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Take note of nature
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‘Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth…’
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From John and Margaret Cooper in Kenya
When we visited El Karama Ranch in Laikipia we expected to be shown a lot of large farm livestock and to see impressive wildlife, such as elephants. We experienced both but we were also consulted about a young white-browed sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser mahali) that had been found by Mrs Lavinia Grant (a long-term Kenya resident, renowned…
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All aboard the Madaraka Express – Kenya with the Coopers
John and Margaret Cooper are currently in Kenya. Here is an account of their experience of catching Kenya’s “Chinese Train” the modern replacement of the British narrow-guage railway (of man-eating lions fame) built at the turn of the 19th century, in its day a memorable, well-recorded experience in itself. The only certainty in life is…
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Look deep into nature…
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A stop you in your tracks photograph
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‘The Dynamics of Humankind’ – a new book exploring the comparative analysis between the natural world and the unnatural human world
Recently, I had the pleasure to meet British scientist Chris Middleton at Burlington House, Piccadilly prior to the two of us being formally admitted as Fellows of The Linnean Society of London (FLS). Chris and I were equally thrilled to have been elected a FLS and there we were, ready for the formal admission and poised…
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FFON Co-founder, John Cooper presented with the BFC Silver Falcon Award
FFON co-founders, John and Margaret Cooper recently attended the BFC (British Falconers’ Club) meeting in Hungerford, held at “The Bear Hotel”. At the dinner in the evening John was presented with the BFC Silver Falcon Award for his work on the diseases and veterinary care of raptors over many decades. John was first introduced to the world…
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Admission of Simon H King as a Fellow of The Linnean Society of London (FLS)
It seemed like an age had passed since Margaret E Cooper FLS informed me that she intended to recommend me for election to Fellowship of The Linnean Society of London and emailed over the formal certificate of recommendation – listing my qualifications along with a lengthy reference dated 9 September 2019. Margaret wrote that it…
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Maxwell Knight – Memorial to a herpetologist, naturalist, conservationist and much more
Published in The Herpetological Bulletin – Issue Number 150 – Winter 2019. The Herpetological Bulletin is a quarterly publication in English. It includes full-length papers, natural history notes, book reviews, and other items of general herpetological interest. Emphasis is placed on natural history and conservation as well as captive care that includes breeding, husbandry, veterinary, and behavioural…
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As the sun sets on 2019
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Lincolnshire looked like an oil painting this morning
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Latest news: An elected Fellow of The Linnean Society of London
I’m thrilled to be an elected Fellow of The Linnean Society of London. “The Linnean Society of London is the world’s oldest active biological society. Founded in 1788 by Sir James Edward Smith (1759–1828), who was its first President. The Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) whose botanical, zoological and…
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Presentation at Cambridge University Veterinary Zoological Society (CUVZS)
Thrilled to have given a talk to CUVZS students about feeding and nutrition of birds yesterday. It’s always a pleasure to share the stage with John and Margaret Cooper. John discussed the ‘importance of avian nutrition’, and Margaret the ‘legal and ethical considerations of feeding birds.’ We were also joined by Rosie Haith who gave…
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An autumn walk in pictures
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President Donald J. Trump’s masterclass: how not to engage with people who care about the planet
I imagine we’ve all now seen climate activist Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit and the scowl she gave President Trump. It took significant guts to make that speech. The President’s response to this courageous teen’s talk and her palpable sense of loss was predictable and came in the shape of yet another throwaway tweet. I…
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Butterflies, bees and buddleia – brilliant!
It’s amazing how much life a buddleia bush can attract – butterflies, bees, moths, hoverflies and an assortment of other flying insects feasting on the purple offerings. Buddleia is so simple to grow. Plant it. Leave it. Watch it spring to life and live up to its name (the butterfly bush). Cut it hard back…
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Challenges facing the planet
This was one of my (Simon) favourite talks from the Maxwell Knight Symposium and we’re very grateful to Paul Pearce-Kelly for allowing us to share his slides on the FFON website. The Frightened Face of Nature Paul Pearce-Kelly, ZSL Abstract If Maxwell Knight were writing his prescient Frightened Face of Nature today he would no…
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Mallard ducklings
In today’s wildlife adventures with an iPhone, I want to encourage you to use your smartphone camera (mine’s an iPhone) to reconnect with the natural world. We’re constantly hearing how bad smartphones are so let’s find a way to use them to help us reconnect with the natural world; technology can help focus our attention and…
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News: Letter to the Veterinary Record
Subsequently published, in a shortened form, in Vet Record – vets urged to promote sensible, safe, feeding of garden birds, using properly tested diets, by John E Cooper 1, Margaret E Cooper 2 and Simon King 3 Feeding bird food to wild birds has never been more popular, but its merits have often been challenged by…
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Hoverflies: the sheep in wolf’s clothing
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Offshore wind farms – coming to a beach near you
Apologies for the unshaven me; however, I thought I’d record a vlog from my favourite beach (Sandilands) in Lincolnshire. What prompted me? An offshore wind farm and the moon landing anniversary. As humans, we face a massive challenge – we need to somehow contain global warming to prevent the kind of future coming to fruition…
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My day job: standing up for nature and supporting British exports
My priority is reconnecting people with nature – we’re all occupied with life’s slings and arrows and need an occasional reminder to stop and enjoy what the natural world has to offer. I’m proud to say I work for Haith’s – the most conscientious bird food company in Britain and we’re an award winning exporter.…
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Do the moon landings pose a moral conundrum?
We (John and Margaret Cooper) enjoyed reading Simon King’s post: “Maxwell Knight mentions the space race in his unpublished manuscript The Frightened Face of Nature and here’s a poignant quote from the same document: Knight’s point was that man should explore; however, why can’t we do these things without destroying”. We should like to add…
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If only we could race for space for nature
Maxwell Knight mentions the space race in his unpublished manuscript The Frightened Face of Nature and here’s a poignant quote from the same document: Knight’s point was that man should explore; however, why can’t we do these things without destroying natural capital? It’s right to celebrate the Moon landing – 50 years ago, Apollo 11…
