027, but would rather come sooner, please let us know and we’ll put you on the cancellation list for next year: Beluga Boarding and Summer Polar Bear Tour
