I had doubts about this trip, and doubts about whether or not I wanted to take my big lens out on the steep hike, but boy-oh-boy am I glad I trusted some instincts at the right time. Luck would h...
I had doubts about this trip, and doubts about whether or not I wanted to take my big lens out on the steep hike, but boy-oh-boy am I glad I trusted some instincts at the right time. Luck would have it that I pulled out my camera and got everything dialed in shortly before this amazing encounter. I was ready and the timing of the encounter was perfect. I spotted the pine marten and didn't miss a beat keeping my eye on him (as often can happen if I have to stop and get my camera out). Prior to this encounter, my longest amount of time with a pine marten was ~82 seconds. They are fast, discrete and can disappear in the forest in an instant. This exchange lasted a good ten minutes. I assume this robust marten was a male due to its impressive size (relative to other pine martens that I've seen). He was taking his time and let me follow along while he hunted and even took a short nap. The light was tough, and getting a clean shot was next to impossible in the thick brush... but this will go down as one of my favorite pine marten encounters for sure. He was listening for prey and I'm fairly sure he caught something, but I didn't pursue him after he made his pounce on whatever it was. More details and other images from the day to come later when/if I get time to circle-back to this fun sighting.
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