Well, it finally happened. This year marked Discover Churchill’s inaugural Ptarmigan Ptour!
Anyone who has traveled with us over the last decade has likely heard about our super-secret project combining two of our greatest passions: ethical tours and ptarmigan. After years of talking about it, we would like to extend a special thank you to legendary Manitoba birder Bonnie Chartier for her help and not-so-subtle encouragement in making this trip a reality. A big thank you also goes to Tomas Taylor for helping make this dream come true, and for the photos featured in this email.
Just an hour into our first afternoon of birding, we were able to put the group eyeball to eyeball with the elusive willow ptarmigan. With the pressure off finding our marquee species, we were able to diversify our efforts, start checking lifers off the list, and focus on bird photography.
The tour was designed to balance field time between searching for rarities and life-list birds while also providing opportunities to photograph cooperative local species such as Pacific Loons, Long-tailed Ducks, and Arctic Terns.
Long subarctic days allowed for multiple birding sessions each day, carefully planned around tides, lighting conditions, and weather. The group would depart for an early morning birding session before returning to town for lunch and a midday break. Anyone needing a midday birding fix could wander over to one of Churchill’s urban birding hotspots (or grab some rest) before heading out again for a guided evening session. Field dinners found us enjoying gourmet fare while watching jaegers and Golden Plovers.
For those who had visited Churchill before, it was an excellent opportunity to explore on foot some of the places we would never visit at other times of the year. We were able to scramble over rocky shorelines and spend time on beaches that are off-limits during bear season, although Drew and Tomas were still keeping a watchful eye out for bears.
To everyone who joined us on this first Ptarmigan Ptour, thank you for helping make it such a remarkable adventure. We look forward to welcoming you back to Churchill for many more northern discoveries.
But you don’t have to take our word for it:
An AMAZING ADVENTURE to a unique Sub-Arctic environment. This location gave us access a new “lifer” bird species everyday. The early June timing allowed us the see numerous familiar species in mating plumages and displays that we had never seen in person. We were also treated to numerous encounters with local non-avian wildlife to include beluga sightings in the bay.
The DISCOVER CHURCHILL team worked tirelessly to see that our group was able to have the best possible experience. Their personal knowledge of the environment and wildlife made this an exciting and personally fulfilling trip from start to finish.
Highly recommend the “Ptarmigan Ptour” to anyone interested in seeing the unique birds and wildlife Churchill has to offer.
– Gene
Just finished the Ptarmigan Ptour and it was awesome! Tomas and Drew were our extremely knowledgeable guides of our group of 10 participants (5 per vehicle and guide).
The Polar Boutique Inn was very comfortable.
All meals provided were delicious. The photographic opportunities were numerous and even if you are not a ‘Birder’, as was my case, learning about birds from the guides and all the others who were dedicated photographers of birds and kindly willing to share their knowledge was a real privilege for me. In addition to all kinds of birds seen and photographed, we saw beluga, fox, arctic hare, snowshoe rabbit, not to mention the beautiful subarctic landscapes from sunrises to sunsets.
No wonder Discover Churchill has so many multi-repeat customers! Bravo!
– Suzanne
Show us the list
But what did you see?
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
American Wigeon
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Common Eider
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Willow Ptarmigan
Spruce Grouse
Sora
Sandhill Crane
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Hudsonian Whimbrel
Hudsonian Godwit
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson’s Snipe
Red-necked Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Parasitic Jaeger
Little Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Arctic Tern
Horned Grebe
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
American Bittern
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Great Horned Owl
Short-eared Owl
Merlin
Alder Flycatcher
Canada Jay
Common Raven
Bank Swallow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
American Pipit
Pine Grosbeak
Redpoll
White-winged Crossbill
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Northern Waterthrush
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
