Blogs from Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, North America

Happy summertime everyone! Things are all going well up here on the shore of Hudson Bay, we are both back at work, and the summer vibe is in the air. I sometimes feel, however, that I cannot differentiate between work and play! They can be almost as one - they can merge together. I have just been on a 12 day camping trip in Wapusk National Park as part of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas program. We (Ken and I) started our days at 0230 and conducted point counts in as many grid squares as we could feasibly manage. During the 12 days, we counted 92 species of birds, which I've listed at the bottom of the page for all of our birder blog-followers. It was a great trip and we had 12 days of mainly ... read more

Hey Guys. All of the seasonal staff flew home except for Simon, Shayne and myself. We were 'voluntold' to drive out to Wapusk Park again and rescue the freezer trailer. On our ride out we saw about 25 bears! We arrived at the freezer trailer in the dark and started working right away. After a brief sleep on the buggy, we started working again to re-attach the spindle and wheel to the trailer. It was a tough assignment as all eight studs had snapped inside the axle and had to be drilled out. Sixteen hours later, after battling minus 20s with a wind on top, we had the wheel attached the best we could get it, with only four studs holding it on, and a twisted flange on the spindle. After hauling it 11 km, the ... read more

Hi Guys On Saturday we dismantled the camp and moved it 30 km east into Wapusk National Park. Here are a few pictures from our last day at Polar Bear Point. There was some pretty good bear action. Dave.... read more

Hi All! Just a quick note to say hello from Churchill, Manitoba. The snow yesterday stayed somewhat over the day. Although the day temps are warm enough to make it melt still. I saw my first polar bear last week from a Tundra Buggy. And we picked Dave up from the lodge during our tour. The gift shop is in full swing serving tourists from all over the world. Tourists, as well as people working at the port. They are getting ready to leave Churchill in the next 2 weeks as the port closes for the season. Ships will not be able to get through with the oncoming ice of the Hudson's Bay and the Arctic waters. Although, with global warming, perhaps one day it will be open all the time? So, yesterday at the gift ... read more

Hi Everybody. Our adventure continues! After a brief locum in Sioux Lookout, I head up to Churchill, Manitoba to join Dave and the Frontiers North Adventure crew for the polar bear season! (mainly the months of October and November). Dave has been in Churchill helping prepare the Tundra Buggy Lodge which gets taken out onto the tundra for researchers and tourists to stay at and watch the bears pass by as they await freeze-up of the Hudson's Bay. Once frozen the bears go out onto the ice to hunt their favourite food, seal, after a long 3 months of waking hibernation. That's when Churchill returns to normal and tourists return home. See below as Dave describes his journey so far: "The beluga whales are leaving the mouth of the Churchill river and the geese are migrating ... read more