Field Notes: Pine marten sighted at Thirlmere

Thirlmere Resilience Partnership Officer Isaac Johnston reports on the first pine marten seen locally since the mid '80s.

This January marked the first confirmed sighting of a pine marten at Thirlmere in 40 years.

Pine marten can be individually identified by their unique bib markings and this individual - Philomena - was caught on camera when she investigated a pole filled with peanut butter, fish sauce and oily fish set up by the University of Cumbria in order to attract pine marten like her. 

Philomena was part of a reintroduction project that took place in Cumbria late last year. She was one of around 14 individuals released under licence. Cameras across the county have revealed these animals are travelling huge distances from the release site.  

Thirlmere has lots of suitable habitat for pine marten and we we hope one day to have a resident population here once again. With 15 more pine marten to be introduced to the area this autumn, we are well on our way to a genetically viable population of pine marten in Cumbria.

The John Muir Trust is part of the Thirlmere resilience project - a partnership between with United Utilities, Natural England and Cumbria Wildlife Trust, to manage land around Thirlmere reservoir - near Helvellyn in the Lake District. Our aim is to create a resilient water catchment to supply the water needed by people, while providing a home for native biodiversity like pine marten.

• Find out more about our work at Thirlmere and get involved in a volunteer day.

First pine marten sighting at Thirlmere in 40 years

Some exciting news from our Thirlmere Resilience Project in the Lake District: we have recorded footage of the first Pine Marten seen at Thirlmere since the mid 80's.

This individual (Philomena) was part of a reintroduction project that took place in Cumbria late last year. Thirteen healthy adult pine martens were reintroduced into woodland into Grizedale Forest in South Cumbria last September thanks to a partnership led by the University of Cumbria.

Cameras across the county have revealed these animals are travelling huge distances from the release site. Thirlmere has lots of suitable habitat for Pine Marten, and our work with the Thirlmere Resilience Project to restore natural habitats, especially native woodland, means we hope the to have a thriving resident population here once again.

Philomena, was caught on camera when investigating a pole filled with peanut butter, fish sauce and oily fish set up by the University of Cumbria in order to attract pine martens like her. The treats are deliberately placed on poles in front of the camera traps so that their unique bibs are displayed and we are able to identify them individually.

The elusive forest dwellers were once widespread in the county, but their numbers gradually reduced over time, and it was assumed that they had disappeared altogether until a rare sighting in 2022 – the first in ten years.

With the help of students and volunteers, the movement of the pine martens have been tracked using camera traps and radio collars. They have found that pine martens can quickly move 10 to 30 km away from the release site. The good connectivity of woodlands in the area means that they might be expected to move quite quickly to other parts of Cumbria.

“We assume the sitings at Thirlmere are pine martens from the first release back in September” said Thirlmere Resilience Project Officer, Isaac Johnson. “We hope that the pine martens will also help our other native species, red squirrels, to thrive here too”.

Dr Mic Mayhew, University of Cumbria researcher and lead of the South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project (SCPMRP), said: “Despite concerns by some about the impact of pine martens on remaining red squirrel populations, all the evidence indicates that where pine martens co-exist with red and grey squirrels, they can reduce grey squirrel numbers and allow the reds to thrive.”

With 15 more pine marten to be introduced to the area in September, we are well on our way to a genetically viable population of pine marten at Thirlmere.