Alex is a reporter, editor, and photographer in New York City interested in how humans interact with natural and built environments.
She was the editor-in-chief of the Washington Square News at New York University, where she earned degrees in journalism and environmental studies. Her work has appeared in Audubon, Hell Gate, Slate, Curbed, and the New York Times.
Read Alex’s newsletter Rare Bird on Substack.
photo by Alex Chan
We don’t yet know if H5N1 bird flu will spill over from animals to infect a large number of humans. But already it has wrought devastation upon so many lives.
Barricading Gould Plaza wasn’t NYU’s first move to head off protests. Since October, the school has increasingly, even preemptively, shut down access to its once-open spaces. The university that describes itself as “a campus without walls” is now closer to a fortress.
Photo: Alex Tey
September 11 can be an especially rough day for birds in New York City, thanks to the twin lights of the annual memorial.
Photo illustration: Alex Tey
The Nov. 16 auction of Joan Didion’s belongings marked a final, posthumous turning point in the legacy of the perennial idol of aspiring writers.
Photo: Tailyr Irvine
Motus stations across the landscape pick up ‘pings’ from any radio-tagged birds that fly past. The data, open to everyone, are painting a fuller picture of the journeys the creatures make.
2024 JSTOR Daily Best of Suggested Readings
2022 Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker
2022 Associated Collegiate Press Editorial of the Year, third place [shared byline]
2022 Associated Collegiate Press Multimedia Story of the Year podcast, honorable mention
2021-22 Hearst Awards Explanatory Writing competition, 11th place
2021-22 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Best Public Affairs Program finalist
Alex is also a photographer with about six years of experience in digital photography. She dabbles in film photography. Below are samples of Alex’s photojournalism, event coverage, landscape photography, and portraiture of people and animals. You can find her posting bird photos on Instagram at @phoebewatching.
Click here to view all of Alex’s published photo credits.
mostly birds
Kings Co., N.Y. // Sept. 16, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
San Cristóbal, Ecuador // April 13, 2016
Nikon D800 // AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6
San Luis Obispo Co., Calif. // Jan. 15, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Parramatta, NSW // Jan. 3, 2025
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Kings Co., N.Y. // May 10, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Santa Clara Co., Calif. // June 3, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Santa Clara Co., Calif. // Jan. 1, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Melbourne, VIC // Jan. 13, 2025
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Washington Co., R.I. // Sept. 16, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Douglas, QLD // Jan. 23, 2025
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Kings Co., N.Y. // Oct. 18, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Benzie Co., Mich. // Aug. 4, 2018
Nikon D800 // AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6
Newport Co., R.I. // May 15, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Douglas, QLD // Jan. 22, 2025
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
Orange Co., Calif. // Dec. 28, 2022
Canon EOS R7 // Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary
portraits, concerts, photojournalism
New York Co., N.Y. // Dec. 7, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 50mm f/1.8
Queens Co., N.Y. // April 21, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF 50mm f/1.8
New York Co., N.Y. // March 31, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
New York Co., N.Y. // March 2, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF 50mm f/1.8
Kings Co., N.Y. // Aug. 28, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
New York Co., N.Y. // Sept. 10, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Suffolk Co., N.Y. // Aug. 31, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8-4 // Kodak Portra 160
Kings Co., N.Y. // Oct. 13, 2022
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Queens Co., N.Y. // April 21, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF 50mm f/1.8
Kings Co., N.Y. // Nov. 16, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF 50mm f/1.8
Kings Co., N.Y. // Aug. 23, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Canon 50mm f/1.8 // expired Lucky Super GBR 100
New York Co., N.Y. // Nov. 17, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // RF 50mm f/1.8
Kings Co., N.Y. // June 29, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8-4 // Ilford XP2 Super 400
Kings Co., N.Y. // Dec. 7, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 50mm f/1.8
Kings Co., N.Y. // Sept. 1, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Canon 50mm f/1.8 // Kodak Portra 160
landscapes, cities, environments
Sydney, NSW // Jan. 5, 2025
Canon AE-1 // Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8-4 // Kodak Portra 160
Manistee Co., Mich. // June 24, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8-4 // Kodak Ektar 100
Humboldt Co., Calif. // June 6, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Humboldt Co., Calif. // June 8, 2024
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Los Angeles Co., Calif. // Dec. 26, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Canon 50mm f/1.8 // Kodak Portra 160
Orange Co., Calif. // Nov. 23, 2022
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Newport Co., R.I. // May 14, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Bronte, NSW // Jan. 1, 2025
Canon AE-1 // Aetna Rokunar 28mm f/2.8 // Kodak Portra 160
New York Co., N.Y. // Sept. 11, 2022
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
New York Co., N.Y. // Aug. 14, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Aetna Rokunar 28mm f/1.8 // expired Lucky Super GBR 100
Hobart, TAS // Jan. 10, 2025
Canon AF35M 38mm f/2.8 // Kodak Gold 200
Manistee Co., Mich. // July 23, 2023
Canon EOS R7 // RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3
Ashfield, NSW // Dec. 31, 2024
Canon AE-1 // Sigma 35-70mm f/2.8-4 // Kodak Portra 160
San Mateo Co., Calif. // July 3, 2019
Nikon D800 // AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6
Phillip Island, VIC // Jan. 16, 2025
Canon AE-1 // Canon 50mm f/1.8 // Kodak Portra 160
Reach out about writing/editing work, bird questions, sheet music requests, or any other inquiries by filling out the form below! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
You can send tips to my encrypted Proton Mail email at a [dot] tey [at] pm [dot] me. If you’d rather text or call, email me there to get my Signal number.
I’m on Twitter at @phoebeposting and Bluesky at @birdmotif. I write on Substack at Rare Bird.