seal-ebrity sightings
Whenever I find myself with a scowling expression of the mouth; whenever it is an icy, sleeting February in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily...
adrenaline thrush
Two weeks ago, I had planned to wander Shirley Chisolm with my friend Noah and take in the beauty of a wintry ocean moment and hopefully see some creatures....
creatures of the year
I was feeling guilty because I haven’t properly ventured into NYC nature the last two months. I have some good excuses — I’m newly immunocompromised and have...
how much wood could a woodpecker peck, etc.
I just moved into a new apartment. I’m living by myself for the first time, which is both amazing and overwhelming, in part because I live above the BQE. I...
hawk up close!
Let’s get straight to it: Last weekend I saw a hawk up close. How close, you might ask? Very close, I would answer! I was walking around The Ramble in...
the girlies are fighting!?
A few weeks ago I went on one of Gabriel Willow’s fall migration walks in Prospect Park, which are one of my favorite ways to get out and see some birds....
bat 2 the future
First off I’d like to apologize for titling an earlier edition of this newsletter “it’s bat time, babes” without actually having any bat updates to share. I...
in awe of cicada killers
The other day I was walking in my neighborhood when I saw alarmingly large insects hovering on someone’s lawn. At first I was excited and thought they could...
it's bat time, babes
Apologies for the lateness of this month’s Creatures! I just got back from a blissful month in the Adirondacks without wifi and am now reluctantly returning...
horseshoe crab szn
Spring could not have come at a better time, because I’m kind of falling apart mentally and everyone I know and love is struggling in some way. So I have...
happy belated earth day!
It’s really, truly spring in New York City, which means the weather is suddenly beautiful and I am a congested, blotchy mess. This is always a bittersweet...
did you know there's a crypt below fort greene park?
I hope you read the above title in the breathy intonation of Lana Del Rey, because that is how I intended it. But seriously, did you know there’s a crypt...
be so seal-ious right now
February was another brutal month politically and emotionally, with even more horrors yet to come. But this month also marked the first time I’ve ever seen...
a bad month for living things
I try to start each month with at least one outing planned to see some wildlife, both out of my own desires and also so that I can recap what I saw in this...
rear window mode
My parents got me my first pair of binoculars this Christmas, and I spent a rainy afternoon this weekend watching every living thing scurrying around the...
an auspicious trio of hawks
We are allegedly heading into the most wonderful time of the year, but I have been feeling extremely grim, oscillating between moments of utter despondency...
I'm nuts for chipmunks
Last month has made me feel like the universe is atoning for the fact that it rained nearly every weekend this summer. The sun has been Out. The sky has been...
chimney swifts too swift for my liking
I spent much of last month traveling, which meant I did not get my shit adequately together to go out and behold wildlife in New York City’s beautiful parks,...
whale whale whale
I recently turned 30 (huge for me personally) and celebrated by going whale-watching on the American Princess, which is a beautiful diva name for a beautiful...
bats can eat thousands of mosquitoes a night
night is the best time to beat the heat and admire the weirdest creatures of the sky