Polar Bear by Andrew Moon.
- Polar Bear and Walrus
- Beluga and Bowhead Whales, and a chance of Narwhal
- Musk Ox and a chance of Wolf
- As well as seabird cities with Little Auks and Brunnich's Guillemots
- And some other spectacular birds such as King Eider and Gyr Falcon, and a chance of Snowy Owl and Ivory Gull
- All in mostly wild and wonderful landscapes, complete with fjords, glaciers and icebergs
- Apart from Spitsbergen where Polar Bears and Walruses are relatively easy to see but where the other mammals listed above are rarely or never seen, the Arctic is accessible via expensive cruises, mostly to the Greenland-Canada region, which this account deals with, or via Baffin Island, where it is possible to see Narwhals and Walruses in June, plus Polar Bears, mostly in September-October. Less regular still are Belugas and Bowhead Whales, although the whales do usually congregate in the Foxe Basin in early July, accessible out of Igloolik.
- Polar Bear, Walrus and Musk Ox, as well as Snowy Owl and other birds, do all occur on remote and rarely visited Wrangel Island in Arctic Russia, which is dealt with on a separate page. One company which runs occasional cruises which visit this island and more of the Russian Arctic is Heritage Expeditions.
- Most people who dream of seeing Polar Bears in the wild choose to visit Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, in October-November, where it is easy to see them at close range from the enclosed safety of the huge vehicles known as ‘tundra buggies’, but it is also easy to see Polar Bears at close range in Arctic Canada, one of the most beautiful places on Earth, from the open-air safety of the large ships that spend the short summer season cruising there, or the rigid inflatable boats called Zodiacs which they use for excursions. The reason why Arctic Canada is so good for Polar Bears is because there is usually plenty of ice around, even during the summer, and ice is the home of the Polar Bear. This magnificent animal which can reach a length of 2.5 metres (over 8 feet) is not a land mammal it is a marine mammal, spending many months of the year on sea ice, especially where the ice meets the ocean, the favoured place of its main prey, seals. Whether it is on ice or on land watching a Polar Bear shambling along with its nose to the ground or its head moving from side to side, trying to catch a whiff of food, is a menacing and memorable sight.
- Some of the major destinations on cruises are ...
- Prince Leopold Island, Lancaster Sound Polar Bear, Bearded, Harp and Ringed Seals, 275 m (900 ft) high seabird cliffs with Fulmar, Kittiwake, and Black and Brunnich’s Guillemots, as well as Snow Goose, King Eider, Red-throated Diver, Purple Sandpiper, Arctic Tern and Snow Bunting.
- Beechey Island, Lancaster Sound Polar Bear, Beluga, Bearded and Ringed Seals, Gyr Falcon, and Black and Brunnich’s Guillemots.
- Devon Island Polar Bear, Musk Ox, and Harp and Ringed Seals.
- Lancaster Sound Polar Bear, Walrus, and Beluga and Bowhead Whales. Also a chance of Narwhal (the world’s greatest concentration is here, but these whales are very shy and usually stay well away from ships).
- Milne Inlet/Eclipse Sound, Baffin Island A chance of Narwhal.
- Baffin Bay Beluga, Bearded, Harp and Ringed Seals, Gyr Falcon and Little Auk. Also a chance of Wolf, Caribou, Arctic Fox and Snowy Owl.
- Cape Dyer to Cape Mercy, Baffin Island Polar Bear.
- Monumental Island, Baffin Island Polar Bear, Walrus and Gyr Falcon.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
Best Birds and other wildlife in Arctic Canada and Greenland
Birds
Snow Goose, King Eider, (Rock) Ptarmigan, Red Grouse (Willow Ptarmigan), Red-throated Diver (Loon),
(Northern) Fulmar, Gyr Falcon (including white morphs), Purple Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Thayer’s Gull, (Black-legged) Kittiwake, Arctic
Tern, Arctic, Long-tailed and Pomarine Skuas (Jaegers), Black Guillemot, Brunnich’s Guillemot (Thick-billed Murre), Little Auk (Dovekie),
Lapland (Longspur) and Snow Buntings, and Arctic (Hoary) Redpoll. Also a chance of Grey (Red) Phalarope, Ivory Gull (the main breeding area is
around Seymour Island off the north coast of Bathurst Island), Sabine’s Gull and Snowy Owl.
Mammals
Polar Bear, Walrus, Beluga, Bowhead, Fin, Humpback, Minke and Long-finned Pilot Whales, Musk Ox, Caribou,
Arctic Fox, Arctic Hare, Collared Lemming, and Bearded, Harp, Hooded and Ringed Seals. Also a chance of Narwhal, Killer Whale and Wolf.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in Arctic Canada and Greenland
Ships sail different routes between Canada and Greenland, most often between Baffin Island and Sondre Stromfjord, a 168-kilometre-long fjord in Greenland with an airport at Kangerlussuaq, the town at its eastern head. Passengers fly in and out of the embarkation and disembarkation ports on charter flights from cities in Canada such as Toronto. The actual route of each cruise then depends on ice conditions.
Other routes include the 'Northwest Passage', one of which travels from Greenland to Nunavut in Canada via Ellesmere, Devon, Beechey, Bathurst, Melville, Banks and Victoria Islands.
Some companies offer shorter cruises involving seven nights aboard ship travelling along the coast of Greenland only, usually out of Ilulissat or Asiaat and concentrating on Disko Bay, but Polar Bear, Walrus, Beluga, Narwhal and so on are not usually seen on these cruises which are geared more to the chance of Humpback Whales in spectacular scenery.
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in Arctic Canada and Greenland
Cruises usually run in July-August when the ice has usually melted sufficiently to enable access to many of the best areas, although some cruises along the Greenland coast run as early as late May.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for Arctic Canada and Greenland
The Arctic Guide: Wildlife of the Far North by S Chester. PUP, 2016.
A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife by R Sale. Helm, 2006.
Mammals of North America by R W Kays and D E Wilson. PUP, 2009 (Second Edition).
Mammals of North America by F A Reid. Peterson North American Field Guides, 2006 (Fourth Edition).
Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America by V Dinets. Houghton Mifflin, 2015.
Field Guide to the Birds of North America edited by J Dunn and J Alderfer. NGS, 2011 (Sixth Edition).
Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America by K Kaufman. Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
The North American Bird Guide by D Sibley. Helm, 2014 (Second Edition).
Collins Bird Guide by L Svensson et al. Collins, 2010 (Second Edition).
Apps etc.
National Geographic Birds: Field Guide to North America.
The Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America.
Peterson Birds of North America.
Audubon Birds - A Field Guide to North American Birds.
iBird Ultimate Guide to Birds.
Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for Arctic Canada and Greenland
Many trip reports, some for Arctic Canada, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Arctic Canada. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Arctic Canada' below.
Local bird and wildlife guides in Arctic Canada and Greenland
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
Accommodation for birders in Arctic Canada and Greenland
Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to Arctic Canada and Greenland
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
The most expensive cruises to the Arctic tend to be those on the largest and most lavish vessels, where every cabin has private facilities, but it is the smaller vessels, with much lower passenger numbers and mostly shared facilities, which usually enable greater and easier access to certain areas, and sometimes longer periods ashore.
Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Arctic Canada include the following.
