Pine Marten hide, Perth, Scotland
This report adds a yes vote to a previous John Wright report that says a hide near Perth, Scotland, is fabulous for Euro Pine Marten.
This a private site, run by Bob Smith. He charges a fee for access – well worth it. I had missed this species at a “for sure” site near Fort William. Bob’s hide overlooks an artificial pond and is a great for photography; you do not need a mega lens, that’s for sure. His email is
r.smith50@sky.com
and he is based in Blairgowrie, 45 minutes from Perth.
If you want to see / photograph a marten, this is a good way to do it.
Charles Hood, Palmdale, CA
3 Comments
-
CharlesHood
Well, I do think this is part of an everyday loop — the martens check the pond / hide area and carry on — but the attraction here is human-supplied peanuts and peanut butter. You can try for *wild* martens just on your own anywhere, e.g. Western Scotland would be good, but for photos, I suspect one needs a hide (aka blind) more often than not. This animal is not tame: this is a female, whose kit sometimes comes in view, sometimes not. A male is attracted to the female who apparently is in heat, but didn’t show up on my night. Lots of birds to photograph whilst one waits. Bob has a beaver stake-out too and knows the region well, so can provide details on other species. Unrelated, but Mike Richardson and I had a (live) common shrew on the road the next morning. Normally I am hesitant about ID’ing small stuff from the car, but we’re pretty sure on that one. Dead hedgehogs on the road too, and sadly so. John Wright has really good Scotland reports for a fuller narrative.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
JoEllen Arnold
Good to know. Thanks for the information and photos. Are the martens baited, or are they just going about their everyday activities?