‘A priceless backyard’

BACK BAY — Like many people in Newport-Mesa, longtime Corona del Mar resident Kelly Bozza didn’t know much about the Upper Newport Bay and the critters that make their way around the estuary.

But on a Saturday, she was given a crash course in biology when she and a small group were led around Shellmaker Island, one part of the ecological reserve on the east side of the bay, to learn about the birds, plants and marine critters that live there.

“I’ve lived in Corona del Mar for years, and I’ve never really taken the time to learn about it,” Bozza said while taking a peek at an almost 30-inch halibut that was caught in the bay and measured by Department of Fish and Game. “This is amazing.”

Bozza came with two friends to check it out, and each woman, along with a family from Paramount, gazed though binoculars at great blue herons, snowy egrets and other birds and wildlife that rely on the estuary.

In the 1960s and 1970s the land that that now bears the name Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve was threatened to be paved over to make way for development, endangering the plants and animals that made the bay their home.

But species like the endangered brown pelican, osprey, great blue heron, coastal sage brush and the pickleweed plant were saved in 1975 when the land was given ecological reserve status by the Department of Fish and Game.

The 750-acre estuary is an important stopping-off point for thousands of migratory birds each year, including the herons and osprey. During the winter, the birds fly through the area and stop to eat. Thirteen years after an osprey nesting platform was built, a pair of osprey stayed in the bay from their winter migration and successfully bred two babies. The birds fledged in July.

Department of Fish and Game ecological biologist John Scholl said one of the reserve’s problems lies in people’s assumption that because it was protected, the department is able to manage it without any help. The majority of workers — like tour leaders Betsy Flynn and Uyen Tran — are volunteers. The purpose of the monthly tours Flynn and Tran lead are twofold: Show off the beauty of the land’s diverse wildlife and encourage people to learn about the land and animals so they might lend a helping hand in the future.

“Everybody is under the false impression that because it was deemed a reserve this place will never go away,” said biologist John School. “Our hope is to have people become aware of this precious resource we have, a priceless backyard.”

The tours, which are conducted on the third Saturday of each month, are also a precursor to the man-made island’s $6 million Back Bay Science Center, which is now housed in a trailer.

The group on Saturday was led on a sand, shell and dirt path — the island got its name because it was originally used to grind up shells found in the bay for chickenfeed so the eggshells would be strong — and then down to a dock, where shovelnose guitar fish, stingrays, bass and other sea life are kept. One jumpy halibut wiggled his way out of Flynn’s hands, flopping to the floor. He was returned to the tank after a short commotion.

“I love the Back Bay,” Bugarini said. “We’re so fortunate to have it.”

Also roaming around Shellmaker Island Saturday were a group of girls involved in the Assistance League. They were participating in the Marine Life Discovery program, held once a month. The girls netted fish, shells and other marine wildlife, brought it to shore in buckets, and measured and surveyed the animals so biologists can monitor the quality of life in the bay.

“This is a wild area, but because the area is so beautiful, people want to live here — they want kiosks and benches and other things” that tame the land, Flynn said at the end of her tour. “This is not like Disneyland — we don’t close the gates at night, hose it down and reopen the next day; this is wild.”

For more information on the Shellmaker Island programs or about the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve, call (949) 640-9956 or e-mail jscholl@dfg.ca.gov.