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The pine marten seemed quite active this week. We had a pair around our house for a couple of days.

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The red squirrels disappear when the pine marten comes around, as squirrels are their primary prey.

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When this one came out of a cedar log there were ravens in the area. The pine marten seemed pretty anxious with these large birds overhead and kept a close eye on them.

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As cute as they look you can see their claws are made for running up and down trees chasing squirrels.

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Making its move.

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The first one that showed up had a lighter colored face.

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The second one of the pair was smaller and much darker.

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I don’t know if they were a mated pair .

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This one was looking straight at our car. A squirrel must have been hiding around the motor as when the pine marten left the squirrel came out from under the car.

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We are seeing more and more pine marten in recent years.

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They have quite a large tail that helps for balancing as they run through the trees..

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It was a fun week to see these two hunting in the area.

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The setting sun really lights up their fur.

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