Bay Beckons Bird Watchers : When the weather turns cooler, kayaks afford an opportunity to observe plenty of wildlife at the ecological preserve, where tours are also available.

For many boaters, the end of summer marks the end of boating season, but not in Upper Newport Bay. In the bay, boating is best in the fall--especially if you are a bird watcher.

“November is one of the best months,” says John Scholl, a naturalist with the California Department of Fish and Game. “On any day between now and March, you might see 20,000 to 30,000 birds out there.”

Scholl should know.

His office is at the edge of the bay, where Scholl can look out and see everything from grebes and cormorants to herons and egrets. About 200 species of birds live within the bay or visit it regularly, according to Scholl. “The largest bird on the bay--with a 7-foot wing span--is the great blue heron,” he says. “And we sometimes see least sandpipers in flocks of up to 2,000.”

You can get a close-up glimpse of the bay’s migrating birds by taking a leisurely cruise of the 752-acre ecological preserve. Small, shallow-draft boats can navigate the channel, but Scholl advises boaters to watch the tides to make sure that you don’t go aground somewhere on a mud flat.

“The speed limit is 5 miles an hour,” he says, “and the bay is closed to boats beyond Salt Dike,” a posted area about two-thirds of the way up the bay.

If you don’t have your own boat, you can rent one at the Newport Aquatic Center or at the Newport Dunes Resort, both at the edge of the bay. The Aquatic Center offers both kayaks and canoes for $8 an hour. You can even sign up for a free rowing clinic each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“We get a bunch of beginners, and on any weekend we are pretty busy,” says Nora Seager, center director. For information call (714) 646-7725.

Newport Dunes Resort also offers kayak rentals, and each Sunday at 10 a.m. the resort offers kayaking tours of the bay led by volunteer naturalists from the Department of Fish and Game. Rental rates for a one-person kayak are $10 an hour, with two-person kayaks going for $12.

A better bargain is the Sunday guided tour, which costs only $10 per person and includes a two-hour bay excursion. Most of that $10 is earmarked for the reserve, while the remainder pays for the kayak rental, according to Anne Evans Quinn, general manager of the resort. For information call (714) 729-DUNE.

“The tours were created to be both fun and educational,” Quinn says. “We hope to create a greater awareness of the rare forms of wildlife and the precious natural resources that exist in our own back yard.”

If you prefer a canoe to a kayak, the California Wildlife Campaign offers weekly tours led by Lane Koluvek, president of Friends of Newport Bay. “Seeing the bay by boat is great,” he says. “And one of the best times to see the birds is at lower tides when the mud flats are exposed and the birds are close.

“You can just quietly drift right up to within 10 feet of the birds. The bigger birds tend to fly off, and the ducks will fly, but by the end of the season they don’t fly off as readily. They get used to us and allow us to come close.”

If you do go at low tide, Koluvek cautions boaters to pick a boat with a shallow draft and to keep a sharp eye on the channel. “If you’re out in the lower tides, the channel is pretty obvious, but you could get hung up on the mud flats.”

California Wildlife Campaign canoe tours are offered every Saturday at 9 a.m. and are open only to members of the organization. But membership fees are only $11 per person; once you’ve joined, the tours are free.

The organization is also offering twilight cruises of the bay in electric boats on Nov. 14 and Dec. 12. Reservations are required, and the cost is $20 for non-members and $15 for members. A light dinner is served during the cruise. For information on both the canoe tours and the twilight cruises, call (714) 640-6746.

Bay tours by electric boat are also offered by the Electric Boat Company in Newport Beach. Refreshments and a picnic lunch are included, and the cost is $25 per person. The next tour will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. For information, call (714) 673-7200.

If you want to spend all day in the bay, the Los Angeles Natural History Museum offers periodic tours that include kayaking lessons and lectures by an ornithologist.

The program is called “Hulls and Gulls,” and tours are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $80 for members and $90 for non-members. The museum’s two upcoming tours on Nov. 7 and Nov. 22 are sold out, but future trips are planned. For information, call (213) 744-3342.

The kayaking lessons and equipment are provided by Southwind Sports Resource, a Tustin-based company run by Joanne Turner, a kayak enthusiast who learned to paddle in Upper Newport Bay. Turner says the bay was virtually deserted when she began kayaking there in 1984. “I paddled 300 miles there before I ever saw another kayaker,” she recalls.

Now, on a typical Saturday or Sunday, Turner says she often sees 15 to 30 boats on the bay. “I still go there regularly,” she says. “It is a passion for me. My favorite time is early in the morning and at sunset. It is a treasure of a place.”

Turner offers the following advice to boaters: “Know what the regulations are so you can abide by the law. It really is a sensitive ecological habitat, and it is very important not to get out and walk around on the island and not to approach batches of birds and scare them away. You should not harass the birds at all.”

Turner also suggests that boaters carry large plastic garbage bags with them so that if they see trash floating in the water, they can pick it up and bring it back. “It helps if everyone just picks up a little bit now and then,” she says.

Turner and Scholl of the California Department of Fish and Game say that as more boaters discover the beauty of Upper Newport Bay, they also will discover how important it is to help preserve the area. That’s why Scholl believes that the boating tours are good for the bay.

“We have to sell this to the public--that this is worth preserving,” Scholl says.

And it just takes one visit to be sold, Turner says. “It is so tranquil there,” she says. “A total release from the city. It is wonderful to see the flocks of hundreds and hundreds of birds, flying together in unison and the shimmer of their wings as they turn again. And then to see the silver mullet jump out of the water. It is a very vibrant, alive place.”

*

Sail for the Blind. Nearly 60 blind adults and their escorts took part in a special day of sailing last weekend in Newport Beach. The event was sponsored by the Women’s Ocean Racing Sailing Assn. of Orange County and the American Legion Yacht Club. According to Bonnie Gibson, president of the association, the event is designed so that members can share their sailing skills with those who normally don’t have a chance to “feel the wind” or experience the thrill of sailing.

*

Weekend Sailing. A variety of weekend sailing classes will begin Nov. 7 at the Orange Coast College Sailing Center, 1801 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach.

A five-week course for beginners will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and intermediate classes will be from 1 to 5 p.m.

Starting on the same day is a cruising class for women that will meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for five weeks. A class in big boat sailing will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For information about the courses, call (714) 645-9412.