Trip
Information
Tour
Dates: June 15 - 24, 2008
Duration: 10 days
Tours starts in Ottawa, Ontario and ends in Pond Inlet, Nunavut
Price: $4650 USD plus 2.5% GST, $4650 CDN plus 5% GST
Limit: 12
people
Tour
Leaders: Cam Gillies & local
guides
Highlights:
• Travel by sled
on the sea ice with Inuit guides
• Unique arctic birds and wildlife
• Spectacular scenery
Featured
Birds and Mammals:
Dovekie
Thick-billed Murre
Gyrfalcon
Northern Fulmar
King Eider
Pomarine Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Common
Ringed Plover
Northern Wheatear
Narwhal
Ringed Seal
Tour
Summary:
• Easy to moderate tundra walking
• Travel by komatik (sled) to the floe edge
• Comfortable camping at the floe edge and on the tundra
• 4 nights in hotels, 5 nights camping (equipment provided)
• 6 to 12 participants
• Cold climate
• Price does not include round-trip airfare from Ottawa to Pond Inlet ($2020
CDN)
• Includes all meals
|
 Rugged
mountains, stunning glaciers, flocks of northern seabirds, the wonderful
Narwhal, and traditional Inuit culture – this is what awaits
us on a truly amazing tour to the wilderness of northern Baffin Island.
We experience this dramatic Arctic landscape at a time of year when
the sun never sets and wildlife is returning to this very rich area
of the Arctic. There are some very interesting northern birds that
are seldom seen outside of their arctic environs, such as the all white
Ivory Gull and mostly Eurasian Common Ringed Plover. In addition, the
mixing of ocean currents from Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound makes
the marine life very rich!  At this time of year, the sea ice is melting
back and marine mammals are traveling north along the icefloe edge
where food is concentrated. We hope to see several species of seals
and the amazing spiral-tusked Narwhal. With luck we will also see Beluga
whale, Walrus, or the endangered Bowhead whale. We may even get lucky
enough to see a polar bear! Remote wilderness, striking Arctic landscapes,
rich northern wildlife, and fascinating culture – this promises
to be the experience of a lifetime!
See detailed itinerary
below.
Click here to download
a registration form
Floe edge
image © Dave Reid, Iceberg and nesting cliff images © Bill
Swan
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Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrival in Ottawa
The tour begins in the evening in Ottawa, Ontario. We meet over a welcome
dinner to discuss the coming adventure. Those arriving early may enjoy
a visit the Canadian Museum of Nature before dinner. Night at our hotel
in Ottawa.
Day 2 - Travel to Pond Inlet
We leave Ottawa in the morning for our flights to Pond Inlet at the northern
tip of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. After a plane change in
Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, we should arrive in Pond Inlet in the
afternoon. After dinner we will have plenty of time for a short walk
around town because the sun does not set at this time of year. Hotel
night in Pond Inlet.
Day 3 - Travel to the floe edge
In the morning we will explore the shoreline, tundra and ponds close
to Pond Inlet. We will encounter some of the more common species such
as Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark and Snow Bunting, and we will be looking
for Common Ringed Plover here and elsewhere. This mostly Palearctic species
has a very small breeding range in North America, restricted to the eastern
Arctic of Canada. Late morning we will depart for our camp. We travel
by komatik, which is a wooden sled lashed together and pulled behind
a snowmobile. This is the traditional means of travel for the Inuit,
the only difference is that snowmobiles have replaced the dog teams.
Enroute
we should have the opportunity to get up close and personal with
several icebergs that have spent the winter frozen in place. These
can be both beautiful and enormous as they await break up of the ice
before
they continue to drift southward. The floe edge is where the winter
ice meets the open waters of Baffin Bay and it is where the wildlife
is concentrated
on their northward migration. We should have wonderful opportunities
to photograph wildlife and to observe the traditional harvest by the
Inuit. Hunting is still the main source of food gathering for the people
of Pond Inlet and other Baffin Island communities. The birding at the
floe edge should be superb! Hundreds of Northern Fulmars, Brant, Common
and King eiders, and all three species of jaegers will be a treat.
We will see hundreds or even thousands of Thick-billed Murres, many Black
Guillemots, and with luck, several Dovekie in their very sharp breeding
plumage! We will also see a collection of northern gulls: Glaucous,
Thayer’s,
Sabine’s, Black-legged Kittiwake, and with good luck, Ivory Gull.
You have to travel very far north to find this beautiful all white arctic
gull, but here we will be in the heart of its range. Unfortunately, they
have become quite scarce in the last several years and are now an endangered
species. We will have the opportunity to watch as these and possibly
other species move northward along the floe edge.
Day
4 - 7 - Floe edge and Bylot Island
Our daily activities will depend on the location of the floe edge and
weather conditions, but will likely include these highlights. We will
use a camp near the floe edge and possibly on Bylot Island for these
nights.
Bylot Island
Bylot Island is part of the recently declared Sirmilik National Park
and is one of the largest bird refuges in the world. We hope to head
out onto the Tundra to look for many of the common northern species that
are returning from the south at this time of year. Shorebirds are sparsely
distributed, but we hope to find several species nesting including American
Golden-Plover, Baird’s Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper and Red
Phalarope. The phalaropes will be an outstanding sight in their beautiful
red breeding plumage. Long-tailed Jaegers will also be beginning their
breeding on the tundra. On the cliffs, we will look closely for Gyrfalcon,
including white-morph individuals, and Peregrine Falcon. On the tundra,
we will look for Rough-legged Hawk, Rock Ptarmigan, Snowy Owl, Northern
Wheatear, and Hoary Redpoll. In the ponds on Bylot Island and around
Pond Inlet, we will search for Red-throated Loon, Greater Snow Goose,
Long-tailed Duck and King Eider. It should be a spectacular setting being
on the tundra surrounded by the rugged snow-covered mountains that rim
the eastern Arctic.
Visit to Seabird Colony
From our camp, if ice conditions permit, we will travel to the seabird
colony on Bylot Island. North of Cape Graham Moore, these cliffs
rise thousands of feet and host over 40,000 Thick-billed Murres and
6,500
Black-legged Kittiwakes. Hundreds of them will be coming and going
from their precarious ledges as they head east to feed at the floe
edge.
At the
Floe Edge
We will likely spend a couple of days at the floe edge with the hope
of seeing some of the more elusive species that will be moving
by, including the marine mammals. Waiting patiently at the floe edge
should
improve
our chances of seeing that amazing northern whale, the Narwhal.
We will be watching for groups of these bizarre creatures, with their
long spiraled
tusks – the male’s tusk can be up to 7 feet long! This
will surely be a highlight! It is also possible to see Beluga and Bowhead
Whales, Walrus, and that creature of legend, Nanook, the Polar Bear,
but we will need some luck for these. The floe edge will also give
us
the chance to see Ringed, and possibly Bearded and Harp Seals.
Day 8 - Return to Pond Inlet
We leave our camp for our return to Pond Inlet. On our journey
we may view the towering hoodoos of Bylot Island plus the spectacular
landscape
of mountains and massive glaciers. Hotel night in Pond Inlet.
Day
9 - Around Pond Inlet and travel to Iqaluit
On our last day in Pond Inlet, we will have a chance to explore
the town and walk to the nearby Salmon River. This river is one of
the few in the area that support an arctic char run. This excursion
should provide some more excellent birding at the open water of the
river mouth. The birds will be concentrated here because the open
water at the river mouth is still surrounded by sea ice. We will
also be searching for tundra nesting birds that we may have missed
earlier. In the afternoon we catch our flight to Iqaluit. Night in
Iqaluit.
Day 10 - Travel to Ottawa and
onward
We have the morning in Iqaluit to visit a museum or explore the capital
of Canada’s newest territory. Our flight south leaves midday with
an afternoon arrival in Ottawa. You may connect to a flight home or spend
an extra night in Ottawa. We will head home with many fond memories from
this amazing adventure in the land of the midnight sun.
What
to expect
Early June is still cold in the Arctic. Temperatures may
not be much above freezing and it could snow, but warm layered clothing
along with the waterproof boots and warm outer suit that we provide should
keep you warm. It is usually sunny though and the sun is up 24 hours, so
bring sunscreen. We will also provide all of the necessary camping equipment
including a warm sleeping bag for the nights camping.
Our daily
activities will be focused on looking for and watching birds and other
wildlife at the floe edge or on the tundra, but
we won’t
hesitate to enjoy other aspects of the natural and cultural history of
this area.
While we have outlined the detailed itinerary, this schedule
and our daily activities will be very dependent on the daily weather
and ice
conditions.
In addition, we cannot guarantee single occupancy in our hotel in Pond
Inlet.
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