Polar Bear Trip Report 2025
Churchill, Canada
November 2- 8, 2025
List of Wildlife we hope to encounter this week…
Polar Bears - X
Grey Wolves
Red Fox
Cross Fox - X - ( Day 3)
Silver Fox
Arctic Fox
Snowy Owl
Ptarmagins - X - (Day 1)
Arctic Hares - X - (Day 2)
Short-tailed Weasel
Spruce Grouse - X - (Day 4)
Northern Lights
Sunrise in the plane.
November 2, 2025 (Day One)
6:18 a.m. We’re on the charter plane to Churchill, it has begun!
All the guests arrived, all the bags showed up, and we’re officially off on an adventure.
Excitement is in the air. The journey north has begun.
The flight was smooth, and before long, we were touching down in Churchill.
We dropped our bags at the lodge, ran into town for groceries and snacks, sat through our safety briefing, and then wasted no time heading out to find bears.
This season there are a few new rules, we’re required to stay at least 100 meters away from bears.
We’ll see how that goes once curiosity kicks in on both sides.
It didn’t take long to find our first bear, what a great way to start the trip.
Not long after, we found another bear along the roadside.
This one had a bad leg and a noticeable limp. We took a few photos, then called Parks Services to report it and see if they could check on him.
A report came in about a snowy owl, so we followed the lead, but it turned out to be far out in the distance, too far for photos, but still exciting to know they’re around.
Our friend Mark then spotted with binoculars a large flock of ptarmigan grazing in an open field. We drove over to photograph them, and before long, they grazed so close that they were all around us. Beautiful, curious little birds, that was a fun moment for everyone.
Leaving the birds behind, we went searching for “toothier” animals again.
On the way back to the lodge, we crossed paths with the injured bear once more.
He was a little more active this time, limping quickly across the road into the thicker forest. It’s going to be a tough season for him once the big males return.
I hope he makes it, he’s got a hard fight ahead.
As we neared the lodge, we heard reports of another bear nearby.
Sure enough, one was out on the tundra behind the lodge. We returned to the safety of the fenced yard and were rewarded with an incredible show.
For about an hour, the bear roamed around the property and found Remi’s truck with some trash in the bed.
He tried to tear into the bag. Remi, the lodge owner, fired two warning shots into the air to scare him off, but the bear didn’t flinch, he was too focused on his meal.
Eventually, Emma, one of the bear guides, arrived in a van, revved the engine, and the bear finally backed off though he didn’t go far.
He lay down nearby, clearly waiting for us to leave so he could make another attempt.
Remi quickly moved the truck and trash inside the fenced area to keep him out.
We ended Day One with a bang, literally. It was an incredible start to the trip, full of bears, surprises, and that familiar Churchill magic.
🎥 Watch the Wild Minute
See this day’s highlights in motion, short, real-time clips from the field… Watch Now.
November 3, 2025 (Day Two)
8:00 a.m.
The day begins. We are heading out to find bears.
The sun is still hiding; with daylight savings on the 2nd, sunrise now comes later.
It’s cloudy and cold, so I’m not expecting much golden light today.
No bears yet, but we did find our big flock of ptarmigans again.
Stopped for a few quick photos, they’re always fun and surprisingly fearless.
Next, we came across an Arctic hare, super cute little animal.
They freeze to blend in with their surroundings, which works beautifully when there’s snow.
Without it, though, they stand out bright against the tundra.
Then, our first bear of the day appeared along the roadside.
It was walking, then laid down for a rest.
After a while, it got up and began moving our way to cross the road before heading west.
We left that bear and drove toward the gun range to look for foxes and owls.
A few cars were already there, and for good reason, four bears were visible in the far distance. We took a quick look, then decided to move on and continue the fox search.
Bear number six was tucked into the willows about 50 meters off the road.
This one was shy, wanting nothing to do with us. It stood briefly, just long enough for everyone to snap a few photos, then disappeared deeper into the shrubs.
On our way back to the lodge for lunch, we spotted another bear, making it bear number seven.
Seven bears before lunch, not bad at all.
While we were eating, bear #7, the same one we had just seen walking along the beach, decided to pay us a visit at the lodge.
We grabbed our gear and rushed outside to photograph it, turns out it was the same curious bear that came by on day one.
We had another photo session with it. Not as long as the day before, but it was still really good.
After lunch, we found three more bears.
One was the same visitor, but the other two were new. They stayed a bit distant, but that brought our total to nine bears for the day so far.
On our way back to the lodge, we encountered one last bear walking along the rocks.
We stopped to snap a few photos of it before it disappeared down a hill.
It was a perfect way to end the day.
🎥 Watch the Wild Minute
See this day’s highlights in motion, short, real-time clips from the field… Watch Now.
November 4, 2025 (Day 4)
We woke up to high winds, thick clouds, and overcast skies.
The tundra looked gray and restless, one of those Arctic mornings where you know the weather will decide what kind of day you’re going to have.
Not far from the lodge, we spotted a bear sleeping near a small pond by the roadside.
We decided to keep moving and continue our search for foxes before the winds got worse.
By mid-morning, the winds were gusting close to 60 kilometers per hour, strong enough to make standing still a challenge.
To get out of the worst of it, we decided to get away from the coast line and check out Goose Creek.
We stopped to check out the Bear Jail, and photograph their mural.
Bear jail is where they bring bears who get too comfortable hanging around town. They capture them, keep them locked up for a few weeks, and then release them deep in the forests.
The hope is if it is a negative experience they will avoid coming back to town.
As we drove by the airport, we passed the area, where commercial gravel is collected, ready to be loaded onto the trains.
Something was running along the tracks, I caught sight of the movement, a flash of orange and black running along the rails.
It was a fox!
It was a cross fox, hunting out in the open.
It was far off, but we didn’t care, a fox is a fox, and we were thrilled.
We followed it in the van, and after a few minutes, it moved closer into the field to hunt.
We jumped out, hoping to capture photos of it close up, but the moment we did, it retreated back toward the tracks.
Rookie mistake.
Still, it was exciting to finally see one.
We watched it retreat further and further until it finally disappeared from view. We left our beautiful fox and continued searching.
9:16 a.m. It’s snowing!
Just a light dusting, but enough to turn the air white for the first time this trip.
We didn’t find any wildlife at Goose Creek, so we returned to the gun range.
There, we saw three different bears far off in the distance, over 300 meters away, too far for photos, but great to spot them.
Not long after, another bear appeared a bit closer, bringing the total to four.
The winds kept howling. Snowflakes swirled through the air, but not enough yet to cover the ground.
We checked a few more spots for wildlife, but nothing was moving in this weather.
We decided to go into town to photograph some of the murals. But with the winds, that was impossible as well.
By 2pm, it was clear the day belonged to the wind.
We called it early, the kind of day where nature reminds you who’s in charge.
Tomorrow looks colder, and with the drop in temperature, more bears should start arriving along the coast, waiting for the bay and river to freeze so they can begin their annual seal hunt.
Here’s hoping for fresh snow and a calmer sky.
🎥 Watch the Wild Minute
See this day’s highlights in motion, short, real-time clips from the field… Watch Now.
November 5, 2025 (Day 4)
7:55 a.m.
We’re on the road. The ground is dusted with frost, and a thin layer of snow clings to the tundra, not quite a full cover yet, but it’s coming.
The wind has calmed to about half of yesterday’s strength, and heavy snow clouds are building on the horizon.
More bears will be moving in soon. It feels like it’s going to be a good morning.
At the gun range, we spotted our old friend, the mischievous bear who’s already visited the lodge twice.
He was wandering the area again, looking right at home.
Another bear rested up on the rocks nearby, though too far for photos.
We left the bears behind to search for the silver fox that one of our sister vans had seen earlier. It didn’t stay with them long, but we had hope.
Instead, we found a spruce grouse in the forest, calm, curious, and a perfect photo subject. It was a nice moment of stillness.
9:00 a.m. Back on the road looking for bears again.
11:00 a.m. Spotted another bear out at Birds Cove, far in the distance, walking slowly in our general direction.
We eventually lost sight of it in the thick willows, not sure if it bedded down or kept moving.
12:00 p.m. Returned to the gun range by the city dump to look for the fox again, no luck. But we were greeted by a mother and cub, and several other bears scattered across the horizon.
I counted at least seven bears in the area. All far away, but great to see so many gathered together.
3:00 p.m. Another radio call from our sister vans came through about a bear near Birds Cove.
When we arrived, a bear was walking across the frozen ponds, moving with purpose.
I’ve been hoping to photograph a bear crossing the ice, and this was the moment. As it walked, the snow started falling harder, creating a beautiful, moody scene.
Hopefully one of the shots comes out.
After crossing, the bear disappeared into the willows.
That was our final bear of the day.
Today felt slower, but we still saw plenty of bears, a grouse, and a hint of winter coming our way.
The snow is building, and so is the anticipation.
November 6, 2025 (Day Five)
8:00 a.m.
We started the morning at the gun range, hoping to spot the silver fox again.
The wind is still howling and the ground is finally white, the snowy wonderland we’ve been waiting for. Of course, it comes with a price… brutal cold and relentless wind.
Our first bear of the day was at Birds Cove, sleeping among the rocks while snow whipped across the landscape.
The winds were screaming, but the photos were beautiful, a bear in falling snow is exactly what you hope for on a trip like this.
From there, we headed to Bear Alley, and this was the place to be.
Four bears were out, two grazing on sedge grass, and two more resting on the sea ice that’s just beginning to form.
The scene was pure Arctic magic.
The light stayed moody all day, the sky thick with snow clouds.
It was dim but still bright enough to shoot. The temperature dropped to –7°C (about 19°F), with strong gusts that cut through every layer.
My fingers could only last a few minutes before the pain set in, so I shot in short bursts, hoping the bears didn’t do anything extraordinary while I was trying to get feeling back.
Still, this is exactly what we came for, polar bears moving through a snowy landscape.
One bear left the grass and climbed onto a rocky outcrop, giving us an incredible opportunity to photograph it against an epic backdrop.
Those images are going to be special, I am excited to see how they turn out.
1:00 p.m. After lunch we returned to Bear Alley, it was perfect timing.
The place was alive with bears. Five individuals, all active and moving.
As soon as we arrived, we parked the van and stepped out to photograph a bear walking slowly toward us. I kneeled down and was just about to take my first shot when our guide, Selby, shouted for us to get back in the van.
Another bear we hadn’t seen had just woken up behind the rocks, much closer than we realized.
Moments later, a third bear appeared from another direction.
Suddenly there were bears everywhere. Magic hour.
It turned into the best bear session of the trip, even better than our visits from the lodge bear.
To top it off, the sun broke through for a few minutes, giving us the rare chance to shoot back-lit bear portraits in golden Arctic light.
What a day, cold, wild, and unforgettable. The kind of day that reminds you why you came all this way.
November 7, 2025 (Day 6)
8am.
We woke to a beautiful white morning.
The winds had eased overnight, still blowing, but finally tolerable.
The tundra was blanketed in snow, calm and bright under a soft Arctic light.
We went straight to Bear Alley and quickly found three active bears.
One was laying down in the snow, and as we watched, the sun broke through the clouds for a few minutes.
After so many moody, overcast days, that touch of sunlight felt magical.
By 11 a.m., bear activity was nonstop, bear after bear passing through the area, one encounter blending into the next.
The energy in Bear Alley was electric.
The snow was falling again, heavy at times, making for grainy but beautiful images.
When it came down, it really came down, thick, fast, and fleeting, clearing out just as quickly as it arrived.
After lunch, we returned to the gun range near the dump.
A cluster of trucks in the distance drew our attention.
When we arrived, we saw a female bear walking across a frozen lake, followed closely by a massive male.
She broke into short sprints as he closed the distance, the chase playing out across the ice.
He was determined to say hello to the young beauty. They passed right in front of us giving us all an opportunity to photograph them in perfect beautiful light.
The male was a huge bear! The biggest bear we have seen this season.
After crossing, both disappeared into the tundra.
We returned to Bear Alley, our first bear we found was sleeping in the willows.
Farther down the beach, two more crossed paths and got into a quick snarl match, brief but intense.
I missed the moment, but several of our guests caught it on camera.
We spent the rest of the afternoon right there. No need to go anywhere else, Bear Alley was alive.
By late afternoon, the sun stayed out for the first time all week, lighting up the bears and everyone’s spirits.
The bright conditions gave us new photo opportunities we hadn’t had all trip, golden light on white bears in fresh snow.
As the light faded, we finished the day with a bear walking along the forming sea ice beside the Hudson River, a perfect end to an incredible week.
8:00 p.m.
On our way back from dinner, Pat looked up and spotted the northern lights dancing across the sky.
The clouds had finally broken, giving us a clear window to see them shimmer above the frozen tundra, a beautiful, unexpected finale to an already unforgettable week.
Churchill always delivers.
Maybe not the foxes we hoped for this time… but plenty of bears, snow, and Arctic magic.
Thanks to my friends who joined us on this expedition.