MOONGLOW. The biggest full moon of 2009 was out on Jan. 10. It was a "Perigee Moon," 14 percent wider and as much as 30 percent brighter than normal. It helped pull out the tide and light the way for the nature seekers at Seahurst Park's beach.
On Saturday night, Jan. 10 a "Perigee Moon," the biggest full moon of 2009 was high in the sky, and it helped create the evening's very low "spring tide" at Burien's Seahurst Park beach.
The shoreline was peppered with the blinking lights of naturalists leading children and other marine enthusiasts to the freshly revealed biological treasures.
The weather was a misty but stable rain as tide ebbed to its lowest point and back again, so Dr. Barbara Williams of Burien's Environmental Science Center considered this "4th annual Moonlight Beach Walk" a successful. Over fifty participants combed the beach with lights, hoping to see sea monsters up close.
"The fewest number has been forty and we've had over a hundred at some events," Williams said cheerfully, while manning the free Starbucks-provided coffee under a shelter that marked the entrance to the beach.
The "Moonlight Beach Walk" event drew a varied crowd of preschool-aged kids, grandparents, the just-plain-curious and the serious enthusiast all whom came out to enjoy the rare display of marine life in it's natural environs.
Naturalist Nicole Killebrew shared both the wonders and dark side of marine biology as enthralled children huddled in a small circle with flashlights earnestly spotlighting the animals
"I was just describing the moon snail's ability to drill holes inside of clam shells to eat them for lunch," Killebrew noted.
For more information about the upcoming events like this one or the Environmental Science Center efforts to educate the children of south Puget Sound, go to http://www.envsciencecenter.org/campaign.htm.
