Beluga Whale Trip Report 2026
- WEEK 4 -

Churchill, Canada
August 11 - 17, 2026

August 12, 2026.  Day 1. 

We kicked off Week 4 with a morning wildlife safari and found our first polar bear hanging out near the dump. It was pretty far out.

We snapped a few proof-of-life images and continued on.

When we reached Bird Cove, we noticed a few trucks gathered in the distance. We headed over to investigate and spotted a mom with two cubs far out across the landscape. We believe these were the same sleepy bears we encountered a few days ago resting on the rocks, the family that had the encounter with another mom and her cubs last week.

It looked like mom was eating something out there. Maybe a seal carcass?

We watched them for a while and were treated to a really sweet moment when mom stopped to nurse her cubs.

Always sweet to see them be motherly. 

On the way back, we stopped near the gun range and found another mom with two cubs near the trash dump.

Seven polar bears on Day 1. Not a bad way to start the week.

At 6:30 PM, we headed out onto the Churchill River. The sun teased us throughout the evening, peeking in and out from behind thick rain clouds.

The good news was there was no wind. The river was flat calm and beautiful.

The belugas, however, were very spread out and weren't particularly interested in the boats. We had a couple of nice passes, but not many up-close encounters.

But sadly it was dark. Bad vis and bad light.

Still, we had a few moments that made the day for our friends, and that made me happy.

By the time we left it was almost sunset.

Here in Churchill we go out only during high tide. The reason is, during low tide, the water visibility is a thick brown soup.

So for any chance of seeing belugas underwater, we need high tide, and hopefully the day brings in nice-ish water .

Thankfully tomorrow we start at 8:00 AM, and with it, a lot more day light.

Hopefully, the whales will be ready to play.

August 13, 2026. Day two.

Our beloved sun is back!!!

It feels like forever since we've had a beautiful sunny day in Churchill, but today we finally got one.

At 8:00 AM, we headed out onto the river, and man, what a beautiful morning to be on the water. The belugas were still pretty spread out, but there were several pods around for us to work with.

And it was so good.

The visibility underwater was terrible today, but the belugas made up for it. They were super friendly, curious and really interested in us. We had some really good upclose encounters.

After yesterday, our encounters were few and far between, I was especially happy for our friends. Today they got some solid, in-your-face water time with the belugas.

It is the stuff dreams are made of.

When a beluga is right in your face, bad visibility doesn't matter quite as much. We all left with some nice images and videos of  incredibly playful and beautiful whales.

It was a great, great morning.

Later in the day, we headed out for an afternoon drive.

I stopped by the fox family den, but nobody was home. I really think our little family has moved on now. The kits were already making long solo journeys away from the den, so our cute babies may finally be grown up enough to leave home.

Man, I hope we see them again this winter, fully grown and wearing those beautiful thick winter coats.

I can't wait to get back here in November for polar bear season. With all the bears we are seeing this summer, I think it is going to be good.

First stop was Polar Bear Alley.

There have been so many bear sightings around Churchill this summer that it's been crazy. The rangers have been extremely busy keeping an eye on bears getting too close to town. This afternoon, I heard two bear bangers go off.

Bear bangers are loud explosive fire crackers that you fire into the air to scare bears away from town and encourage them to move back toward the point.

When we reached Polar Bear Alley, we spotted a bear out in the bay. It was low tide, and the bear was walking across the exposed sand and rocks.

Eventually, it left the bay and headed toward the rocks. It caught the scent of something in the grass and discovered the carcass of a dead animal.

The bear chewed on it for a while before apparently deciding eating it wasn't enough.

It started rolling in it.

I have no idea why they do this. My dog does exactly the same thing at home when he finds something dead. The only difference is that when my dog comes home smelling like that, he immediately gets a bath.

We photographed our stinky bear rolling around and playing in the tall grass surrounding the carcass.

We turned our attention to another bear out in the bay, a mom with two cubs.

They were walking in our direction, but stopped and laid down. They were still too far away for photographs, so we went back to our stinky bear.

By then, he had gotten up and started walking toward the boulders. He climbed his way up the rocks until he reached a large boulder high above us, where he laid down to rest, out of view.

We left him there and started back toward town.

On the way, we spotted another bear and her two-year-old cub swimming in the bay. They were a little far away, but close enough for some proof-of-life shots.

Six polar bears today, bringing our Week 4 total to 13 bears in just two days.

Last week, we saw 18 polar bears, a summer record for us in Churchill.

This week, we're already at 13, and we still have three more days to go.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

August 14, 2026. Day three.

Woke up to a bright sunny sky, but it was a chilly morning. Super nice having the sun though.

We got to the river this morning, and the first thing we heard was that a bear was out on the rocks, so we went to check it out.

The bear was walking southwest along the coastline and heading in the direction of some hikers. They asked us to try and discourage the bear from continuing toward them, so we slowly motored the boat toward the coast.

Just having the boat come in closer was enough to convince the bear to change direction, and it slowly started walking west, away from the coastline.

Man, if I had been with those hikers, I probably would have been annoyed by that boat. I would definitely have wanted the bear to pass us.

That's just me.

We headed out to find some belugas.

And find them we did.

Janis and Nancy got in the water first and had an epic, epic time!

The belugas were nonstop. They were right in their faces and stayed there, putting on a show the entire time.

I was so happy for them, especially Nancy. She had some airline troubles getting here, so to finally have her here and then have her experience the insane action they got today made me so happy.

The visibility wasn’t the greatest, but when the whales are up in your face, it really doesn’t matter how good the vis is.

During our final water session of the day, my camera card suddenly had an error and decided it no longer wanted to work.

So, I just watched the show.

I grabbed Bill's GoPro to use while he snapped some epic pictures. He even got the coveted mouth-open shot, that moment when a curious beluga opens its mouth and tries to gum the camera's dome port.

I always wonder if the belugas think it’s a big water bubble and try to pop it? 

It was such a great day.

Just super happy.

Later, we went for a drive to see what was hanging around.

While driving down Bear Alley, we found a huge male polar bear sleeping in the soft grass.

Massive guy.

He looked like he was in the prime of his life. Just a stunning bear.

He tried to look around, but he was so sleepy, and would just drop back down and sleep.

A great way to finish our day.

August 15, 2026. Day four.

Woke up to a perfect morning. Flat seas, the sun was out, and no wind.

Our boat captain was wearing shorts.

A dream day and so rare in Churchill.

Half of our group decided to take the morning off and relax, so there were only three of us on the boat today. We headed out toward the river mouth to see if we could find any players.

So far, it was quiet.

We had a few whales cruise by, but they didn't stay for very long. The belugas were spread out and weren't very social.

That can change from moment to moment out here, but right now they were blowing and going.

Thirty minutes later... everything changed!

We had a pod come in through clean water, and the belugas stayed with us.

And stayed. And stayed.

It was so good!!!

The whales were super curious and incredibly playful, and we had some very special moments with them.

One of the juvenile belugas kept coming over to bump and feel our cameras. It was just one of those dream encounters.

Even after being here for four weeks, these encounters and these moments never get old.

What an epic, epic day.

Later, we headed out for a tundra drive and made our way to Polar Bear Alley.

We found a mom with two cubs walking along the coastline and followed them for a while, getting the opportunity to photograph the family as they made their way along the beach.

Eventually, they reached a small pond.

The cubs went into the water and swam around to cool off. Mom joined them for a couple of minutes before climbing back out.

Then the three of them continued on, walking into the thick brush until they disappeared from sight.

We said goodbye to our sweet bear family and to another epic day in Churchill.

August 16, 2026. Day five.

Final day out here.

For me, it's been 20 days of beluga whales.

Pure magic.

This has been an amazing season. I finally got to experience the entire beluga season in Churchill, which is pretty special.

Today, we had sun shine again. A slight breeze, calm conditions and beautiful skies.

A hell of a way to say goodbye to the belugas.

The whale action was so good today. Very curious and playful whales, and everyone had some great experiences.

It was the stuff of dreams and a magical way to finish our time on the water with our belugas and our friends.

I am so grateful for this week and this season.

It was just so good.

Sadly, just as fast and amazing as it started, the action died off.

The whales lost interest and moved on.

Despite that, the encounters we did have were really good, and we all had moments that left everyone buzzing.

Super grateful and happy with our day. Thankful for the magic and the incredible beauty of this place.

I am so grateful and blessed to have had the chance to spend so much time with these whales and this place.

We headed out for an afternoon safari and almost immediately saw several vehicles pulled over.

They were watching a polar bear sleeping among the rocks behind the rock quarry. We knew the bear was there, but we didn't have a very good view of it.

Then thunder and lightning flashed.

The bear popped up and moved, giving us the opportunity to grab a few proof-of-life shots when it stood.

By the time we started our afternoon drive, the weather had changed, and fast.

The bright blue sunny skies were replaced by a very chilly wind and angry rain clouds.

The rain started falling, and there the bear sat with a constant drizzle pouring down on it.

We eventually left the bear and continued driving.

Farther down the road, we came across another vehicle stopped alongside an area thick with trees.

We looked around for a while before finally figuring out what they were watching.

A polar bear was sitting inside the forest, almost completely hidden by the trees and shrubs. There was just a small opening between the branches where I could see the bear's face.

She looked my way, and I snapped a quick photo.

Then she stood up and began walking deeper into the forest.

And behind her...

two cubs followed.

We waited to see if she might eventually emerge from the trees, but she never did.

That would be our final wildlife encounter of the day.

And our final encounter of the season.

It was a very good day and a great way to end our trip.

22 polar bears. Countless beluga encounters.

And a magical time shared with some beautiful souls.

I absolutely love this place, these people, these animals, and Churchill.

Until next season!!!

Want to learn more about next season’s Beluga and Polar Bear Expedition… CLICK HERE.