Volunteers install new bat boxes for monitoring project in Caversham

Bat expert Claire Andrews examines a soprano pipistrelle found in an old bat box at Clayfield Copse.

Volunteers were out at Clayfield Copse nature reserve in Caversham putting up more than 20 new bat boxes and inspecting older ones.

The Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire Bat Group monitor bats in this area as part of their conservation work.

Boxes were last installed here in 2011 and many of those have come down or been damaged so the new boxes were installed in the latest phase of a long-running project.

There are at least five species using the woods including pipistrelles and brown long-eared bats. The woodland here is quite isolated and noctule and daubenton maternity roosts have been discovered - this is when groups of females gather to have their pups.

Claire Andrews, from the Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire Bat Group, helps to raise awareness of these important and often-misunderstood animals.

The bat group joined others from the Friends of Clayfield Copse to put up the new homes for the bats. Their work not only helps to monitor the bat population but also brings volunteers together to get involved in conservation.