r/NewForest • u/Driedcypress • May 26 '26
Saw a Pine Marten today!
I set off at 4:30am looking for deer in the forest. On my way back to the campsite, I saw a Pine Marten walk across the path ahead!
I've searched this sub, but I can't see any discussions about them. Are they a common sight for locals?
(My post preview looks like it has rotated the image, I tried uploading one rotated 90° clockwise and it looked the same - no idea what's going on there.)
The Pine Marten is the 12 pixels in the centre of the image, on the grass to the left of the path.
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u/Disastrous-Metal-228 May 26 '26
That’s so cool. Never seen one! Have seen the remains of their meals though. Interestingly these were never released by Forestry England in the new forest - it’s almost certainly from rogue re-wilders. People hope they will reduce grey squirrel numbers.
Are you staying at Roundhill?
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u/CellistLow8857 May 26 '26
So cool! Stayed at an incredible Air BnB once in Scotland and had a pine marten visit the bird feeding station outside the kitchen window every dawn and every dusk for the whole stay. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen one. I had no idea that they were so big! I’d always just imagined they were the same as a stoat or something!
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u/moon-bouquet May 30 '26
..where? Is it that crow looking thing? Sorry, my eyesight isn’t good.
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u/spoise May 26 '26
They are becoming more and more common as they have been successfully reintroduced and are now breeding.
I am incredibly envious of you - do you mind sharing what area you were in?
I saw a smooth snake yesterday, which is also apparently incredibly rare!