Over the years, friends of ours who are canoe enthusiasts have encouraged us to take up the sport. They exclaim over and over how great the birding is when you are in a canoe. We did try it once.

It was an exhilarating experience but not the quiet bird-watching float I had envisioned. When a huge powerboat cut across the bow of the canoe we were paddling, the last thing on my mind was looking for birds. I can still see that wake coming toward us. Our guide’s “Turn into it now!” command is also etched in my memory.

Kayaks look tempting, but they also look more tippy than a canoe. My spouse keeps suggesting we try a trip around our quiet little bay with a local kayak company. “Someday – maybe,” is the usual reply. Thanks to my eye doctor, “someday” is creeping up on me.

During an eye exam, the doctor told me about the new sport of kayaking that he and his wife had taken up. Like our canoe friends, he mentioned the birding possibilities it offers. His adventures with the birds on the water are even more tempting than those of our canoe friends.

Not only can you get close to the birds when you are in a kayak, but they follow you. One of their encounters was particularly fascinating.

They were traveling a good distance going from one local bay to another. He told me they prefer to travel along not far from the shore. That appeals to me.

During this trip, a common loon began to tag along. It followed them on the outbound trip and joined them on the journey home. This bird traveled almost the entire trip with them, and its attraction for the two kayaks was fascinating to hear about.

Birds follow kayaks as part of a fishing maneuver. My doctor and his wife discovered this when they talked to an angler fishing from one of the area’s docks. They passed his way twice and the second time apologized for disturbing his fishing. Quite the opposite. He told them that he caught fish every time they went by.

Kayaks are floating cover for fish. They travel under the boats, using the shadow to hide in. Think about how you see fish by the thousands hanging about the docks in the marinas. A kayak is a traveling dock if you’re a fish.

Not only have our kayaking friends been accompanied by a fishing loon, but they have enjoyed having other waterbirds come close to them. Cormorants, grebes and certain diving ducks know there are fish hiding under the moving kayaks. They travel with them to dive and surface over and over.

Even eagles might suspect there are fish under the kayaks. This was a thought when a bald eagle they hadn’t even seen suddenly dropped into the water beside the beached kayaks. That’s a bird-watching experience you never forget.

Learning something new is always a good thing. While readers who enjoy kayaking and bird-watching already know what the sport offers, it was new to me. I’m not rushing right out for my first kayak ride, but I’m considering it. Spring seems a better time to get adventurous and the courting action out on the water should only add to the excitement.

Write to Joan Carson, PO Box 217, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a reply.