Pine Marten

He's been visiting us all winter but this morning I caught him on camera for the first time. He had come up to the terrace to see if he could get at the seed left out for the birds - he couldn't because they are fed under wire cages, not to keep him off but a marauding cock pheasant - but our movement disturbed him. The picture shows his unusual facial markings. All the other pine martens we've seen have had pale bibs, but this character's bib seems to have spread over his face and neck. But he did have the characteristic pale tip to his tail.

While a visit from a pine marten is exciting as they're not that common, and are very good-looking, we also worry about him. He bothers the two cats, who walk around constantly looking over their shoulder when he's around, or spend time sniffing where he's been. Pine martens have been known to attack and seriously injure domestic cats, so ours are provided with retreats where he would have to make a frontal assault to reach them.

Pine martens belong to the same family as the otter, mink, badger and weasel. They are active and ruthless hunters but have a sweet tooth. Don Moffat, who kept the shop before us, had a raid from one during the Christmas period: the animal concentrated his thievery on the mince pies. They can be a nuisance since they like nesting in the roofs of buildings, often in very inaccessible places, and enjoy running around on top of the ceilings when the human occupants are trying to sleep. Since they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, they cannot be shot or trapped.

We shall continue to welcome him into our garden with wary interest.