A rare look at life

Deepa Bharath

The Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends’ free winter cruise of

Upper Newport Bay is meant to be more than a casual tour of Upper

Newport Bay.

Its goal is to instill a sense of pride and appreciation of the

amazing natural habitat and endangered species that Newport Beach has

in its own backyard, said Dick Newell, volunteer and skipper of the

cruise.

The group, in collaboration with the state Department of Fish and

Game, organized two tours in December and one each Wednesday and

Thursday. This week’s cruises were especially organized for a group

of local educators and naturalists on days when low tides brought in

an abundance of rare shorebirds to the Back Bay.

“When low tide hits, the water [recedes], exposing the mud and the

marine life, which is food to these birds,” Newell said. “It’s almost

like a feeding frenzy this time of the year.”

He takes passengers on a 24-foot flat-bottom skiff that the

Department of Fish and Game purchased last year for the group to use

for research and giving public tours.

This week’s cruises featured an exploratory trip to the upper

reaches of the bay, the Old Salt Dike, for an exclusive view of about

15,000 birds that migrate to these parts in the winter time. This is

only the second year that Newell has taken people out on this cruise.

The Back Bay -- managed by the county, the California Department

of Fish and Game and the city of Newport Beach -- is one of the few

remaining estuaries in the state. Added to the reserve system in

1975, it consists of 892 acres of protected wildlife reserve, hosts

up to 200 different species of birds, 80 species of fish, many

reptiles and more than 500 identifiable types of plant life.

The bay is home to several species that may be unheard of

otherwise, Newell said.

There is the light-footed clapper rail, for example, which

naturalists are working very hard to preserve. The simple-looking

bird lives in pickle weed and cord grass that grows in the bay,

Newell said.

“It’s also the origin of the expression ‘thin as a rail,’” he

said.

Newell said the group aims to make visitors realize the invaluable

resource that is Upper Newport Bay.

“The reason we lose shorebirds and a lot of marine life is because

we pump pollutants into the ocean and destroy habitats,” he said.

“This is a pristine area that everyone in Orange County should be

proud of.”