Bay-watch in a canoe

Luis Pena

Most people get to see the splendor of Upper Newport Bay only from

the trails or roads surrounding it. But on Saturdays, canoe rides

offer a different vantage point.

Potential paddlers meet at Shellmaker Island, where they receive

canoe safety and paddling instructions, said Rita McCoy, volunteer

coordinator for Upper Newport Bay.

Visitors launch in two-person canoes, with a maximum of 10 canoes

on the water at one time.

“On the water, you get closer to the vegetation and closer to the

birds, closer to the feeling of the bay,” said Portia Arutunian,

groundskeeper and educational tour guide.

Naturalists stop at certain areas of the bay and talk about five

different aspects of the its ecology and natural history -- Native

Americans, geology, plants, mud and birds.

“You’d be surprised how much you can talk about the importance of

the mud,” said McCoy, on the significance of the mud to the bay’s

ecosystem.

During the tour, visitors see birds such as the great egret, snowy

egret, great blue heron and least tern, which is on the federal

endangered species list. The least tern dives into the water to catch

small fish.

From the water, the white cliffs, are easily visible. The reason

the cliffs are white is because they are made up of the compacted

shells and skeletal remains of diatoms, which were once living small

marine creatures, McCoy said.

The two main plants seen on the tour are cord grass and pickle

weed, which both have a mechanism that allows them to get rid of the

salt. When the plant breaks down, it goes into the mud, which helps

to feed the creatures that exist there, McCoy said.

“We discuss the fact that many of the plants are still here that

the natives used in their everyday life,” McCoy said.

Cattails were used by American Indians to make canoes. They would

weave the cattails tightly, and then they would use a naturally

occurring pitch, a type of asphalt, to make the canoes watertight,

McCoy explained.

Arutunian said the tours are both fun and educational. “It’s hard

to believe you’re in a big metropolis area,” she added.

The tour cost is $10, and the money goes to Upper Newport Bay

Naturalists and Friends, founded in 1967 by a group of citizens to

call attention to the ecological importance of the Bay and to enlist

broad support for the retention and protection of the Bay in its

relatively natural state.