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Made in Chelsea
By Helen Jeffries – our London Correspondent. As it was such a beautiful day today, and I had a day off, I went for a walk along the Thames through Chelsea. Around this time of year the Royal Hospital, Chelsea (where the Chelsea Pensioners live) would normally be a hive of activity gearing up for the…
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My Garden
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It’s the Little Things by Susan Underkoffler, USA
This time of year, with Easter just past and Earth Day rapidly approaching (April 22), there is nothing better than running around in the woods appreciating the new Spring growth. Listening to the insistent hollow rappings of woodpeckers and the peaceful calls of white throated sparrows, crawling on hands and knees through the mud to…
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A Q&A session with our new Australian correspondent, Wes Hooper
Wes, our new Australian correspondent, lives north of Sydney, a couple of miles inland from the ocean and next to a set of three interconnected saltwater lakes. In response to some questions from FFON, Wes writes: Q: Australian wildlife is so beautiful; do people in Australia plant their gardens with wildlife in mind? Certainly, Australia has…
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Not one, but two Great spotted woodpeckers
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Greetings from London SE4
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Nature Notes from Our Care Home Correspondent
Here are some photos sent to us by an Armchair Naturalist who is currently in coronavirus quarantine, confined to one room of a Care Home, but enjoying looking out at plants in the grounds: In addition to the shrubs and trees (one adorned with blossom), there is a carpet of daisies. These are the familiar, but…
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From a friend in France
Written by Dr Jean-Pierre André Thanks very much for that excellent idea (FFON). I have many plants on my balcony (third floor, in town) and at times I can see some birds: sparrows, great tits, robin and blackbirds. Every day “wild” doves are asking for seeds (they eat as it were in the hand). In the sky,…
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Notes from the Back Garden Naturalist
Written by Graham Wellstead in Darkest Surrey Simon King urges us all to become armchair naturalists during these rather frightening times. However, if I sit down, I fall asleep. I, therefore, spend most of my waking hours outside in my relatively small suburban garden. Not, you might think, much of an opportunity to observe nature.…
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Is that a deer I see before me?
Written by Norma Chapman – leading deer biologist. Muntjac deer are now very widespread in Britain, not just in the countryside but frequently living in villages and towns. Gardens provide good places to feed and to lie-up where shrubs provide cover. Some people are delighted to be able to observe them but keen gardeners can…
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Tales from the Riverbank
By Helen Jeffries – FFON’s London Correspondent. Having unexpectedly got an extra day off on Easter Monday I set out in the freezing cold for a bracing walk along the Thames – across one bridge, along the Embankment, back across the bridge, and so home. While still on the bridge I saw two male mallards…
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“It’s been an exciting week for us two Norfolk Armchair Naturalists”
Written by John and Margaret Cooper. Easter, but it doesn’t feel like it because of the personal, national and global concern about Covid-19 and growing number of deaths. However, as the Queen said in her Easter message “Easter isn’t cancelled; indeed, we need Easter as much as ever”. This morning, as we are doing everyday…
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Being isolated at home in Pennsylvania, USA won’t stop forensic scientist and wildlife enthusiast, Susan Underkoffler from watching nature.
A contribution from Susan Underkoffler, forensic scientist and wildlife enthusiast, who is currently isolated at home in Pennsylvania, USA. One thing this crisis is good for is getting people outside to notice things they may not normally… I took my dog for a walk today and passed a dozen or so people from my tiny neighborhood on…
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Bats, birds, bold foxes and stargazing: is nature reclaiming the city of London?
Written by Helen Jeffries – our London correspondent. Since the clocks went forward I’ve been seeing some beautiful dawns as I walk to work through deserted London. Because a lot of central London architecture uses glass walls, the dawn catches the glass and blazes in reflected pinks and yellows. It feels strange to go out…
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Bats are brilliant to watch at dusk
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Do you have a question for the first ‘Armchair Naturalists’ podcast?
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What’s on the bird table?
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If you are self-isolating, you must: make the most of nature’s playground daily…
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What happens when humans ‘turn off’ for a moment.
Written by Chris Middleton FLS. What a great idea Armchair Naturalism is. A perfect time to make some observations, and to encourage others to do the same. I like to think people might also use the time constructively to perhaps learn a new study discipline or new language, or just further their general knowledge. On…
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A spring bee on a cherry tree (Prunus ‘The Bride’)
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When the traffic stops…
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London in lock-down? Not as far as nature is concerned.
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Notes from the ‘armchair naturalists’ – connecting through nature to beat coronavirus isolation
There is so much that the “armchair naturalist” can observe if s/he takes a few minutes’ break from working on the computer or reading the newspaper and books, through the window, at the world outside. This morning, for example, I noticed a wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) on the wooden fence at the back of our tiny…
