COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:It’s time to enjoy a Back Bay tour

Get out of your easy chair and enjoy a kayak tour of our own Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Nature Preserve. Many residents who have spent years living in Newport Beach don’t realize the wealth of beauty and hotbed of natural activity that is going on right in their backyard. Learn how our local White Cliffs of Dover came about; see birds such as avocets, pipers, ruddy ducks and buffle heads close up and at water level. The winter months are when the migrating birds are here.

In the late fall and early spring these “transients” pass through traveling north and south respectively, but many of “our” birds actually spend winters here before returning south in the spring. Then we have those birds that, just like many of us, decide to stick around all year. Some of these are supposed to migrate but stay for multiple years.

When gliding quietly over the water, you are treated to a close-up look at the red-and-green pickle weed and tall cord grass on the islands. Your other senses are also engaged with the odiferous experience of decomposing cord grass; the rich feel of the black nutrient rich mud that the crabs scurry over; and the cries of the gulls and shore birds. The pipers put on brilliant aerial feats, flying hundreds at a time in perfect unison while the black-hooded skimmers fly low along the water with their lower beaks dropped through the surface hoping to snag lunch.

The Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends offer guided kayak tours on weekend mornings throughout the year. A trained volunteer naturalist leads each tour and educates the public about the ecological reserve and nature preserve. Topics discussed include the importance of the estuary and the wetlands that surround it, a brief history of the reserve, and the ecology and geology of the bay, including the mud-flat habitat and different geological formations. Participants get to see and learn, close-up, about the creatures and flora that inhabit the bay, including the plants, birds, mammals, fish and invertebrates. No kayaking experience is necessary, as the volunteer naturalist will instruct novices in the use of the kayaks. Single, tandem and triple kayaks are available.

Tours are conducted at 10 a.m. on Saturdays from the Newport Aquatic Center. The cost per person is $15, which includes the use of the kayak and all equipment. There is a minimum age of 8. The Newport Aquatic Center is at 1 Whitecliffs Drive in Newport Beach next to North Star Beach.

For directions, go to www.newportaquaticcenter.com . For further information and reservations, call the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends at (949) 923-2269.

Tours are also conducted at 10 a.m. on Sundays from the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. The cost is $20 per person, which includes the use of the kayak and all equipment. The minimum age is 8. For reservations, call the Dunes at (949) 729-1150. The Dunes Resort is at 1131 Back Bay Drive in Newport Beach. For directions, go to www.newportdunes.com .