Comments on shirls gardenwatch: Pine Marten Evening

Hi there, Shirl. I, too, enjoyed your videos. I've...

2009-11-28T17:56:49.870Z

Hi there, Shirl. I, too, enjoyed your videos. I've never seen your site before today. Very nice.

Speaking of Pine Martens, though, I'm going to go see Gretel on Tuesday. I can't wait!

Hi again Juliet, Doug, Emy and Barbara :-)Juliet –...

2008-11-07T10:38:00.000Z

Hi again Juliet, Doug, Emy and Barbara :-)

Juliet – Yes, it really was! Thank-you, I was so thrilled to get any video and it is a great memory for that moment :-D

Doug – Excellent!! Delighted I could treat a Pine Marten fan :-D

Emy –LOL! Welcome back to blogging. See you soon :-D

Barbara – I’ve just looked up an image and see what you mean – they are very alike. I don’t know how I will feel about one walking around my roof – I’d be concerned it would try to get inside! Oh… nibbling car wires sounds like they have squirrel tendencies too. It would be fun to film what they get up to in your garden! I really was very lucky to capture video footage as I did – it did seem like a star that night too :-D

Very interesting to see the videos of the pine mar...

2008-11-06T19:58:00.000Z

Very interesting to see the videos of the pine marten which almost looks like our "martes foina". This animal is often walking around on our roof (it makes a great noise during night) and in Springtime it is here with the young ones. Sometimes it nibbles the wires of the car ;-( !! Up to now I never saw a real pine marten in free nature. You were indeed lucky to make a film with this little sweet star.

hey Shirl, I've decided to come & live in your gar...

2008-11-06T11:47:00.000Z

hey Shirl, I've decided to come & live in your garden! Now where can I get a pine marten outfit from? Hmmm
I'm recently back to blogging, so I'll come & see yours on a day to day basis! I have a lot to catch up on it seems!

Emy x

FINALLY I get to see the vids!Stunning stuff Shirl...

2008-11-05T17:45:00.000Z

FINALLY I get to see the vids!

Stunning stuff Shirl.

WELL worth the wait!

Thanks, Doug

oh how exciting, what lovely videos, wonderful

2008-11-02T14:06:00.000Z

oh how exciting, what lovely videos, wonderful

Hi there Yolanda :-)LOL, actually to sell the even...

2008-11-02T13:30:00.000Z

Hi there Yolanda :-)

LOL, actually to sell the evening to Pine Martens it could have been jam or honey sandwiches but these Pine Martens are just mad about nuts ;-)

Yes, perhaps I should have stressed the rarity of this sighting. That is why this evening was so special. Everyone was so quiet when we watched knowing this.

We’ve been very lucky with the sunshine these last few days – nice again today. Hope the sunshine is with you now too :-D

They serve coffee and biccies to pine martens now?...

2008-11-01T17:46:00.000Z

They serve coffee and biccies to pine martens now? No wonder the little beasties pop over regularly for a visit. ;-)

Great vids Shirl of a wonderful wild animal that has become pretty rare, alas.

Is it raining in Scotland too? It's been raining all day today. Bother!

Hi again easygardener, Sarah, Frances and Doug :-)...

2008-10-31T21:05:00.000Z

Hi again easygardener, Sarah, Frances and Doug :-)

easygardener – Yes, I really in all honesty couldn’t believe my luck! Yep… these peanuts do go along way - our visiting hedgehogs like them best too. Ah… but some animals go to great lengths to get to them too! I cannot believe the damage to the floor of your plastic feeder that the squirrel has made to get at the peanuts above!! I can understand your experiment to beat it. I wonder who’s determination will win ;-D

Sarah – I can understand why. Oh… your hair – I definitely couldn’t have coped with that. Ah… I am not used to cats or kittens. Thanks for the link – the photos look great and must always remind you of seeing Gretel that day :-D

Frances – Oh… I don’t know about that. Funny thing is the uploads of the videos only seem to have time issues when I am I desperate to post them! Most of my videos are very quick to upload. The watched kettle never boiling ;-) Gosh… there’s a thing - if I had never heard of a Pine Marten I might have though it sounded like a bird too. I’m glad to have been able to show you one so you could see what they are :-D

Doug – Now that’s the way it goes isn’t it! Hope you get sorted so you can see them. Pine Martens are one of your favs – great! You might want to click on the photo link to the reserve feeder at the top of my sidebar where you might see them visit there yourself. Enjoy your cuppa! Don’t worry about not visiting I completely know how it is. I have trouble getting round blogs myself. This week I hope to catch up on everyone!

I can't believe it!My first time back on Shirls si...

2008-10-31T19:30:00.000Z

I can't believe it!
My first time back on Shirls site for months, and I can't get the vids to work (my computers fault Shirl, not yours) - and of my faves n all - PINE MARTENS!
I'll sort something out and get a cuppa ready!
Have a nice w/e Shirl.
Doug

(Sorry not been visiting recently - I'll make amends from now on!)

Hi Shirl, what a great service you do for the worl...

2008-10-31T17:31:00.000Z

Hi Shirl, what a great service you do for the world to advertise about these animals and the birds. You deserve a medal for waiting so long to load your videos for us. And we do appreciate that very much. I had never even heard of this animal and thought you were talking about a type of bird. Now I know and thank you for that.
Frances
http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

It was a wonderful experience, I was telling peopl...

2008-10-31T17:08:00.000Z

It was a wonderful experience, I was telling people about it for weeks. I can't say I have experienced a marten bite in earnest but Gretel (the marten) did gnaw on my hand quite a bit (as well as munch on my hair). I remember it as being very sharp and prickly, a bit stronger than a kitten's bite. I found Hope's photo album of Gretel here.

You must be thrilled - what a lovely animal. Who w...

2008-10-31T16:54:00.000Z

You must be thrilled - what a lovely animal. Who would have thought the humble peanut would attract such a star.

Hi again Sarah :-)Thank-you so much for sharing th...

2008-10-31T15:53:00.000Z

Hi again Sarah :-)

Thank-you so much for sharing this wonderful story with us. No apologies necessary at all for a long comment – this is the kind that I especially love to receive. They add so much to the posting :-D

I am delighted that you have enjoyed my Pine Marten videos so much. Hand rearing martens must really have been a real challenge for Hope but quite an interest at the centre too.

Pity the male didn’t make it. The female must have been quite tame by the sound of things. It sounds like she was as fast and curious as the red squirrel here. Like a squirrel I have heard they can have quite a painful bite! I must be completely honest I don’t know how I would have felt about one leaping on my shoulder! An experience you will never forget I am certain :-D

Shirl, these videos are great! When I was in journ...

2008-10-31T14:43:00.000Z

Shirl, these videos are great! When I was in journalism school, I interviewed the woman who runs our province's main wildlife rehabilitation centre for a feature I had to write. A university the next province over was 'dismantling' its pine marten research, and they had two baby martens that they could not raise (because they were genetically "New Brunswick" martens, they could not be legally released in Nova Scotia, and there was no NB rehabilitator to raise them - they were going to be put down).

Hope (the woman) took the baby martens to raise them and use them for the public education side of the rehab centre. While the little boy marten did not make it (there is a lot not known about martens, especially raising young, which is hard to observe in the wild), the little girl marten did. She lived in the house with access to the outdoor run. She had so much energy, and she was NUTS. She spent the whole interview running around the kitchen, inspecting things, sticking her nose into my pocket and pulling out tissues or climbing up my legs. At one point she was on Hope's shoulder, across the kitchen table from me. I blinked for the briefest second, and all of a sudden the marten was on my shoulder, she leaped that quickly! It was crazy adorable. I love, love, love martens. Thanks for sharing your videos (sorry for the long comment). :)

Hi again Jane, Karen, Joe and Lisa :-)Jane – Go gi...

2008-10-31T11:22:00.000Z

Hi again Jane, Karen, Joe and Lisa :-)

Jane – Go girl… go girl ;-) Wear it proudly! I was thrilled to get any video - and in colour. The biggest thrill though was to see the Pine Marten in person :-D

Karen – I agree completely! What luck on my part :-D

Joe – Thank-you! I really hope you manage to see them too. I should perhaps mention that although jam and honey sandwiches are often put out to attract them the staff at the centre sad they didn’t encourage that as it can rot their teeth. If you do holiday in Scotland you should go further north than this to get more a chance of seeing them in the wild. There is other wildlife like the wild cat further north too. I am sorry once again not to join you with a birdwatch – I will have to come up with something special to make up for it.

Lisa – It really was! Funnily enough on researching for my links I noticed that you have your own species in some parts of America. I thought I also read that in some places they are kept as pets too. Oh, I couldn’t not wait on the videos :-D

Shirl, what an enchanting creature. I haven't ever...

2008-10-31T10:10:00.000Z

Shirl, what an enchanting creature. I haven't ever seen or probably won't ever see one. Thank you for having the patience for the upload of your video.

Hi Shirl,Fantastic post. Pine Martens are one of t...

2008-10-31T09:39:00.000Z

Hi Shirl,

Fantastic post. Pine Martens are one of the animals I would love to see in the wild. Thank you for giving me inspiration to look for them!

I might have to take a holiday to Scotland to see them though!

Don't worry about the weekend bird post. I hope it doesn't rain for my post again!

Well done,
Joe

wow!K

2008-10-31T08:52:00.000Z

wow!
K

I was right... I was right! Thanks for the gold st...

2008-10-31T07:49:00.000Z

I was right... I was right! Thanks for the gold star! Absolutely lovely videos. It must have been so exciting to see them. Great post Shirl! Jane