The Pine Martens of the West of Ireland

Twenty-three years ago, I saw my first pine marten. I live in the West of Ireland where the pine marten has recovered from near extinction to a population today of around 3000. If you’ve never seen one, they come from the same family as otters, weasels, and mink. They are quite large, (about the size of a pet cat). They have an adorable triangular face, round ears, white throat, big feet and bushy tail. The move in a series of little hops. They are described as elusive and hard to spot but the ones I have seen don’t seem to fear humans. In fact, I have heard it said that they can be dangerous if cornered as they are quite fierce.

The first one I saw was standing by a dry-stone wall. It was a brief but exciting encounter. The next time, I was walking in the countryside where I live when I rounded a bend and there he was. I froze, and he froze. We stared at each other for at least 30 seconds, and then slowly and nonchalantly, he moved away.

Since then, I have captured a few pine martens on my trail camera in the garden. I have footage of one climbing the bird feeding pole to reach the nuts and then falling off! But my favourite footage is of two babies playing in my garden which I put to music.

There’s nothing more exciting than checking the sim card from a trail cam and finding videos of creatures that have visited during the night. My favourite visitor has always been the pine marten.

In a sophisticated world it’s wonderful to see these handsome, playful creatures living alongside us. Mostly they remain hidden, but sometimes, when we are lucky, they give us a glimpse of their world.