Pine Martens In Scotland are a very elusive animal and one of Scotland’s best loved creatures, so what do we know about them?
The Pine Marten are about the size of a domestic cat and belongs to the weasel family, with long bodies and a dark brown fur blending into a cream coloured throat, they have fairly large eyes and protruding round ears.
They are very good climbers with an excellent grip from their strong claws, with a bushed tail ideal for balancing during difficult climbs. They can jump very well from tree to tree with a very acrobatic style almost looking like they are flying. They have excellent grip during icy conditions due to having fine hairs on the soles of their feet, and they have a typical weasel style run as they jump along the ground rather than the usual typical walk like other local mammals.
Pine Martens live in woody areas of native Scots pines and other mixed forests, they have also been known to live in Rocky hillside areas. They are very defensive of the areas they live, and leave droppings on rocks and other prominent objects where they can be easily seen by intruders. They can live in self made nests between rocks and even live in Squirrels and birds nests and can be also seen living in the hollows of trees. After breeding they give birth in April and have up to five young.
What do Pine Martens Eat
Pine Martens have excellent eyesight and exceptional hearing with a very good sense of smell that gives them the ability to find prey. They hunt alone and are very independent animals that hunt at night time whilst resting during the daylight hours. They prey on small mammals consisting of Rabbits, Mice, Birds, Voles and also hunt for frogs and insects. They can be seen at times chasing Squirrels and birds throughout the tree tops and also steal young birds from nests, when live prey is scarce they will eat local berries and fruit. Many people can attract Pine Martens to their bird tables by leaving Jam sandwiches for what they have a strong attraction for, in fact they can’t resist them.
Why Are Pine Martens Rare
The main predator against Pine Martins is in fact Humans but in the wild they are occasionally hunted by the Scottish Wildcat, Golden Eagles and Foxes. The Pine Marten in Scotland was almost extinct in the nineteenth century due to farmers and gamekeepers trapping them because they fed on the lands game birds. They where also captured and killed for their fur to export across to Europe. The destruction of many of Scotland’s forests and natural habitats are another reason why Scotland’s Pine Martens have become rare today, the loss of these forest habitats have had such an impact on not just the Pine Marten but also many of the other animals and plants that once thrived in our great forests.
The Future of the Pine Marten in Scotland
The Pine Martens in Scotland are now on an increase today and are now seen more often in many areas, and in 1988 it was made illegal to kill Pine Martens. Successful re-planting of these many forest and the conservation efforts of land owners and many other groups have also helped increase the amount of Pine Martens in Scotland today and many areas have also had the animal re-introduced with some success.
So its looking better for the Pine Marten now and hopefully if you are lucky enough you may see one when on Holiday in Scotland.
Some Nice Pine Marten filming in Scotland
Saw a Marten mid May on Durris road near Portlethen Aberdeenshire Has anyone else seen them here? I have been a hillwalker for many years but at 57 this is my first spot.
pine marten crossed the road in front of my house and came close to my window then passed down the side of the cottage. I am on the outskirts of Falkirk, quite high up ,large gardens ,wooded areas and fields near by.
size of a small cat . I was quite surprised and I thin it was the same when it saw me at the window
I did not think they were in this area
Just had a pine marten in our large pine tree at back of garden in Bearsden,north of Glasgow,very exciting,the birds were going wild .
Saw my first ever Pine Marten tonight in Caithness Scotland. It ran out in front of my car but the brakes did their job and he/she made it to the other side safely. A really lovely animal.
Great creature and well done on stopping in time. Wonderful to see good look on future sightings
I saw my first pine Martin on Thursday 26th October 2017 in Caddam wood in Kirriemuir Angus. My two westies ran towards a tree and the pine Martin climbed the tree about 3 yards from me !!! Lovely to see however was not sure what it was until I looked it up
That’s a close encounter, you’re very lucky 🙂
Saw a pine marten in my garden 29th Dec 2017 at about 11am seems to be there most days
We saw our first pine martin today when one visited the garden and feasted in the red squirrel feeder for 15 minutes. That was in Blairmore, Argyll.
There is a small colony of red squirrels here so we hope that they will coexist amicably with the martin.
If you feed them (peanuts) they’ll all co-exist quite happily..
Beautiful wee family nesting in a cottage along the side of loch rannoch. Comes back. Leaves the bird/mouse etc in the guttering then wee baby Martin comes out to feed on it in the guttering .!!!! Absolutely amazing sight and feel very very lucky
I envy you Pauline!! Well done 🙂
I saw a pine Martin tonight crossing the road at Furnace , Argyll.Funnily enough my first pine Martin sighting was in Argyle , knapdale over 20 years ago when I was playing near a burn ..jump down the embankment turned round face to face with a pine Martin . I think we were both wondering who was going to do what …I was worried it would bite me as it was so close and it was probably wondering if I was going to kill it ! Eventually it turned and ran up the banking and away .
Pine Marten (black ) in our garden near Alford at 6pm tonight Oct 8th 2018…ran across patio in front of house and climbed fence to reach our neighbours fruit trees … “Supper ” lasted 10 to 15 mins then he returned to our garden running across lawn and onto the decking surrounding our summer house before disappearing into the bushes . Our neighbour has seen him visit these past few weeks . My 1st encounter . Look forward to his\her next visit .
Have had a pine marten vist our garden from November for a few years now, we also have a lot of red squirrels, getting a bit worried now as the marten has been at all 3 feeders tonight and even at the bird feeder by the kitchen window
Can anyone tell me if a Pine Marten is stealing the fat balls we hang in our tree for the birds?They disappear at night ,six at a time out of their holder,no trace of them on the garden in the morning.We live near vast woodland in Ross-shire near the Dornoch Firth.