Pine Marten in Grasses

American Marten in Grasses

Most wildlife photographers have an elusive animal: an animal that despite their best efforts, they simply haven’t been able to get a decent shot of. For over a decade and a half, one such animal for me was the pine marten, aka, the American marten. People, photographers and non-photographers, would constantly tell me about them. They’d show me pictures. They’d say, “Just right over there.” But I always came up empty.

That changed one day when I went to a local walkway along a levee of the Snake River specifically searching for birds. I was out before sunrise listening and deciphering the early morning calls of yellow warblers, various flycatchers, and more. Only a few dozen yards into the hike, I saw a yellow warbler I wanted to photograph. Tucked away in the bushes, I got down a little lower to try to get a better vantage point. In that moment, while I was actually ready, a pine marten bounded up and down to the location just below the yellow warbler.

I was so taken aback by its presence that I froze for a moment in disbelief. In the very next moment, it stood up, and that’s when I snapped out of it, capturing the above photo. As luck would have it, I was also making a birding video, which I’ve included below. Of course I didn’t go into my struggles with finding them, but you can watch to see how the rest of the morning went.

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