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For easy-going naturalists.

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  • First time here?
    • About FFON
    • Who was Maxwell Knight? The spymaster, ‘M’
    • Founders & Contributors
    • Jonathan Leakey Introduction to video link, FFON
    • Maxwell Knight’s Cabinet
    • Acknowledgements
    • Resources
    • Get in touch
  • The ‘Armchair Naturalists’ project
    • An invitation to children and young people
    • BEING AN ARMCHAIR NATURALIST DURING THIS PERIOD OF COVID-19 “LOCK DOWN”
    • Can our readers help?
    • Podcast: The ‘Armchair Naturalists’ on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher
    • Write for the FFON
  • Maxwell Knight Symposium 2018
    • Lectures and more from Birkbeck College:
      • Introductory lecture: Maxwell Knight the naturalist – Prof. John E Cooper
      • Introductory lecture: Maxwell Knight the Spymaster, ‘M’ – Mr Simon H King
      • Accounts by people including Mark Rose, CEO of Fauna and Flora International
      • Presentation: “Advances in the health and welfare of captive animals” – Mr Alan Graham
      • The Frightened Face of Nature: challenges facing the planet – Mr Paul Pearce-Kelly
      • Conservation and captive-breeding projects involving chelonians – Ms Anne Rowberry
      • Engaging the next generation: culture, care and conservation” – Ms Victoria Burton/Mr Dafydd Lewis
      • Newts, nadders and neophyte naturalists
      • Helpers
      • Symposium photos
      • Comments and Symposium feedback
  • Links

Author: Simon H King FLS

FFON Co-founder
Posted on January 1, 2021January 1, 2021

Happy New Year to friends and followers of the FFON

2020 was our biggest year for the FFON website – readership grew by more than 200% and came courtesy of 90 plus countries. We couldn’t have created so much wonderful…

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Posted on November 23, 2020November 23, 2020

Butterfly feeding experiment by Rowan Allen who is eight-years-old.

The following article, “Butterfly feeding experiment”, is by Rowan Allen, who is eight-years-old. Readers of FFON will remember Rowan’s previous contributions to the website – a poem about an ocelot…

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Posted on November 21, 2020November 21, 2020

Move Over Robin Hood? With a Tribute to Pamela

By Graham Wellstead. I expect many of my generation will echo in some way, but my life growing up in the 1940s and 50s was not run-of-the-mill. I lived with…

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Posted on October 20, 2020October 21, 2020

Podcast Episode 8: Make Nature Your Playground and “Consider the Colours”.

Welcome to autumn: Simon, John and Margaret join forces this autumn/winter with the wonderful team at Haith’s wild bird food (https://www.haiths.com/) to launch their new project – “Make Nature Your…

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Posted on October 19, 2020October 19, 2020

We’re in ‘Peregrine’ – The magazine of the Hawk and Owl Trust

No. 113 Autumn/Winter 2020. Visit https://hawkandowltrust.org to find out more about The Hawk and Owl Trust.

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Posted on September 1, 2020September 2, 2020

The Nar Valley in Norfolk – A foot safari during the Covid lockdown.

John and Margaret Cooper’s Pentney to King’s Lynn ‘safari’ 13 – 15 July 2020. A report on our walk – and the natural history that we saw – for the…

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Posted on August 18, 2020August 18, 2020

Gilbert White: 300 year anniversary of his birth.

By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS. Rev Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a pioneer naturalist, who collected over 40 years’ observations of the flora and…

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Posted on August 9, 2020August 9, 2020

My Woodland Odyssey.

By Graham Wellstead. It would not be to difficult to calculate how much of my life has been enriched in terms of years, an educated guess would be 3 to…

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Posted on July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

The Smell of Green

By Susan Underkoffler – our Pennsylvania, USA correspondent. I met someone during my first experience away from home at university. His name was Marco and he was from Iceland. Stocky…

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Posted on July 15, 2020July 16, 2020

THE FISHES’ TALE. Part II : RESURGENCE

By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS If you missed Part I, it’s here. Franz Witte back in Leiden could hardly believe what he was hearing on the crackly phone line from…

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Posted on July 13, 2020

“Wild place in a crowded county” by Graham Wellstead

I (Simon King) heard recently from naturalist Graham Wellstead who was keen to write about a special place for FFON readers – he wrote: “Here I am taking liberties. I…

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Posted on July 12, 2020July 12, 2020

Podcast episode 7 – An Anniversary (Maxwell Knight’s) and an Armchair Assessment.

Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “An Anniversary and An Armchair Assessment” and marked the fact that the 9th of July (when the podcast was recorded), is…

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Posted on July 2, 2020July 16, 2020

THE FISHES’ TALE

By Dr Valerie Jeffries FLS – FFON’s Kenya and UK correspondent Part 1: DARWIN’S OWN LAKE Lake Victoria has been a highway for trade, could become a highspot for tourists,…

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Posted on June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

Bee orchids: a plant being able to outwit an insect is truly phenomenal.

A genius evolutionary mimic of developing a decoy female bee to attract males hoping to mate with the ‘inanimate female’, but instead the males end up pollinating the flower free…

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Posted on June 28, 2020July 1, 2020

An entertaining short video relating to a social distance dispute (hedgehogs!), but first – moths:

The photos below and the video clip of hedgehogs were sent to John and Margaret Cooper by their friend Tim Roberts who lives in a small village in Shropshire. Tim…

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Posted on June 22, 2020June 23, 2020

“The Ocelot” by Rowan Allen (age 8)

The illustrations below were sent to John and Margaret Cooper (in response to their ‘An invitation to children and young people’ project invitation) by their friend Michelle O’Brien, who is…

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Posted on June 21, 2020June 22, 2020

Podcast episode 6 – Bees, bugs, ponds and water-bowls.

Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “Bees, bugs, ponds and water-bowls.” The FFON (www.ffon.co.uk) team discuss Sean Wensley’s timely blog “Growing close to nature during lockdown” and…

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Posted on June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

A bee in slow motion on a practically perfect poppy

Filmed by Lucy King.

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Posted on June 9, 2020June 9, 2020

A note from “SE4 Sally”

“Bee-watching in garden – never noticed “bee preferences” before. In the case of Kniphofia (red hot poker plant) – always thought it was snails eating the flowering pokers – its…

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Posted on June 8, 2020June 10, 2020

Pond life.

By Graham Wellstead. My garden, like many, contains a pond. Not a great lake, just a small formal pond about 8ft square with raised sides, the theory being we could…

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Posted on June 6, 2020June 7, 2020

Podcast episode 5 – “Where have all the flowers gone”

Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “Wildlife – Interactions and Relationships.” The FFON (www.ffon.co.uk) team discuss John and Margaret’s recent blog post about their delightful village lane…

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Posted on June 6, 2020June 6, 2020

‘Although not wildlife, my canary stock is worthy of comment.’

By Graham Wellstead. ‘We feel it is good to have a certain amount about animals in captivity on FFON. Many naturalists also keep or tend animals in their homes; it’s…

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Posted on June 4, 2020June 6, 2020

‘Moments I treasure’ by Graham Wellstead.

The absolute pinnacle of the sport of falconry is to fly a Peregrine falcon. I have, over the years, flown every species of bird flown in the UK except Eagles,…

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Posted on May 31, 2020May 31, 2020

Introducing ‘AntBoy’ – with superpowers of the entomology kind!

A few weeks ago, I (Simon King) received an email from Graham Wellstead (FFON contributor) about a fascinating young man named Xander Johnston AKA ‘AntBoy,’ a 13 year old award…

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Posted on May 28, 2020June 6, 2020

“Where have all the flowers gone?”

By John and Margaret Cooper. On Monday 23rd March 2020, nine weeks ago, we started to “self-isolate” as over 70s in our tiny cottage in Norfolk. During our lockdown we…

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Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

Can anyone identify this beetle?

Our London correspondent, Helen Jeffries has a question for FFON readers. Helen has an inordinate fondness for beetles – ‘I like the specimens one can get in see-through blocks,’ she…

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Posted on May 27, 2020May 28, 2020

The joys of an early morning walk to work

A note to John and Margaret Cooper from Sarah Pellett, BSc (Hons) MA VetMB Cert AVP (ZooMed) DZooMed (Reptilian) MRCVS. RCVS Recognised Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. Sarah is…

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Posted on May 25, 2020May 27, 2020

Podcast episode 4 – ‘Don’t keep your natural history to yourself’

Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “Records and Rapport”. But first, they share messages from a variety of places including India, the Caribbean, Scotland and a safari…

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Posted on May 22, 2020May 22, 2020

Marvellous Moths

By David McHattie. Colourful visitors photographed during Essex garden lock-down from the Dengie Peninsula. I have been lucky this spring – lots of moths and butterflies to see in the…

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Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020

Man-Made Nature

By Helen Jeffries – FFON’s London Correspondent. Since people have been allowed out for as much exercise as they want, and have been gradually returning to work, London feels more…

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Pages

  • First time here?
    • About FFON
    • Who was Maxwell Knight? The spymaster, ‘M’
    • Founders & Contributors
    • Jonathan Leakey Introduction to video link, FFON
    • Maxwell Knight’s Cabinet
    • Acknowledgements
    • Resources
    • Get in touch
  • The ‘Armchair Naturalists’ project
    • An invitation to children and young people
    • BEING AN ARMCHAIR NATURALIST DURING THIS PERIOD OF COVID-19 “LOCK DOWN”
    • Can our readers help?
    • Podcast: The ‘Armchair Naturalists’ on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher
    • Write for the FFON
  • Maxwell Knight Symposium 2018
    • Lectures and more from Birkbeck College:
      • Introductory lecture: Maxwell Knight the naturalist – Prof. John E Cooper
      • Introductory lecture: Maxwell Knight the Spymaster, ‘M’ – Mr Simon H King
      • Accounts by people including Mark Rose, CEO of Fauna and Flora International
      • Presentation: “Advances in the health and welfare of captive animals” – Mr Alan Graham
      • The Frightened Face of Nature: challenges facing the planet – Mr Paul Pearce-Kelly
      • Conservation and captive-breeding projects involving chelonians – Ms Anne Rowberry
      • Engaging the next generation: culture, care and conservation” – Ms Victoria Burton/Mr Dafydd Lewis
      • Newts, nadders and neophyte naturalists
      • Helpers
      • Symposium photos
      • Comments and Symposium feedback
  • Links

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Keep a Gorilla
  • BEING AN ARMCHAIR NATURALIST DURING THIS PERIOD OF COVID-19 “LOCK DOWN”
  • Conservation challenges in Kenya
  • Man-Made Nature
  • “Where have all the flowers gone?”
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The Armchair Naturalists

For easy-going Naturalists and people who care about nature.

Co-founders of the popular natural history blog FFON (The Frightened Face of Nature) Simon H King FLS, life-long naturalist and leading veterinary expert Professor John E Cooper plus wildlife lawyer Margaret E Cooper FLS and guests are encouraging the nation to take a closer look at the natural world and stay connected through nature. Sponsored by www.haiths.com who have been feeding the nation’s birds since 1937.

The Frightened Face of Nature (FFON)

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Latest podcast episode:

https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/episode-3-of-the-armchair-naturalists-podcasts.mp3

Recent Posts

  • Happy New Year to friends and followers of the FFON
  • Butterfly feeding experiment by Rowan Allen who is eight-years-old.
  • Move Over Robin Hood? With a Tribute to Pamela
  • Podcast Episode 8: Make Nature Your Playground and “Consider the Colours”.
  • We’re in ‘Peregrine’ – The magazine of the Hawk and Owl Trust

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Wildlife are, increasingly, killed on the roads. This is a rare striped hyaena
Wildlife are, increasingly, killed on the roads. This is a rare striped hyaena
The Coopers survey the terrain from the top of their hosts' four-wheel drive vehicle
The Coopers survey the terrain from the top of their hosts’ four-wheel drive vehicle
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The Coopers arrive at their bungalow on the farm in Maasailand
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Maxwell Knight and “Goo” the cuckoo
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Copyright: Simon H King
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Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Keep a Gorilla
  • BEING AN ARMCHAIR NATURALIST DURING THIS PERIOD OF COVID-19 “LOCK DOWN”
  • Conservation challenges in Kenya
  • Man-Made Nature
  • “Where have all the flowers gone?”
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