Churchill, CA is a meca for Polar Bears and nesting birds. For years I have heard stories from my Dad about all he had seen while at Churchill. Polar Bears, Pacific Loons, Hudsonian Godwits, they’re all hear and each one sounded spectacular. After all those years of stories I finally get to experience the place for myself.
Churchill is hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been there. When you fly over you think why did anyone settle here to begin with? The land has a rich history going back to French Fur Traders in Churchill River and Hudson Bay. Today it is known for the Polar Bear adventures in the winter and in the summer, technically the off season, Churchill is known to wildlife photographers for nesting birds. On my first day out I saw over a dozen species I never had before but the one I got to photograph is the Greater Yellowlegs, a species you see often in the lower US. The difference is these Yellowlegs are in their breeding plumage which transforms the necks and back into a brilliant speckled black. The bird is absolutely gorgeous! The one thing that makes this place special for photography, besides the breeding plumage, is the tundra. The small spruce trees and tundra tell the story of where these birds breed in the summer.
Images Captured with Nikon D5, 600f/4, TC-17eII, on Lexar UDMA Digital Film