Monograph
New Edition
By: Johnny Birks(Author), Anthony JF Griffiths(Illustrator), Terry Whittaker(Photographer)
210 pages, 16 plates with colour photos; b/w illustrations, b/w maps, tables
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About this book
Contents
Customer reviews
Biography
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About this book
After a close brush with extinction, the pine marten is making the headlines as it recovers its numbers in Britain and Ireland. It is time for renowned pine marten expert and enthusiast Johnny Birks to reacquaint us with this enchanting mammal. Time, too, to appreciate the pine marten's impish charms and find ways to cope with its mischief in intelligent ways that sustain its populations, instead of following our ancestors' destructive path.
In his entertainingly light-hearted style Johnny describes in detail what is now known about pine marten ecology and behaviour in Britain and Ireland, and offers some continental insights from further east in the pine marten's range. He explores the different forces driving the pine marten's decline and recent recovery; and considers the conflicts that now test the tolerance of those who live with pine martens once more. This reveals a gulf between those willing to seek sustainable and legal solutions to the inevitable challenges, and those who persist in tackling threats to poultry and game in old-fashioned ways. Nevertheless, there are heart-warming tales of people's recent encounters and interactions with pine martens as they re-populate their former haunts.
Contents
Acknowledgements 1
Preface 3
- Marterns, martins, marts and martens 6
- Martens in heraldry, legend, mythology and popular culture 10
- Origins and close relatives 15
- The body beautiful 36
- Horrendous history 48
- Where did martens survive and why?
- Survival and slow, partial recovery 57
- Current distribution and status 62
- Modern marten habitats 67
- Activity patterns 73
- 'Gimme Shelter' – dens and den boxes 74
- Field signs 80
- The Joys of Scats 83
- The pine marten's year 95
- Social life and home range behaviour 97
- Foraging and food 102
- Marten communications 116
- Mating and breeding 122
- How many martens? 132
- Health and safety 138
- Interactions with other wildlife 144
- Pine martens and people 158
- Reintroductions and translocations 178
- Studying pine martens 182
- Pine martens and the law 184
- Pine martens, forestry and climate breakdown 186
Further reading 188
Sources of information and advice 189
Index 190
Customer Reviews (1)
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Very informative.
By
John
8 Jul 2022
Written for Hardback
Johnny, a very informative book. I found it to be easy to read while producing so many interesting facts which could have made the book heavy going. I do admire your style of writing which keeps the attention of the reader.
How have you managed to do so much research into pine martens when you have such an in-depth knowledge of mink and polecats. Your help with the consequences of polecats visiting farms in the winter to coincide with the increase in anticoagulant use was very helpful to me.
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Biography
Johnny Birks has been beguiled by pine martens since his teens. After research and survey work on other mustelids, and a spell working for the Nature Conservancy Council and English Nature, a job with the Vincent Wildlife Trust gave him the chance to work on his favourite mammal. He now works for Swift Ecology and continues to visit Scotland each year to study pine martens. This book follows Polecats, also written by Johnny and published as the fifth volume in this series.
The text is illustrated with drawings and cartoons by Antony Griffiths and features a gallery of extraordinary images by renowned wildlife photographer Terry Whittaker.
Monograph
New Edition
By: Johnny Birks(Author), Anthony JF Griffiths(Illustrator), Terry Whittaker(Photographer)
210 pages, 16 plates with colour photos; b/w illustrations, b/w maps, tables
Review of the first edition:
"Well, when it arrived for review I looked at the cover and thought 'That is nice'. I then began to read the book and it is quite simply super. [...] Birks covers the lifestyle and ecology of the Pine Marten in exhaustive but not exhausting detail. This is not some drearily dry or fustily fastidious textbook. [...] For the very many people who have an interest in Pine Martens, this is the book for you."
– Derek Gow, British Wildlife 29(5), June 2018
