Photo credit Adrian Hinchcliff
The pine marten is one of Britain and Ireland’s rarer carnivores that is now recovering in Ireland and Scotland and subject to population reinforcement in Wales. One constraint affecting populations is the scarcity in modern woodlands of elevated, insulated den sites in which pine martens prefer to rest and breed. Purpose-built artificial den boxes have been developed, tested and refined in Galloway Forest since 2003. Their frequent use by pine martens for breeding and resting has informed their deployment in many other areas of Britain and Ireland.
Course tutors: John Martin and Johnny Birks
Principles of den box design
Maximising insulation and minimising heat loss
Refinements to prolong the life of boxes
Heavyweight and lightweight options
Selection of box locations
Selection of trees for box attachment
Density of boxes installed
Installation of boxes (including Risk Assessment, PPE etc)
Ideal height of boxes
Safe us of ladders
Safe lifting of boxes
Orientation of boxes/protection from weather extremes
Methods of attachment to tree
Checking den boxes for use by pine martens
Legal considerations
Animal welfare considerations
Health and Safety considerations
Evidence of box occupancy
Invasive and non-invasive sampling of pine marten genotypes
Long-term den box monitoring
Information to record
Annual checks of box condition
Moving boxes in response to harvesting
