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Pine Martens In Scotland

August 13, 2015 By Greg Murray 26 Comments

Pine Marten Scotland
Pine Marten
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 Habitat

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.

Pine Marten

Why Are Pine Martens Rare

The main predator against Pine Martens 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 were 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 reintroduced with some success.

So it’s 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

Filed Under: Wildlife Tagged With: pine martens, scotland, scottish wildlife, wildlife in scotland

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarDavid Brown says

    May 22, 2017 at 2:04 pm

    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.

    Reply
  2. Avatarjanice mason says

    June 6, 2017 at 10:40 am

    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

    Reply
    • AvatarSusan leung says

      September 21, 2018 at 8:45 am

      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 .

      Reply
  3. AvatarGeorge Shearer says

    June 22, 2017 at 10:02 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • AvatarGreg says

      August 31, 2017 at 7:13 pm

      Great creature and well done on stopping in time. Wonderful to see good look on future sightings

      Reply
  4. AvatarHazel says

    October 29, 2017 at 8:34 pm

    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

    Reply
    • RonRon says

      October 29, 2017 at 8:44 pm

      That’s a close encounter, you’re very lucky 🙂

      Reply
  5. AvatarHELEN RICHARDSON says

    December 30, 2017 at 9:38 am

    Saw a pine marten in my garden 29th Dec 2017 at about 11am seems to be there most days

    Reply
  6. AvatarJohn and Judy Campbell says

    March 27, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • AvatarFynesider says

      October 9, 2018 at 11:12 am

      If you feed them (peanuts) they’ll all co-exist quite happily..

      Reply
  7. AvatarPauline beadie says

    May 22, 2018 at 6:40 pm

    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

    Reply
    • RonRon says

      May 22, 2018 at 6:42 pm

      I envy you Pauline!! Well done 🙂

      Reply
  8. AvatarJenni says

    June 17, 2018 at 12:59 am

    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 .

    Reply
  9. AvatarGina says

    October 8, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    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 .

    Reply
  10. AvatarFiona Jamieson says

    December 3, 2018 at 11:31 pm

    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

    Reply
  11. Avatardonna says

    January 12, 2019 at 6:26 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • AvatarDonna says

      February 2, 2019 at 7:05 pm

      Yep it is a Pine Marten,we saw him last night on the garden and are now feeding him nightly.

      Reply
  12. AvatarShona Muir says

    April 14, 2019 at 7:34 pm

    Just had a pine marten at our back door in Blanefield . G63. Had a wee wander and then the dog unfortunately spotted it and it ran away. Never seen one in real life before never mind our back door.

    Reply
    • AvatarDucks says

      April 15, 2019 at 11:12 am

      We had a pine marten visit us for breakfast when we rented a chalet next to Loch Lochy last summer. He climbed on the posts where we’d put a bit of food out for the birds, and then sat on the porch, seemingly peering in through the glass doors. Back again the next day. It was lovely . We’d didn’t expect it.

      Reply
  13. AvatarPatsy says

    May 19, 2019 at 5:17 pm

    Just put some peanut butter sandwiches out at a known spot for Pine Martens at Portuairk, Western Isles. Sitting quietly with baited breath!

    Reply
  14. AvatarW Hepburn says

    June 11, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    We had one ,think male in our garden about 2 weeks ago and we spotted the female today chasing a rabbit through our garden . We live between Banff and Turriff

    Reply
  15. AvatarSuzanne Emptage says

    July 1, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    Saw my first pine marten yesterday, outside my house, halfway between Perth and Crieff, couldn’t believe it, ran about the grass for a few minutes before disappearing.

    Reply
  16. AvatarMichael McAuley says

    July 10, 2019 at 10:09 pm

    Can’t believe first time I have ever seen a Pine marten .
    And not just one two off .
    With the wife and son at Cambusdarch campsite
    What a great thing to see and here then talking to each other

    Reply
  17. AvatarDiane says

    July 17, 2019 at 6:05 pm

    Saw two pine martins in my garden today – Deskford – very cute

    Reply
  18. AvatarJenpen0 says

    July 18, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    Think I saw, a baby pine marten in Dawsholm Park, Bearsden /Glasgow border on Sunday. Took 2 pictures and have compared to pictures online.. Was a lot of rustling further into bushes, but didn’t investigate as I had my dog with me.

    Reply
  19. AvatarMR PAUL CULLEN says

    November 10, 2019 at 2:35 pm

    I saw my 1st and only Pine Marten at the Queen Elizabeth National forest Aberfoyle on the 04/04/19 at 08:40 couldn’t believe it, I got a couple of pic’s but really blurry going up on the 12th of Nov with a better camera so fingers crossed

    Reply

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