Beluga Whale Trip Report 2026
- WEEK 2 -
Churchill, Canada
July 28 - August 3, 2026
July 29, 2026. Day One
What a way to begin the week.
The weather could not have been more perfect. Warm temperatures, a glassy river, and not a cloud anywhere in the sky. Just a perfect day on the edge of the Arctic.
Not long after heading out, we received word of a polar bear feeding on the shoreline.
As we approached, we could see it tearing into a carcass, photos showed that it was eating baby beluga whale. How it killed it, no one knows.
It was tiny and my guess is, it was probably a still born calf.
It was a continuation of yesterday's incredible bear activity.
We had spent the morning at Button Bay with five polar bears feeding on a dead beluga that had washed ashore. The bears were very well-fed and super happy.
At one point, two of them climbed into the water and began wrestling, giving us an unforgettable show.
It was one of those magical wildlife mornings that reminds you why Churchill is such a special place.
While we were photographing today’s bear, a pod of belugas began circling our boat with growing curiosity. That was all the invitation we needed. We said goodbye to the bear, dropped the mat into the water, and slipped in.
Visibility wasn't perfect, but it was good enough, and the whales didn't seem to care.
From the moment we entered the water, the belugas were playful, curious, and completely engaged with us. They repeatedly swam right in front of our cameras, making pass after pass. Every diver rotation was done as quickly as possible because we didn't want the whales to lose interest.
At one point, the excitement got the better of Peter, who accidentally fell off the mat, and rolled into the water. The sudden splash startled the belugas, and we all had a good laugh, joking that he was trying to join the pod.
It was just going off today!
As the afternoon went on, the visibility slowly deteriorated, but thankfully the whales stayed with us. Carol's dome port became a favorite object of fascination, with several belugas repeatedly swimming in to gently touch and "kiss" the glass.
The highlight of the day was a tiny beluga calf, only a few weeks old. It was very chubby and just so damn cute, one of those moments that almost doesn't seem real. Hopefully the photographs do it justice because it was one of the sweetest wildlife encounters I've ever witnessed, watching its chunky little body swimming on top of it’s momma.
The action never really stopped all morning. Everyone had incredible encounters, and we finished the day with smiles that simply wouldn't go away.
Days like today are a reminder of what a privilege it is to spend your life doing something you once only dreamed about.
The bar has been set incredibly high for this expedition. Whether the rest of the week can match today hardly matters.
Tomorrow is another day on the Churchill River, and I can't wait to see what story it has waiting for us.