Field guide to the most commonly encountered mammals and birds

Here, we provide some basic information regarding commonly observed species (plus some others about which we have had queries).  

Feel free to contact us by email if you have any questions regarding species you have encountered on the site.

For more information about mammals, we recommend the Mammal Society's species hub, here, and MammalNet here. For birds, excellent resources are available from the RSPB (here) and the BTO (here).

 

Common UK Mammals All UK Mammals Common UK Birds All Species All Deer

Pine marten

Scientific name: Martes martes 

Family: Mustelidae

Appearance: Similar in size to a domestic cat, martens are sleek and brown with a cream bib.

Body length: 70 cm Tail length: ~25 cm  Weight: ~1.7 kg

Natural history: Pine martens are highly solitary. They live high in trees, in holes, abandoned squirrel dreys or occasionally in owl boxes. They are omnivores, eating birds, small mammals, invertebrates and fruit.

Martens are rare and elusive in Britain, having been eradicated from most of the UK by habitat degradation and persecution. Recent reports suggest they are beginning to become more abundant in Northumberland and Cumbria. A reintroduction programme is underway in Wales.

 (C) David Little (shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license)