I live nearby so frequently walk to dog in Mugdock. I've lived in the area since the 1960s and seen long term changes in wildlife. In the 70s deer and foxes were rare sights. Now commonplace.
Yesterday was a first though. I saw an animal I didn't recognise scuttling along the ground in woods near the South Lodge. Looked ferret/weasel shaped but bigger than a ferret. I got a decent look. 20 or 30 seconds at around 50m.
A bit of googlling and I'm almost sure it was a Pine Martin. It appears the Pine Martin range in Scotland has been growing and there has been rare sightings of the animal or it's droppings in the area over recent years.
http://mugdockcountryparkfloraandfauna.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-walk-2010.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22449340
I had no idea the Pine Martin was about in central SCotland.
Wow...that is surprising. I’m just 5min from there myself and (when I finish this coffee) will be heading to those woods for my morning spin. Have seen loads more stoats and weasels around Rosies of late but will keep an eye for that.
Must remember to start locking up the hens at night...it won’t take long for that thing to munch it’s way through them!
I saw one in Argyll area a couple of years ago. Amazing little creature.
A mate was pretty certain he saw a Pine Marten in Mugdock last summer. Seems like a fair chancre that you’re both onto something
Great spot ..hope it's true .
I've also seen one! And I'm from Milngavie too! However, I saw mine in Hell's Glen, casual as you like walking along the road.
Apparently, Pine Martins are very good at catching and eating grey squirrels, but not very good at catching and eating red squirrels.
Can you box a few up and send them over the border .
The greys are reaching Kielder ..which has been a stronghold for the reds up to now ..
Afraid they aren't bothered on colour...Grey and Red are just as good as each other for them.
Slightlydazed is right, the red is smaller/lighter than the grey so they have a better chance of escaping the pine marten than its yankee cousin. Dick barton is correct as well though. They seem to love peanut butter as well, my g/f has caught quite a few of them on her wildlife camera. Beautiful creatures
Dick- I think there are studies that show reds thrive where pine martens are and greys don't, although there is a lack of suitable habitat to prevent wide scale re-introduction in England. And the wild game industry don't like them.
I thought it was that Pine Martens and Red Squirrels had evolved together so the hunter/prey relationship was balanced. Greys haven't so haven't evolved the strategies to escape. Reds are also smaller and lighter than greys so can escape to smaller branches out of the reach of the Martens.
The only time I've seen a Pine Marten was in Kinlochewe last summer - ran across the road in front of me as I was riding along.
As it happens we saw a red squirrel yesterday near Cautley Spout just up from Sedbergh.
Still lots of reds to be seen at Kielder ..and I have yet to personally see a grey up there ..the closest I have seen one would be about 5 miles east of Stonehaugh which is on the S.E.edge of the forest but within 2 miles of Bellingham at Redesmouth ..
We saw 2 crossing the fireroad in front of us up at Comrie Croft. It sort of made sense based on what I've read about them repopulating Perthshire. Very impressive animals!
I'll keep an eye out at Mugdock now, that's great news.
I saw something that looked exactly like a pine marten near the beach in Swansea a couple of years ago. Reported it to the pine marten conservation group and they asked how certain I was that it was a marten. I said that if I’d been in Scotland I would have been 100% - the fact I was on the edge of a big city where there haven’t been any sightings made me doubt myself massively!
There's quite a few on the black isle now, further north. My folks had some 'nest' in their wood pile behind the shed, they bought a trail cam and got some lovely footage of the kits playing. They occasionally come to the squirrel feeders for peanuts. Surprisingly large animals!
Loads in Devilla forest in Fife too.
Friend of mine has a lot of great trail cam footage.
Only ever seen two, one on the road along from Lochaline & the other on the road down the side of Loch Shiel. Awesomes!
Following my sighting of the Pine Marten I've been mentioning it to friends and family. Turns out a friend of my dad saw one a couple of years ago on a wall of Clober Golf Course - within a mile of Mugdock. There was also one photographed in Craigton Woods right on the edge of Milngavie
Perhaps coincidence or perhaps because the Martens are now in the area the local grey squirrel population seems lower now than in past years and my dad had noted a while back that there were fewer rabbits on his golf course. He had speculated that escaped Mink might be the reason but maybe it's the Pine Martens?