Scottish Borders Pine Marten Group Videos
Videos by Scottish Borders Pine Marten Group. Working to monitor pine martens in the Scottish Borders.
Lovely footage of a pair of local pine martens, caught on camera by a friend of the group.
to enable soundOther Scottish Borders Pine Marten Group videos
Our local pine martens are very active at the moment and we’re catching them on camera at all times of day. This fallen tree is on the main route of one family, notice how this one scent marks at various points along the tree.
Always nice to see a pine marten in daylight. A brilliant chance to see that chocolatey brown coat up close. Notice the bum wiggle towards the end as the pine marten marks its territory. S/he has been scent marking here several times over the last week.
Our local pine martens certainly have no problem with finding food. This is a good sign - although I wish they’d show a bit of interest in the food I put out so I can get some pics of their bibs…!
Another pine marten passes through a local badger sett. This one looks like it’s caught something for its dinner.
Some more footage from deep in a Borders woodland. Although pine martens are classed as carnivores, they are highly opportunistic and will eat a varied diet that includes small mammals, fruit, carrion and small birds. This marten seems to have caught something for its supper. The fact that there is enough natural food sources to support them here is an excellent sign.
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how excited do you think I am at the moment…..? Absolutely buzzing to have two pine martens on camera - confirming that there is definitely two around as we suspected!
Looking through some old trail camera footage and I came across a video from April 2021. This was one of the first times I had captured a pine marten on video, just outside Melrose, and is what started my interest in these brilliant creatures. The video has been slowed down as the original is so quick, but you can clearly see that the marten is carrying something in its mouth. There are a few theories (grey squirrel, young rabbit, maybe even a kit) but we'll never be able to tell for certain. What is certain is that pine martens have been around the central borders area for at least 3-4 years but it is only now that we are starting to see real evidence and capture them regularly on camera. The question now is how much further down the Tweed valley have they spread...? If you have any sightings (confirmed or suspected) then please let us know as it will help us direct our future surveys. You can do this by completing the sightings form that is pinned to the top of the page. All sightings are kept confidential and will only be shared with the relevant organisations, such as the Vincent Wildlife Trust to help support their Martens on the Move project. Lisa (Chair of Scottish Borders Pine Marten Group)
A local pine marten. Notice how it scent marks the log as it walks along. This is a common behaviour in mustelids in order to mark territories and let other martens know who’s around.
Blink and you miss it but sometimes monitoring other wildlife (in this case badgers) helps you find others!
We've been monitoring several locations and this is a new territory, on a local estate, where we did not know Pine Marten were present! Whilst you can make out some of the bib markings, I'll be going back in to tweak the set up and see if we can get clearer footage, to determine just how many individuals there are on the estate....current count four! It will be interesting to watch as we come toward breeding season. Andy
The pine marten returned a couple of nights ago. Love the little bum wiggle at the end as it marks its territory. It’s this little quirk that gives their poo the characteristic twist, one of the ways you can differentiate pine marten poo from fox poo. (Although it’s never an exact science of course!)