Queens

Dec
08
A group of ducks preens on the rocky side of a body of water. Others leave a v-shaped wake as the swim.

Ducks Arrive In Fantastic Feathers

Ducks are not like the rest of birds.
3 min read
Oct
14
A majestic maple dominates a grassy plain. A sliver of red, fall foliage tints one edge of its spreading canopy.

City Shadows Fragment the Fall Foliage

Notice how the trees shift from sun to shadow as the earth turns.
3 min read
Sep
14
The snake-like s-shaped neck of a great blue heron is silhouetted against tall marsh grasses and the ocean behind.

Marsh Birds Wade On a Fragmented Shoreline

Some birds visiting the city may find a haven in acres that have been reclaimed for wetlands.
3 min read
Sep
01
The tight spiral of a sunset-color-streaked shell pushes out of damp beach sand.

Beaches Are Strewn with Scraps from a Ravenous Feast

Witness the detritus of one of the city's most voracious predators, the moon snail.
3 min read
Aug
18
Abandoned Lots Become Feral Gardens

Abandoned Lots Become Feral Gardens

It seems to be a no man’s land, a tiny, untended place that is unclaimed by either the office building or the grocery store alongside it.
3 min read
Jul
07
Specks of firefly illumination pepper the grassy expanse of a cemetery at sunset.

Fireflies in Multitudes Signal Their Desires

As the sun sets on the warmest nights of summer the air becomes alive with blinking lights.
2 min read
Jun
29
A firework explodes in the twilight sky over a group of people on a Brooklyn rooftop.

The Evening Sky Flowers In Flame

A searing screech salutes the dying light. Fireworks season is upon us.
3 min read
Jun
14
Eight horseshoe crabs emerge from the waves onto the beach. Many are covered in barnacles and males are latched to females.

Horseshoe Crabs Lay Eggs Under a Full Moon

Weaving between discarded dogfish heads and tampon applicator flotsam, they are crawling.
3 min read
Jun
02
A hand holds up an ornate, tulip-like flower, still attached to a broad leaf. A tuliptree towers in the background.

The Flowering of New York’s Great Old Ones

Tuliptrees are the city’s living elders, growing taller than the other trees, surviving for centuries as other beings live and die in generations around them.
3 min read
May
27
Night Comes in Through the Window

Night Comes in Through the Window

Your screen is a fluttering membrane onto the darkness. Night scratches its fur against the thin separator, seeping into your room through osmosis.
3 min read