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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...

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...

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...

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...

The exceptionally mild weather has encouraged me to spend more time than usual on the reserve during the last fortnight. It also tempted a young lady to completely strip off and go skinny-dipping, but she wasn't the streaker in my title. My streak , and the sprawler , were two of the six new moths...

What an extraordinary fortnight. With temperatures ranging from 12c to 29c, no wonder our wildlife has been confused! Four new species have found their way onto my list, which now stands at 909. Three were moths: pink-barred sallow , black rustic and satellite; and one was a plant - wild marjoram . The...

Our reserve has come up with another 13 species to raise my list total to 899. Four new moths - cream wave , white-line dart , square-spot rustic and frosted orange - came via the moth trap. I have always maintained that not enough attention is paid to the wildlife in the car park, and the last few...

Despite already reaching his target of 800 species, Ray is continuing to find new flora and fauna to add to his amazing list of finds... Spending a morning with Gillian Beckett, co-author of The Flora of Norfolk , and her husband Ken was a real treat for me. They very soon sorted out the ferns that...

As Ray nears his target of 800 species, he proves that no stone should be left unturned when on the hunt for wildlife at Titchwell Marsh. To get the best out of the reserve, there are plenty of events and lots of different areas to explore which can open your eyes to all sorts of wildlife. This...

Wow what a week. Any week that starts with a day off is a good week. Don’t get me wrong I love my job, but I also love my wife and children so it was great to have some extra time to spend together having fun and relaxing. The rest of the week has been fun but not relaxing. Big news has been...

Here's the latest update from volunteer and wildlife explorer Ray Kimber! A great fortnight - 41 species were added to the list, making the total 717. Wood warbler and red-necked phalarope are always good birds to see, but for me the best of the new birds was the very smart gull-billed tern...

Is it just me or does this Small Elephant Hawk Moth look a bit like a shrimp with wings? That was my first thought when we found it in the moth trap this morning anyway. Being relatively new to the marvellous world of moths, I still get excited when we have something new and this pink and green...

You do not need a fancy moth trap to enjoy these often nocturnal bugs. Today Ray Kimber came in to the office with a moth he had found on the Fen hide. Little did he know it was new species for the reserve. Grey shoulder-knot is not a rare species but we have not recorded it on the reserve before...

With a weather forecast showing a mild and dry night, I decided to dust off the moth trap for the first trapping session of the year. This early in the season my expectation were not very high but I was pleasently surprised with the selection. Spring usher (1), march moth (3), chestnut (1), dotted...

…is one of the cries I have heard from photographers in the Island Hide this week! Their problem is that the birds have been feeding too close to the hide and that they can’t fit the whole bird into the shot. Despite the hide being busy, the four little stints have often been found feeding...

What an amazing day on the reserve today. I got in slightly earlier this morning so I had time to clean the toilets (I get all the good jobs!) before it got too busy but as I walked into the office I checked by birdnews pager and was shocked by the news '5 black winged stilts, Titchwell RSPB reserve...

Not only have we been enjoying the early spring warmth but is has been a great period for insects. Down on the beach in the last couple of days we have been seeing this cracking beast - the dune tiger beetle ( Cicindela maritima). This beetle is one of the rarest species that occurs on the reserve...

Well the bacon rolls are legendary but didn't expect them to attract a rare moth. This morning Paul Eele the warden came into work and noticed a large moth on the window to our servery. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a Clifden nonpareil. Nonpareil roughly translated means exceptional,...