We’re digging into our archive and library to share with you a range of publications that take an in-depth look at nature in the North East. Covering all areas of natural history, we hope these will provide North East naturalists with some thought-provoking reading material while time in the great outdoors is restricted.
You can read previous releases about Ring-necked Parakeets and beetles at Gosforth Nature Reserve by following these links.
For the next post in this series, we’re pleased to share a Northumbrian Naturalist paper by naturalist, Kevin O’Hara, who provides an in-depth commentary on the status of the Pine Marten in Northern England.
Summary
The Pine Marten was once widespread across Britain and Ireland but is now very rare in England and Wales. However, there are signs that the Pine Marten population in Scotland has recovered and expanded its range; Pine Martens have started to re-colonise parts of northern England (Northumberland and Cumbria) with suitable habitat for the first time in over a hundred years. The Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) is leading on a project to pave the way for the recovery of the Pine Marten in northern England. Targeted areas are surveyed and monitored, with help from a network of volunteers, and trail cameras and hair traps are deployed as part of a raft of measures to give an indication of the status of the species in the region and promote good conservation and management practices. Martens have now been recorded in several locations across the region since the project began in the summer of 2017, and early indications show several routes into the region from recovering populations north of the border in Scotland.