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Eighteen new species in February, I didn't think it was possible! Being fair, I did find a couple, but couldn't name them. Identification was all due to very patient experts who were trying to teach this old dog new tricks. So an alga, 2 fungi, 2 liverworts, a gall and 12 mosses have been added...

January has been brilliantly unpredictable - there's been rain, hail, sleet, snow, hard frosts, fog and sun, the wind has blown from all points of the compass and we've even had that Titchwell rarity, three completely calm days! Birdlife has been equally varied, ranging from sightings of species...

Here's the latest from Ray: By trawling through some old Titchwell records I have been able to put a name to a leafy grey lichen seen growing on many of our trees, it is parmelia sulcata and made my list total 1132 at the end of 2012. Our reserve is now forty years old and I've been lucky...

I had more or less decided that after two-and-a-half years it was the right time to wind up Ray's Rambles and that this was going to be my final report. I really thought that for the first time I was not going to be able to write about something new that I'd seen, I had also run out of ideas...

There is still lots to see at Titchwell in early winter, during the last fortnight I've seen 8 mammals, over 30 wild flowers, several insects, many sea creatures washed up onto the beach, and 113 species of birds. The chinese water deer has been showing well on Thornham Marsh and there have been...

Two things struck me this week, a) how many introduced species occur on this reserve and b) how little actual bird-watching I've done this year! Of the 1128 wildlife species seen by me during the last couple of years well over 40 of them have been alien invaders. The latest of these was narrow...

Finding new species during the late autumn and winter can be really hard, but I have managed four in the last fortnight. The first was a white powdery fungus on oak leaves, which I believe is oak mildew. I followed that with a new moth, a red green carpet which I found by the security lights on the servery...

It's been a funny couple of weeks. There have been thousands of birds around the reserve, notably gannets, auks, wildfowl, waders and jays , but somehow I managed to miss all the species such as leach's petrel, sooty shearwater and rose-coloured starling that would have added to the 'rambles'...

I love this time of the year, it is full of opportunities and surprises. With the dark evenings it is the season of night classes. One of my friends is taking lessons on fungi and her instructor is willing to identify specimens for his class. She took one from our car park for me, it was a southern bracket...

Much of my last two weeks has been spent on our new East Trail and Autumn Walk. They have added a completely new dimension to our reserve and, by and large, have been very well received by the public. Personally, I absolutely love it out there, not only do you see lots of birds, flowers, insects etc...

Here's the latest news from Ray Kimber: I'm getting lazy, I saw all fifteen new species within 150 yards of the Visitor Centre. Many of them were in the moth trap or attracted to the security lights. Argyresthia goedartella, Eudonia mercurella, Agonopterix aranella and spindle ermine are all...

Here's the latest from Ray: I am slowly getting to grips with some of the micro-moths. Any birdwatcher who complains about LBJ's should have a go at them, they are pretty tricky. Five new species have gone on my list, they are barred and dark-barred fruit tree tortrix , Orthopygia glaucinalis...

Here's the latest from Ray: The last couple of weeks have been really interesting largely due to the keen eyes of various members of staff, although I did find five new species for myself. My contributions were two micro moths, Agapeta hamana and Chrysoteuchia culmella , a green woodpecker...

Doing Ray's Rambles is for me one huge and very enjoyable learning curve. It has all developed from my lifelong bird-watching obsession. As a child trying to learn about birds in a totally non-birdwatching family was very much trial and error (some things never change!). Eventually I could identify...

Here's the latest from Ray: I had visions of my 1000th species being something exotic like a bee-eater or white-winged black tern, but in the end I had to settle for a rather plain clouded bordered brindle moth . This was quickly followed by five more from the moth trap, flame wainscot , small...

If you read Ray's Rambles, you will be pleased to know he has just reached his 1000th species! 22 months ago Ray set himself the target of seeing as many species as possible on the reserve. It's been great hearing about what he has found on his walks and there is always great excitment when Ray...

Here's Ray's latest update! I've had an excellent couple of weeks which has brought me to 518 for this years total and only leaves me one short of my 1000 species target. Three new common flowers have been found, dove's-foot cranesbill , meadow buttercup and charlock . I have been...

The Ray's Rambles list has suddenly shot up by 10, to 987, which is partly due to starting the moth trap. This got me the following 5 new species:- common pygmy woodlouse , diamond-backed moth (a micro-moth), double-striped pug , a really smart swallow prominent and a superb female emperor moth ...

Here's the latest from Ray! Part of a willow tree came crashing down in the car park during the high winds and rain a few days ago. I had a look at the broken base of the tree and found a large leopard slug sheltering in a crack amongst the rotting wood. Many of our willows get attacked by various...

Here's the latest from Ray! The four new species added to the Rambles list in the last fortnight come from very different families. Firstly I found, attached to a large slipper limpet, a red sea-weed called coral weed that had been washed up after a strong northerly. Next came a larch tree...

Here's the latest from Ray: The last two weeks have been very interesting. The icy weather has resulted in some great views of our winter wildlife. I've had close-ups of 5 mammal species, chinese water deer , muntjac , weasel , brown hare and common seal , plus a series of good bird sightings...

On Boxing Day I took an early morning walk along the beach to Thornham Point. It was like turning the clock back forty years, I had the place entirely to myself. There had been a big tide that morning and a lot of debris had been washed up. Among the items I found were 12 tennis balls, a jar of strawberry...

Well It is the end of 2011 so I couldn't resist the obligatory best bits post. Why not let us know your best bit by leaving a comment. Record waterfowl numbers on the reserve This year has seen the highest numbers of waterfowl ever recorded on the reserve. A few years ago I would have got very...

Ray's final update for the year. We wish him a very merry Christmas also; it has been a pleasure to follow his wildlife antics and I am certainly looking forward to what he may discover on the reserve in the new year! OK. I thought that identifying 1000 wildlife species by the end of the year...

The first thing I do every morning when I arrive at Titchwell is to check the gents toilet walls for insects and spiders. (Luckily not many people have witnessed this odd behaviour!) Apart from the potential for losing friends, it has netted me several species on my wildlife list, the latest two being...