Countryside rangers at Cotehele have been busy surveying the wildlife living across the estate.

This week birds, dormice and bats have been counted. Reed Warblers were heard on down by the River Tamar, dormice spotted in the woodland and bats near Cotehele Quay.

Lead Ranger, George Holmes said: ‘Bats roost in hollowed trees and the nooks and crannies of the limekilns on Cotehele Quay. Those identified in our survey include tiny pipistrelles, which are less than the size of a thumb, Noctule, Natterer’s and  Daubenton’s - sometimes called ‘water bats’ because they catch insects from the water’s surface.’

According to the Bat Conservation Trust, the UK counts 17 resident bat species and George says eight of those have been found on the Cotehele estate. He encourages visitors to go to Cotehele Quay in the evening to watch the bats swooping overhead and feeding on the river. He said: ‘Each species can be identified from their unique high frequency emitted when flying so I suggest taking a bat detector to aid in their identification.’

Dormice populations in the UK have fallen by around a third since 2000. They prefer to live high in the tree canopy in old deciduous woodlands and Cotehele are encouraging a revival in their numbers through woodland management and introducing 50 nesting boxes.