A rare treat!

[Broch]

We had the pleasure of this little fella (or lass!) entertaining us for a good half hour today until it clocked we were about

A rare sight even if they are reasonably common (well, in Wales anyway). It really made today into a great day; an uplift of the soul!

 

[Van-Wild]

Beauty!

 

[Pattree]

Haven’t seen a polecat here for ages. Good to see.

 

[nigelp]

That is fantastic. Never seen one in the wild.

 

[TeeDee]

We had the pleasure of this little fella (or lass!) entertaining us for a good half hour today until it clocked we were about

A rare sight even if they are reasonably common (well, in Wales anyway). It really made today into a great day; an uplift of the soul!

View attachment 83814

If ' Mischief ' had a face. Very cute. Jealous of the encounter.

 

[GNJC]

We had the pleasure of this little fella (or lass!) entertaining us for a good half hour today until it clocked we were about

A rare sight even if they are reasonably common (well, in Wales anyway). It really made today into a great day; an uplift of the soul!

View attachment 83814

Beautiful; perhaps oddly, we've seen more here (West Carms) in recent years; and sadly in roadkill too... our other mustelid numbers seem pretty constant except badgers, which increase, we've no mink that I know of, otters are back so that probably helps.

 

[JonathanD]

Fantastic. I haven’t seen one for years now.

 

[demented dale]

Always nice to see something like that. Ive got a pine marten here. I've not seen it but I know its here because of its droppings and the damage it did when it got into my tent once and also I hear it when wakes me up trying to get in during the early hours. It only comes in winter when food is scarce. Its due round next week.

 

[GNJC]

Always nice to see something like that. Ive got a pine marten here. I've not seen it but I know its here because of its droppings and the damage it did when it got into my tent once and also I hear it when wakes me up trying to get in during the early hours. It only comes in winter when food is scarce. Its due round next week.

I am jealous! I've no idea when the martens were last commonly found around here, guessing maybe pre WW2 because of the size of some rotting cage traps a couple of old fellows had in sheds from then. The 'proper' Welsh name is a bit odd in translation, 'tree ball', but I've only heard 'pele' or bele' used.

One fellow, who died I think around 2014, was quite a character and he told of shooting them as a boy when they came in gangs to raid poultry. But I'm not sure how good his memory was by then or how much he may have been fabricating, because martens are pretty solitary. Maybe he was confusing them with stoats, but I don't think so because the name and the animal are so different.

I've never seen one or even seen any evidence of one around here...

 

[demented dale]

I am jealous! I've no idea when the martens were last commonly found around here, guessing maybe pre WW2 because of the size of some rotting cage traps a couple of old fellows had in sheds from then. The 'proper' Welsh name is a bit odd in translation, 'tree ball', but I've only heard 'pele' or bele' used.

One fellow, who died I think around 2014, was quite a character and he told of shooting them as a boy when they came in gangs to raid poultry. But I'm not sure how good his memory was by then or how much he may have been fabricating, because martens are pretty solitary. Maybe he was confusing them with stoats, but I don't think so because the name and the animal are so different.

I've never seen one or even seen any evidence of one around here...

They are everywhere here in the west of Ireland as are red squirrels which I see all the time. There are no grey squirrels here and barn owls do slightly better here as there is no competition from the tawny owl.

 

[Snufkin]

I've only seen one once, and that was a few years ago.

 

[Tony]

lovely stuff

 

[just_john]

Lovely! Very jealous

The last time i saw a badgers fat bum running up the narrow country lane in front of my van for ages completely changed my evening, I was on an evening emergency call out in a right grump until I saw that it cheered me right up.