Prior to the creation of the Pine Marten MK2 box there was only the Vincent Wildlife Trust style box, the box certainly does its job but is heavy and makes erection rather difficult. Then John Martin (Pine Marten expert) had designed a “Galloway lite” box with good success. We built on the success of John’s design and we specifically wanted our new MK2 design to be much lighter than the standard VWT design. In-fact 50% lighter, at 7kg it is much easier to handle and can be carried into the wood then walked up a ladder which negates the need for ropes, pulleys and extra people (a great plus for H&S purposes). But critically it can also be placed on younger smaller diameter trees too, something the standard design is unable to do.
During the design phase we concluded that one of the main requirements was that the box should be weather proof from the elements. So, unlike the standard design the MK2 has only one singular entrance hole which is completely protected from the wind and rain from any direction. This also eliminates through draughts and any loss of heat through convection, more closely mimicking a natural denning sight of a tree cavity but essentially allowing the martens easy access up and into the box.
A lot was considered whilst making the new box design, for example - the internal denning area was important and although it’s a smaller box than the standard design, the denning chamber is actually slightly larger. Another unique design with the MK2 that aids Pine Martens entering the box from any angle is the addition of grooved side panelling on the entrance porch. The grooved panelling allows the martens to get their claws into the box and get a good purchase before entering the hole.
Considerations were also made for the entrance hole size - tests were carried out to find the optimal size the marten was happy with. We found in some of our tests the martens were incumbered by the hole being a little too tight and struggled to rotate their shoulder without hinderance and would briefly bite the hole rim as if to open the hole up. We learnt from this and persisted with different hole sizes until the optimum size was found.
In all we wanted the box to be care free, with no maintenance issues or rotten panels. Just a simple set it and forget it style. The nature of the box being in typically wet and humid pine forests meant the materials of choice had to be able to withstand being damp and not rot away after a couple of years, which is why Stokboard combined with stainless steel screws were the perfect combination. The floor of the box had to be made from stirling board (for hygiene reasons linked to Pine Marten urinating in the box), however it was built into the design that the floor is recessed up into the box to protect it from the rain with the plastic sides acting as a drip edge to stop the board from getting wet.
It was made clear that to be a box worthy of putting our name to, it had to have the capability of being easily surveyed by thermal imaging cameras for a less invasive monitoring technique and we were delighted to find the box performed very well with clear images. And if the box did need to be opened by a licenced surveyor then the lid is easily removed and hangs easily on the side so these no need to try and balance the lid in a tree.
Prior to product release the MK2 box went through a lengthy test phase with approval from the likes of John Marten and Johnny Birks both experts in the field for Pine Marten.
In essence, the box is light and cheap enough for the enthusiast to put up in there garden but strong and durable enough for long term professional conservationists.
Top Tip!
Pine Martens are agile tree climbers but to make life easy for them leave a few branches below the box to let them climb on and off while heading in and out of your box. They will appreciate it!
If you want a better idea of the size of the box here is a video you might enjoy watching.
