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Listen to Podcasts? Here’s one to download: Naturespace with Haith’s featuring FFON’s Simon King FLS.
Visit: https://chartable.com/podcasts/naturespace-with-haiths/episodes Or search Naturespace with Haith’s wherever you get your podcasts. Latest podcasts: E15 : Embracing the Wild: A Sea Kayaking Adventure with Nick Ray Dive into the heart of adventure with the latest episode of Naturespace with Haith’s! In this captivating session, we’re thrilled to feature Nick Ray, the inspiring force behind Life…
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Happy New Year from all of us at FFON!
As we welcome 2024, we extend our warmest wishes to each and every one of our cherished readers. Your unwavering support and enthusiasm for ‘The Frightened Face of Nature’ (FFON) have been the driving force behind our mission. This year, we’re committed to making our blog a significant platform for environmental awareness and action. Together,…
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Maxwell Knight: A Visionary in Environmental Protection
Today, we delve into the fascinating world of Maxwell Knight – an unsung hero in the history of environmental conservation. Known predominantly for his enigmatic role in MI5 and as the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s “M”, Knight’s true passion lay in the quiet, observant world of natural history. Born in the early 20th century, a…
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
AI Key Takeaways from the Musk-Sunak Dialogue at Lancaster House. AI’s reach is beyond anything we can possibly grasp, which is why I (Simon King) feel it’s important to create discussions about AI and how it can be used for the greater good. If you missed the Musk-Sunak coverage on TV, here’s a brief summary…
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The Camberley Natural History Society (CNHS)
Memories of the Camberley Natural History Society By John E Cooper It was on 1st December 2022, in a message from Dr Pat Morris, that my wife Margaret and I learned with sadness that there was to be an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Camberley Natural History Society (CNHS) on 16th January 2023. The…
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New podcast from Naturespace with Haith’s and Simon King: Paul Rose – explorer, polar expert and broadcaster.
Paul Rose’s journey from a Romford council flat to Base Commander of Rothera Research Station, Antarctica, for the British Antarctic Survey for ten years and being awarded HM The Queen’s Polar Medal is an inspirational one, which he happily shares with young explorers in his role as Expedition Leader, National Geographic Pristine Seas. Not every…
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Nature and Autism
Originally posted on Autistic Civil Servant: It’s well known that a love of animals and the natural world often go together with autism – many of the most famous autistics have made their careers working with animals from Temple Grandin, through Chris Packham to Dara McAnulty. My friend Simon King FLS was kind enough to…
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Feathers and Fun
I thought I would appeal to all the birders out there, who might be at a loose end and looking for some fun on Saturday. The Cornell Lab and ebird are doing a Global Birding Day this Saturday 8th May. The aim is to collect as much data as possible on what birds are seen…
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AES Honorary Life Membership for John Cooper.
Last week co-founder of the FFON website, John Cooper received the letter below from the Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES) bestowing upon him Honorary Life Membership of the AES. I received a note from John’s wife, Margaret Cooper saying ‘This is a delightful honour, not only because John has been a member of the AES since…
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Where Have All Our Butterflies Gone?
By Dr. David Glynne Fox This article is based on almost seventy years of personal observations in the wild, primarily in and around my home county of Nottinghamshire, although these results sadly also apply to much of the UK. Many theories have been put forward as to why many species of British butterflies and moths…
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THE NAR VALLEY IN NORFOLK – A FOOT SAFARI DURING THE COVID LOCKDOWN Part 2.
Written by John and Margaret Cooper: Pentney to King’s Lynn walk 13 – 15 July 2020. A report on our walk – and the natural history that we saw – for the FFON Armchair Naturalist website: https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.com/ In Part 1 of this saga of our Nar Valley adventure, published in FFON on 1st September…
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Situations vacant: The World Needs More Nature Detectives
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The Water Spider: An Enigma Beneath the Surface
By Dr. David Glynne Fox The Water Spider (Argyroneta aquatica) is, as far as is known, the only truly aquatic spider in the world, living almost entirely submerged in ponds throughout Britain and Europe. Although widespread, the species is very local, but often abundant where found. However, none of the ponds that I knew of…
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Redwings in the garden this morning
What a treat to see around thirty Redwing in the garden this morning all foraging for insects under leaves. Lucky me. Watch out for the winter thrushes in your garden. Simon
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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 content without the help of our intrepid correspondents, who put coronavirus fears aside to write about the natural world. Thank you! Happy New Year from…
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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 Playground”. Gemma Saunders (Customer Care Manager) introduces herself and explains more about the project and how Haith’s aim to encourage parents and grandparents to get…
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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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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 FFON Armchair Naturalist website: https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.com/ Part 1. Last month we decided, as a break from our fifteen-week Covid-19 “lockdown”, to explore the River Nar on…
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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 and a bit physically imposing, his outward appearance belied his true inner nature – sensitivity and a deep thoughtfulness – as if he possessed a…
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“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 had been considering this as I have many many pictures taken over several years of land which while close to major conurbations, retains its wildness.…
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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 the date of birth of Maxwell Knight whom the FFON Maxwell Knight website is named. John and Margaret – who knew Maxwell Knight – share…
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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 of charge! Unfortunately, the exact bee species required to pollinate this particular orchid doesn’t exist in the UK, so the orchid has now adapted to…
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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 is a keen – and knowledgeable – observer of local wildlife. Here are some snippets from Tim’s text messages to the Coopers that help explain…
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“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 Veterinary and Wildlife Health Officer at the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire. Michelle’s daughter Rowan (who has just turned eight years old)…
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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 one specific quote, which caught the attention of a number of people on twitter: “I join, passionately and emphatically, all those who want our post-Covid…
