January did more than usher in a new year — it also brought with it higher-than-normal ocean tides that provided rare bird sightings at Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. Those exploring the Baylands on Jan. 12 to witness the season's second occurrence of a king tide were treated to a plain view of a Ridgway's rail tiptoeing through the pickleweed marshland behind the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center. Look at what they saw through our photo essay, which can be found at multimedia.paloaltoonline.com.

Palo Alto naturalist Corinne Debra joins Weekly journalists to discuss the phenomenon of king tides on an episode of "Behind the Headlines," now available on our YouTube channel and podcast page.