Spectral Light

by Amy Irvine

When the boundaries between predator and prey, wild and tame, black and white, become blurred.

When Plants Tweet

by Erica Wetter

On Coming Back as a Buzzard

by Lia Purpura

The beautiful necessity of an appetite for all things.

World at Dawn

by Diane Ackerman

The subtle delights of the ghostly realm between night and day.

The Trumpet of the Swan

by Kim Todd

Childhood memories withstand the test of time, but a fragile species may be another story.

The Adored, Buzzing Around Us

by Sharman Apt Russell

Finding beauty in unexpectedly beautiful creatures.
FULL ARTICLE available.

Spy Flies

by Kathleen Yale

Didn't you just know they were up to something?
FULL (short) ARTICLE AVAILABLE

Silence Like Scouring Sand

by Kathleen Dean Moore

Defending the pitter-patter, the swish, and other rarely considered natural resources.

A Window

by Hank Lentfer

Connecting to the world

Polar Bear

by Richard Ellis

The anatomy of a symbol

Date with a Lichen

by Richard Fortey

Lichens can be seen as one of the canaries in our mine...

Taking Wildness in Hand: Rescuing Species

by Michelle Nijhuis

Rescuing some species from a warming climate may mean picking them up and moving them.

Sea Stars: A Galaxy at Our Feet

by Barbara Hurd

Sea Stars: beholding a miracle as the world grinds the living into debris.

Gray Thunder: Listening to Elephants

by Cyril Christo
Photographs by Cyril Christo and Marie Wilkinson

Elephants are speaking to us. Is anyone listening?

The Failure of Names

Art and text by James Prosek

Beyond the limits of Linnaeus lies a world teeming with infinite colors, shapes, and sizes.

Celestial Spheres

by William L. Fox

Lita Albuquerque went to the Antarctic to make art that conjures the sky. With web-exclusive extra images.

Managing the Trees of Arlington Cemetery

by Elizabeth Redden

A fine collection of old trees poses some interesting issues for those managing them.

Magpie Song

by Robert Michael Pyle

Beauty and wonder are always in the eye of the beholder—but the beholder has to choose to behold

The Headbonker’s Ball

by Matt Jenkins

Scores of native bees inhabit California's cities, and one scientist is on a crusade to help them thrive.

Kana

by Chris Dombrowski
Photographs: Randy Beacham

A lyrical exploration of the wonders of nature, and a father's quest to express those to his children

Adopt a Raptor?

by Melissa Hart

The Cascade Raptor Center's adopt-a-bird program

The Fall of a Sparrow

by Sandra Steingraber

Notes on a ubiquitous avian neighbor and sometime friend.

Disappearing Animal Migrations

by David S. Wilcove

The world's greatest migrations are fading before our unseeing eyes.

Weeder

Photos and text by Jon Edwards

A decades-long working relationship with the slippery rocks of the Maine coast.

Serenading Belugas in the White Sea

by David Rothenberg

Photographs by Anna Koivisto

A clarinetist ventures forth to make music with the white whales of the White Sea