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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…
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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 bees, starting as yellow at bottom and working up. Common bumble bees and honey bees seem to prefer this plant. Buff-tailed bumble bees love the…
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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 sit on the edge and watch the fish. All the fish were born in the pond and over the past thirty years have gone up…
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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 and how things took a turn for the worst (as far as nature was concerned) when they were confronted with a “Grass Cutting” sign. Also,…
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‘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 all part of the spectrum of enjoying and caring for wildlife. MK (Maxwell Knight) would certainly approve.’ John and Margaret Cooper Earlier today, while looking…
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‘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, and while every bird has its place, nothing compares with the Peregrine. In my early years, the bird was only available from the wild, and…
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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 winning entomologist, who features regularly on both the BBC Watches and Countryfile. Graham’s note to me said he thought he’d make a great addition to…
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“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 have taken most of our government-sanctioned daily exercise by strolling down a nearby narrow country lane. We have used these walks to observe plants and…
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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 says. ‘I bought the one pictured below as a lucky dip from ebay for a few pounds. I don’t suppose anyone can identify it?’ Helen…
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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 a practising veterinary surgeon who specialises in the care of “exotic” animals and wildlife. Reference was made to her work with wildlife casualties, such as…
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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 company based in East Africa. Recorded Wednesday 6th May at 19.00. Podcast edited by Edward King. Episode show notes: Since recording the podcast, The Map’s…
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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 garden. I have enticed the “visitors” with a pheromone lure (Emperor Moth), the Cinnabar Moth with the UV light from a moth trap, but the…
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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 like itself. When I go out to work I see a lot more people about and there is also more noise of traffic. I’m sure…
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Growing close to nature during the lockdown
Written by Sean Wensley. Northern Ireland is in an extended period of lockdown as I write, 3 weeks beyond the rest of the UK. For a further three weeks, I toggle between my work desk, garden and 8-month-old baby, buying shopping to last as long as possible and clapping for NHS staff and other key…
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The Back Garden Naturalist
Written by Graham Wellstead. As a lifelong enthusiasm for almost all things natural virtually controls my life – not quite every living thing, I admit to failure when it comes to enthusing my wife of 60 years. She does, however, enjoy watching the birds on our feeders, placed where she can see them, confined to…
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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 garden. I would see them elsewhere, and a number of times their glorious vast flock displays on winter evenings as they assembled prior to roosting,…
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A Robin raiding the sunflower hearts
Filmed by Harry King. Watch how fast this cheeky Robin raids the sunflower hearts. Blink and you’ll miss it.
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3 – “The Four (Changing) Seasons”
Simon, John and Margaret’s theme for today’s podcast is “The Four (Changing) Seasons”. They take a look at spring in terms of natural history – referring to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” – and then discuss the ever-present art and science connection. But first, we discuss the increasing numbers of FFON readers and contributors. Blogs we refer…
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Low Tide at Vauxhall
By Helen Jeffries – FFON’s London Correspondent. Since the lock down I’ve started taking an interest in the tides of the River Thames. It’s possible to look up the tide tables for Tower Bridge and those are pretty much right for the surrounding parts of the river too. On my most recent day off I…
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A more optimistic long view of our place in nature
By Dr Valerie Jeffries. Walking along briskly for my lockdown exercise I was watching the starlings congregate for their evening swarm on the TV aerials, and listening to quarrelling sparrows and the raucous yells of the seagulls way inland. Many birds have adapted to live alongside humans in our urban landscapes, some like the house…
What will you do now that you know?
The Frightened Face of Nature is a space for slowing down.
Maxwell Knight (1900–1968) is known in some circles for his work in intelligence (MI5), but that’s not really why his name appears here.
Long before ‘the environmental crisis’ became a headline, Knight noticed something many around him overlooked: nature was on the back foot.
It was his love of animals and the natural world, not his professional career, that made him pay attention.
Knight’s life, anchored in curiosity, observation, and attention to detail offers a way to think about how we see the world, and how easily we can stop seeing it at all.
The Frightened Face of Nature takes its name from an unpublished manuscript he wrote, which was found inside a secret cabinet.
Here, we explore stories and questions that don’t fit neatly into clickbait headlines — not because they aren’t urgent, but because they are complex and demand more than fleeting attention.
Knight’s perspective reminds us: Awareness isn’t passive. It’s an active choice.
So what will you do now that you know?
— Simon King FLS
