Pine Marten

Morganna

I was privileged on saturday ,to have a pine marten visit.i was at the kitchen sink when i saw him.he was with me for abot ten minutes.Seemed to be in a playful mood.i got the camera ,but unfortuantley .couldnt get a picture.
Its a good while since i saw one here on my land.I love them,..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

How wonderful to see such a creature at close quarters! They are not rare but certainly shy and not many people have actually seen one. You may well have it visit more regularly now. Good for you and thanks for sharing the moment with others.

Morganna

thank you Srameen.There is a good population of them here in the area i live.i have seen sevral.but was extremley privliged to have one visit and to watch at close quarters from my kitchen ,instead of seeing them as ive been travelling in motors.wish i had a decent camera to get a pic with.

wildlifeboy

Morganna you lucky lucky person. I am a budding wildlife filmmaker and there are two species that it is my ambition to make a documentry about, the pine marten and the Stoat, these two are extremely elusive and no one in htis country as far as i know has ever made a proper programme about them. I may pm you for some details regarding their location.

Sundew

wildlifeboy wrote: »

ah damn what did JW say? Morganna you lucky lucky person. I am a budding wildlife filmmaker and there are two species that it is my ambition to make a documentry about, the pine marten and the Stoat, these two are extremely elusive and no one in htis country as far as i know has ever made a proper programme about them. I may pm you for some details regarding their location.

Wildlifeboy: A few years ago I was out walking with my small little dog in the west of Ireland near my family's home and my dog started getting very excited near a stone wall. I picked her up and to my amazement I spotted all these tiny heads peeping through the stone walls. There were at least 4 stoats hanging out in the stone wall. Cute little things and unfortunatly I did not have my camera But I reckon they still hang out in the same location.

Morganna

There are a lot of stoats here also.The stone walls make great homes for them.Was privileged to see one running along carrying a mouse.
We are so lucky in whatever wildlife we are privileged to see.And should do all we can to safeguard our wildlife.

E39MSport

Would/do they kill birds?

Edit: - Yes.
Found a nice site. http://www.ionalister.com/pinemarten/pinemarten.htm

I'm seeing a good few bird kill remains in the garden. Wood pigeon and Blackbird so far. I think the Marten is around more often because there are plenty of gaps opening up along the ditch. Hope to see it more. I need to get that trail camera set up.

wildlifeboy

Stoats will generally go for mice/rabbits/shrews/rats etc and Pine Martens will go for same including Squirrels and Birds but the both will take a bird if the oppotunity presents itself. more so Pine Martens because of their habitat.

mgwhelan

Caught this fella on my camera trap, left a bit of meat on the table two days later it was gone, first thing i caught on the camera. Kept having a problem uploading to youtube first bit is slowmo and last bit real time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdRaXHxYPQU

cuddlycavies

Still haven't seen one yet. The only Irish mammal I've yet to see.

Calochortus

Pine marten are relatively common in Co. Waterford. We had some board.ie members attend the linked event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62352114@N03/sets/72157626678039965/with/5757622853/

mgwhelan

common here in the slieve blooms as well from the amount of scat i see around the place.

swifts need our help!

A friend who lives in County Clare has a family in his attic - jealous

E39MSport

One casually strolled by me in the garden. Twice now. Beautiful.

mgwhelan

I made and put up what i thought was going to be a red squirrel/bird feeder, I set up my camera trap beside the feeder to see what it would attract. No sign of any squirrels but got a load of great tits and chaffinches. i'm disappointed not to get any squirrels but got the next best thing pine marten. Or should i say pine martens what i think a male from the size difference you'll see at the start of the video and a female 25 sec in, you'll also see a difference in the pattern of there white hair on there neck chest area or mane a good way to tell them apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHdXnSJqaqc

swifts need our help!

well done!

whyulittle

Great stuff.

Brilliant quality too.

BargainHunter

Great stuff MGWhelan!

Any chance you'd tell us what kind of location the video was taken in? A Coillte forest, large or small, native or commercial trees?

Secondly, what kind of feed did you use and how much did the martens eat?

mgwhelan

BargainHunter wrote: »

Great stuff MGWhelan!

Any chance you'd tell us what kind of location the video was taken in? A Coillte forest, large or small, native or commercial trees?

Secondly, what kind of feed did you use and how much did the martens eat?

It's a mixture of mature and young plantation mostly evergreens with the exterior been mixed broadleaf with a bog in the middle, the hole area must be over 300 acres all together. Just giving them peanuts, I'm feeding them for a few weeks now looks like they ate a few kg's. As you can see in the vid i used mostly daytime visits but they came to the feeder night and day.

fryup

saw two over the weekend, each in a different location

Graces7

Smiling here at the memories of the years we lived in an old cottage that had when empty become pine marten territory. Even a large hole at the base of the door.

We lived alongside that family several years. The babies used to run in and out of the door. They are enchanting creatures.

E39MSport

Finally caught my regular visitor to the garden on one of the cameras.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

where do you live forth knox?

E39MSport

Bit isolated so technology and bare bones chains help. It's all DIY.

edit - off topic anyway

artieanna

Can ye help me out here at all...

Can anyone tell me the main differences between a pine marten and a weasel(stoat) any pics I bring up on google show different colours on both animals, even mink look similar and I dunno if its my eyes but they all look alike to me.

I'm sure I saw a weasel awhile back, was about the size of a cat bit longer, med grey/brown coat.

Just wondering as well why are people so fond of pine martens and not weasels??

doctor evil

artieanna wrote: »

Can ye help me out here at all...

Can anyone tell me the main differences between a pine marten and a weasel(stoat) any pics I bring up on google show different colours on both animals, even mink look similar and I dunno if its my eyes but they all look alike to me.

I'm sure I saw a weasel awhile back, was about the size of a cat bit longer, med grey/brown coat.

Just wondering as well why are people so fond of pine martens and not weasels??

No weasels in Ireland, we have stoats that are incorrectly referred to as weasels.

mgwhelan

artieanna wrote: »

Can ye help me out here at all...

Can anyone tell me the main differences between a pine marten and a weasel(stoat) any pics I bring up on google show different colours on both animals, even mink look similar and I dunno if its my eyes but they all look alike to me.

I'm sure I saw a weasel awhile back, was about the size of a cat bit longer, med grey/brown coat.

Just wondering as well why are people so fond of pine martens and not weasels??

pine marten can be twice the size of stoats (weight wise). i say it was a pine marten you saw, as for people liking pine marten more i don't think they do just pine martens are more curious and come into peoples gardens for food and if your lucky a home.

(google images used)

pine marten




stoat

littlebug

doctor evil wrote: »

No weasels in Ireland, we have stoats that are incorrectly referred to as weasels.

this confusion probably arising/ evolving because they both have the same Irish name (éasóg).

I've never seen a pine marten

Mothman

mgwhelan wrote: »

pine marten can be twice the size of stoats (weight wise).

I think the difference is even bigger.
About twice the length but 4 times the weight. A Stoat is smaller than even a small cat.

mgwhelan

Mothman wrote: »

I think the difference is even bigger.
About twice the length but 4 times the weight. A Stoat is smaller than even a small cat.

should of done my home work before answering

stoat 30cm long (around a foot) weight 400 grams

pine marten 65cm long (around two foot) weight 1500 to 1900 grams.

LostCovey

mgwhelan wrote: »

should of done my home work before answering

stoat 30cm long (around a foot) weight 400 grams

pine marten 65cm long (around two foot) weight 1500 to 1900 grams.

I suppose the other way to put it is that a Stoat is so much smaller than you would expect! It is incredible to watch one dragging a rabbit!

I came across Pine Martens breeding in a hollow tree near Hollymount in Mayo last year, and she eventually brought out a litter of four one evening in daylight.

They are absolutely gorgeous things.

LC

richiculous

Almost certain I saw my first one there a few hours ago. Are they common around water? It was at a riverbank, and I know they eat plenty of frogs, small birds and rats which there are plenty of where I was...only saw it for a few seconds before it disappeared back into the cover. It was much smaller than I thought they are so I thought maybe it was perhaps a young one? Even though I only saw it for a few seconds, I immediately registered it as a pine marten...had a dark brown bushy tail, black beady eyes and a sort of creamy coloured patch of fur on the front of its neck which I also expected to be much larger. I've never seen a stoat either, am convinced it was a pine marten though, any opinions? I'm delighted anyway, love seeing wildlife I haven't seen before.

Birdnuts

richiculous wrote: »

Almost certain I saw my first one there a few hours ago. Are they common around water?

I beleive they are more common in woodland and scrub habitats, but that is not to saw they won't exploit other areas with abundant food.

PS: Another possibiliy is that is might be an escaped ferret - they are around and I personally clocked 2 on the edge of the Curragh a few years back

richiculous

Birdnuts wrote: »

I beleive they are more common in woodland and scrub habitats, but that is not to saw they won't exploit other areas with abundant food.

PS: Another possibiliy is that is might be an escaped ferret - they are around and I personally clocked 2 on the edge of the Curragh a few years back

Hmmm, I did think that they were more common in woodlands alright. It wasn't woods by any means but there were plenty of large trees and hedges around. I really doubt it was a ferret, my friend has 2 ferrets and they are much skinnier in proportion to their length than the pine martens are. I'm not sure what it was, part of me hopes it was a pine marten given their rarity, maybe it was something else like a ferret, I wish I saw it for longer. I go fishing in the same spot very often so maybe I'll get a better look next time. I was amazed at how close it was to me, only about 6 feet or so from me.

snowstreams

Could it have been a mink because it was so close to a river?
A mink and a pine marten would be of similar size anyway.

Connacht

"creamy coloured patch of fur on the front of its neck"
clinches it as a Pine Marten.

mgwhelan

richiculous wrote: »

Almost certain I saw my first one there a few hours ago. Are they common around water? It was at a riverbank, and I know they eat plenty of frogs, small birds and rats which there are plenty of where I was...only saw it for a few seconds before it disappeared back into the cover. It was much smaller than I thought they are so I thought maybe it was perhaps a young one? Even though I only saw it for a few seconds, I immediately registered it as a pine marten...had a dark brown bushy tail, black beady eyes and a sort of creamy coloured patch of fur on the front of its neck which I also expected to be much larger. I've never seen a stoat either, am convinced it was a pine marten though, any opinions? I'm delighted anyway, love seeing wildlife I haven't seen before.

you will find pine marten using rivers to hunt, seen then near a river flowing through our land and i find there scats ( poo) on stones in the middle of the river.

Cass

I live about 10 minutes from the Slieve Blooms and travel the mountain roads quite frequently. There is an abundance of Pine Marten, Stoat, and mink in the area.

I've noticed a sizeable increase in Pine Marten numbers to the extent that i see one at least once a day.

LostCovey wrote: »

It is incredible to watch one dragging a rabbit!

Driving about a week ago or so while doing maintenance for a local elderly man on his farm. A rabbit came bolting out of one gate and done a 180 and ran into the gate next to it. I was doing about 10Kph so wondered why it turned so sharly as i was at least 30 mtrs away, but got my answer as i approched the gate and a stoat came running around the gate, turned and followed the rabbit. I stopped to watch.

Its unbelieveable that such a small animal can take a rabbit. Its was at least 3 to 4 times smaller than the rabbit. Anyway, he just kept on chasing the rabbit, never letting off and eventually the rabbit ran out of steam and the stoat took the opportunity. They are fierce little predators. Great to watch though.

cuddlycavies

Still the holy grail of Irish Mammals. Havn't seen one yet. However yesterday whilst driving the old Dublin rd east from Mountrath about 4km I saw a badly decomposed one on the side of the road. 1km further another. This time in godd condition. I stopped to look. it was too far gone for taxidermy but coat was intact with yellow marking. The funny thing was the terrain. Farmland! Where the second one was there was an old abbey and graveyard. Wouldn't mind betting they're in there.

swifts need our help!

Last weekend I saw pine martin droppings full of ivy seeds and stained bright pink. I also saw a dead one in Donegal. There was so much traffic I couldnt stop to pick it up

LostCovey

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Last weekend I saw pine martin droppings full of ivy seeds and stained bright pink. I also saw a dead one in Donegal. There was so much traffic I couldnt stop to pick it up

They are everywhere in the west - I can't think of a habitat that they are absent from, bar towns......so far.

planetX

Saw my first one yesterday running along the top of a dry stone wall on farmland in county galway. Thought it was a cat at first glance, surprised at the bushy tail. Couldn't believe my dog came back when I called him:D

Half-cocked

Has anyone heard the theory that Pine Marten numbers are increasing in areas with Grey Squirrels? I was told (by some one who might not know what they are talking about!) that Martens are eating the Greys and thriving in areas with large Grey populations. Apparently the Red Squirrel being smaller and more agile isn't as easy for the Martens to catch - it can move out onto thinner branches that won't take the weight of the Marten. Could be another new myth of course.

junospider

Pine martens came here to north kk about 3 years ago.The grey squirrels disappeared and the reds are back after being absent for 20 years.
Because martens were never in the area,people dont know what they are and I know of 3 that have been shot in henhouses .One man told me he shot"a big red mink"
I got a picture of one on the trail cam in my own hen run,he had killed a hen that roosted outside and would not go in the shed.Love seeing them around,fabulous animal.

F.R.

Reds tend to feed more in the tree tops, while greys spend more time feeding on the ground making them more vulnerable to the pine marten.

There was research done on this in Scotland and NUIG are currently doing research into it in Ireland.

mintoffdom

Saw one in the back garden this morning!

cuddlycavies

mintoffdom wrote: »

Saw one in the back garden this morning!

Where u based?

mintoffdom

Sandyford. Didn't know there were any east of the Shannon, never mind on the edge of the city!

I have seen squirrels (both colours) - foxes and badgers are common. Bats galore; hedgehogs - but never one of these.

cuddlycavies

Unreal!!!!!!!!!!! Would say Dublin sightings are rare. Common but elusive in wicklow, Kildare, Laoise, offaly. Are you backing on to forestry?. IE three rock,etc.

Billy Bunting

Had a pine martin on our bird table last night, sat there munching for 15minutes, not a worry about us being just 6ft away but he/she ran like the clappers when the badger turned up.

E39MSport

Saw one near the house last night I hadn't seen him for a while...