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…
Category: ARMNAT
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…
“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…
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…
An explosion of starlings
Written by Graham Wellstead. Not everyone is keen on these brash argumentative birds but I have a soft spot for them. For several years starlings have been missing from my…
“Habitat is King”; look after the habitat and all will be well
By Mike Gadd. As a great lover of wildlife art and sculpture, I fell into the fascinating world of taxidermy and have tried to recreate the beauty of nature ever…
From Paul Budgen, FLS
Further to your earlier posting on the FFON blog, I offer you a photograph of a dark-edged beefly (Bombylius major), as requested. This was taken on 8th April this year, on…
“Our feeders are a magnet for the sparrows and the hawk.”
Written by Graham Wellstead (Surrey, UK). With this splendid weather, long may it last, albeit quite chilly first thing, I have been up and about since first light. Our bird…
From a friend in Kinross-shire, Scotland
A friend in Kinross-shire, Scotland, kindly forwarded to us some photos for the Armchair Naturalist FFON website. We encouraged him to do so when he told us that he has red…
Here in Germany, we do watch a lot from our windows
Written by John F. Burton in Germany, who knew and worked with Maxwell Knight: Thank you very much for your kind email and your inspiring internet (FFON) piece, which we…
Wooing the birds
Written by Beatrice Bray. The French twentieth century composer Olivier Messeain took avian observations to a new level. Not just content with listening to birds, he sought to recreate it…
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…
My Garden
Written by Paul Beecroft. My garden is a busy place no matter what month of the year it is. As I sit at my computer today (April 20th) in full…
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.…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
Do you have a question for the first ‘Armchair Naturalists’ podcast?
We’re recording our first podcast session tomorrow (Tuesday 7th April) evening – if you have a question to put to the FFON /ARMNAT team, please email it to thefrightenedfaceofnature@gmail.com and…
What’s on the bird table?
A male Blackbird (Turdus merula) taking sunflower hearts:
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…
