Pipistrelle bats at Heligan

These images are live from the common pipistrelle bat roost, in the roof of the Stewards House. BBC Springwatch brought views of our pregnant pip mums to your TV screens last year. Frustratingly, the baby pups were born the day after broadcasting had finished but the amazing footage was featured on The Really Wild show and the BBC Autumnwatch series.

The bats tend to spend most of their time tucked away in the warm crevices between the chimney breast and the roof timbers but in the summer, higher temperatures mean that they leave the crevices to hang from the roofing felt - in full view of the cameras. So far it's been quite cold but now the weather is warming up, we've begun to see them in the evenings.

What to look for?

For several weeks in summer female bats gather in the maternity roost, choosing somewhere warm. Here they have babies, staying until the young are able to fly and feed themselves.

More about bats

Bats are mammals. Like all other mammals, they have hair or fur on their bodies and are warm-blooded. A baby bat feeds on it mothers milk for at least a few weeks after it is born. A bat’s wing has very similar bones to the hand and arm of a human, with skin stretched between the very long finger bones and the body to form the wing membrane.

Bats do not make nests, but choose various places throughout the year to hang up or roost. Some prefer hollow trees, others caves, some use both at different times. Many shelter in buildings, behind hanging tiles and boarding or in roof spaces.

All cameras were installed under licence from Natural England.

Pipistrelle vital statistics

• Head and body – 35-45mm
• Wing Span – 190-259mm
• Weight – 4-7g