Pine martens (martes martes) are elusive, mainly nocturnal and live in wooded areas. These traits combined make these mustelids very hard to spot. After a period of persecution and widespread woodland clearance, causing massive habitat loss, in the late 1800s pine martens were pushed to their very limits and confined to remote areas of northern England and Wales. Populations in northern Scotland fared better, but these were isolated.

Pine martens belong to the same family group (mustelids) as badgers, weasels and otters. They are omnivorous and will eat a variety of foods according to the season. A pine martens diet can include small mammals, eggs, insects, berries and carrion.

In recent years there has been a push to return these animals to their original range. There have been two high profile pine marten reintroduction projects in Wales and Gloucestershire as well as the discovery of a pine marten population living wild in Shropshire. The lack of large areas of connected woodland can hamper the spread of pine martens across the UK and so these reintroductions are crucial to allow pine martens to recolonise. Pine martens can travel long distances to find suitable habitat but these are usually lone individuals. Here in Staffordshire there has been the odd, sporadic record over the last 50 years.

The Churnet Valley in the Staffordshire Moorlands is ideal habitat for pine martens, there are steep sided wooded valleys with streams and river running through and ancient woodland indicators suggesting the area has been continuous woodland for a long time. The problem is connectivity. The Churnet Valley, while being a fairly large wooded area, is isolated from other good pine marten habitat. Any martens would need to travel across open countryside or agricultural land to find it but once there, I believe that the area could provide them with a wonderful home. 

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have embarked on a project to establish whether there are pine martens living in the Churnet Valley. There have not been any sightings since 2004 (which was a known escapee) but because they are mainly nocturnal and notoriously elusive animals it is possible they are living here under the radar. We have had a small pot of money donated to us to start this project off which has funded some project officer time and the purchase of a small number of trail cameras.

Surveying for pine martens is a challenging task. Where populations are denser they are highly territorial and will mark their territory with scats. These droppings have a characteristic coiled shape and a distinctive smell and can be used to establish pine marten presence. Another monitoring method is using trail cameras. These remote cameras can be left out for months at a time and the captured footage can show definitive evidence of species in the woodland.

I have received advice and practical experience monitoring for pine martens using trail cameras from the Shropshire Mammal Group. Back in 2015 pine martens were discovered living wild in Shropshire and the mammal group were instrumental in establishing how widespread this population is. Since September 2023 I have been installing trail cameras out in the Churnet valley. In the spring of 2024 we will be using the services of a pine marten detection dog. The team of dog and handler will be able to give us an indication of the presence of pine martens in woodland. If we have positive results this will give us a better idea of where to place our trail cameras to capture definitive evidence of pine martens.

Meanwhile, the trail cameras are giving us an amazing insight into the other wildlife that lives in the woodlands. We have recorded footage of foxes (including one with only half a tail!), badger, weasel, bats, as well as nuthatch, tree creeper and great spotted woodpecker. We have also identified a population of non-native muntjac deer.

Over the course of the next few months I will continue to monitor the cameras, moving them across the woodlands of the Churnet Valley to capture a wider perspective of mammal activity. Although the primary aim of the project is to capture evidence of pine martens, all mammal records we get will give us a much better perspective of all the species that are using the woodland.  

In the long-term we will be looking for areas to plant new trees in order to expand the area of woodland. This will have knock on benefits for a range of other woodland species including pied flycatcher and will create corridors to connect already existing woodlands together.