Friday, June 5, 2009

Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve

Collages49

This week the kids and I were out in Newport,  chillin' in the Back Bay. Almost sounds glamorous doesn't it? No this is not the Newport Bay most people know. Its not the marina filled with the posh yachts of the wealthy. This is Upper Newport Bay. The place where freshwater and saltwater meet. An estuary where endangered birds make their nests and nature works hard at filtering out all the junk that comes from the watershed upstream so we aren't swimming in filthy oceans. This is a very important place. Sadly, this is also a very rare place in California. 90% of California's wetlands are gone. Most of them have been destroyed  in the past 50 years. Knowing this made our visit to Upper Newport Bay all the more special.

At first glance an estuary doesn't look like much. Its a bunch a of grass and mud waiting to fill and empty with the tides. But upon closer inspection we found it was a beautiful habitat teeming with life. As soon we started walking down the trail to the Peter & Mary Muth Interpretive Center (which is so cleverly hidden into the landscape that I didn't even know it was there until we were right on top of it) we were greeting with gray squirrels and cottontail bunnies scurrying back and forth amongst the bushes. The air was filled with birds chirping happy tunes and the refreshing scent of that salty sea air. Ahhhh....

May 200910

As much as I wanted to just start exploring the bay I knew we would be best served by hitting up the Interpretive Center first. I was incredibly impressed. What a great center!  There were exhibits about wetlands, uplands, and estuaries that were designed to captivate every age. The kids got excited about the fish swimming in the aquariums and and the birds "flying" overhead. We weren't lucky enough to see a Great Blue Heron out in the wild that day but the kids still were able to get up close and personal with a stuffed version inside.

Collages46

And then there was the classroom. Wow. I could have stayed in their all day and the kids never would have been bored. There are live animals in terrariums, fish, stuffed animals, animal puzzles, kid friendly microscopes, craft areas, books, books, and more books; the list goes on and on. And it was free! It made me so happy to see the kids so excited to learn about everything. (Okay so maybe Ben was mostly interested in kicking around the inflatable solar system planets but Mari was enthralled by everything). I am certainly keeping this place in my back pocket when I am looking for things to do on a rainy day. Best of all, they have classes for kids all summer long for only $5.00. These include stories, crafts, and outdoor nature walks. For more info click here.

May 200911

From the Interpretive Center we meandered on down the trail to the estuary. It didn't take long before we spotted a mother and her adolescent ducklings our for a cruise.

Collages47

We joined the main jogging/biking trail and enjoyed the views while spotting a variety of different birds and more lizards than I could count. We crossed a bridge with wooden sides but that didn't stop Mari from sneaking a peak at what was below.

May 200912

We enjoyed our own little version of Wild Kingdom while watching lizards brawl and colorful birds perch. (do you see the lizard in the bottom right picture?)

May 200913

Most of all, we just enjoyed the view.

Collages48


7 comments:

Terri said...

Great post, once again! SO wish we had stuff like that here!

debi9kids said...

I just LOVE going to places like that! We actually have a couple of places nearby my NJ home and I used to take the kids there when we homeschooled.
Fun & so informative.
Great post Shar!

Helene said...

You always seem to stumble upon the most amazing places! Okay, so I have an idea for a new business for you....you could totally run a "Double the Adventure Field Trip" kinda thing...seriously, you could be a tour guide for parents of young children (like me) who would love to expose their children to nature as you have but have no clue where to find stuff that's kid-friendly and enjoyable for the whole family.

I totally suck at exposing my kids to the beauty that nature has to offer. I'll stand in the backyard with them and look for ladybugs in the grass. Ooooh....awwwww....yeah, that's as far as it gets.

BenLand said...

great job as usual.....you always make me want to get out and explore my neck of the woods....great work :)

familyadventureguidebooks said...

We'll have to make it up there to check this out. Let me know if you're up for a hike at Batiquitos Lagoon this summer. It's right down the street from me.

Just Spotted said...

definitely check out the classes and story times... well worth it!

xoxo, K

Helene said...

I'm having a fun twins book giveaway on my blog...stop by if you have a chance and check it out!