Evening cruise to see Belugas on Hudson Bay
by Andy MacPherson, Polar Bear Guide
The wind had died down. The only traces of today’s earlier gale were the smooth glass swells slipping beneath us as we cruised towards the Seal River.
Just 30 minutes earlier we were sitting down to fresh baked apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. Now we were on our way to see what the evening had in store for us.
The mouth of the Seal was calm. The Port of Churchill peaked over the horizon to the Southeast and the sound of the rapids reached out to us, waiting patiently for the whales to show themselves.
We weren’t disappointed.
As soon as the hydrophone was in the water we were regaled by the sounds of an orchestra tuning up to perform a symphony. Just for us!
Squeaks, groans, whistles and click trains… Belugas have been known to produce over 1200 different sounds and can even mimic human speech. Amazing! We were serenaded into the evening as the sun began to set. Whales circled our boats, surfacing as they came closer to investigate their own voices projected back to them from the speakers on the hydrophones.
Unfortunately we had to leave the show early, as we needed to make our way back to Seal River Lodge before the fire in the sky began to dip below the horizon.
A fine ending to a spectacular day.
Sunset at Seal River
