A wildlife expert has been counting all types of bugs and animals over the past year, discovering more than a thousand organisms.
Tim Sexton, the Assistant Manager at Attenborough Nature Reserve, set himself the challenge of recording all the wildlife he saw since January last year.
He had a target of five species a day and in total he ended up with finding over a thousand.
Mr Sexton wanted to record all the wildlife he saw at the centre including fungi, invertebrates and insects.
He said: “I wanted to find as many new species for the reserve as I possibly could.
“In recent years we have been discovering more and more new species and I thought it would be interesting to see just how many are actually out there”.
Mr Sexton, who undertook the “stock take” in addition to his role at the Attenborough Nature Reserve, has found about 1,300 species and hit his target a lot earlier than expected.
One of the species that Mr Sexton found at the reserve was the Box bug, which was once a red data book species – meaning it had the highest level of protection.
He said: “Leicestershire had been the furthest place one had been recorded.
“That was up until earlier last year in the Spring when I found one feeding on the cherry trees.”
The ranger believes that one reason for the increase in the amount of species could be because of climate change and that our winters are getting milder.
Video: Tim Sexton talks about one of the new species he found here in Notts.
Mr Sexton said that the main idea behind the study was to try and encourage people to go outside, exploring and finding new forms of life.
He now hopes that along with the drive, passion and commitment of the trust, volunteers and the public would help to protect the site for years to come.
