The moon takes center stage over the coming weeks as the second full moon of January rises on Wednesday, Jan. 31 and moves through an eclipse. On the West Coast, fog permitting, we should see it from 2:49 to 7:21 a.m. on Wednesday. February has no full moons, and double full moons return in March. Again, very high early morning tides of 6.5 to 7 feet accompany the full moon this month, with the highest on Tuesday and Wednesday. These tides create “Lake Drake” at Drakes Beach, where a berm of sand between the ocean and parking lot traps water that is replenished during the tides.
At this time of year, the larger characters in the neighborhood—Pacific gray whales, coho salmon and Northern elephant seals, which are at 1,400 and climbing at last count—draw much attention. A much smaller neighbor that appeared after the recent rains are Pacific newts, four species in California that have a luscious chocolate-brown back and melon-orange bellies. Newts lift up their heads and show those orange bellies to deter predators that associate bright colors with poison. They begin their life in streams as eggs laid in clear jelly blobs and, after hatching, are called “efts.” They swim around until they emerge onto land to look for food such as worms and sow bugs. The two most common species in West Marin are rough-skinned and California newts. My favorite spot to look for them is at the edges of the Olema marsh.