Malc's absolutely right I do have pine Martens that visit my Garden regularly, one of the young ones was at the bird table five to nine yesterday morning, and the adults were there last evening. I have seen them on the bird table, on top of the fence, watching pheasants at the feeder, some six feet away hanging off the same fence and completely ignoring them. Likewise the pheasants knew it was there and was not bothered at all.
I like to think I know enough about wild animals to know that they know what they are doing, they have their reasons for their comfort zones, just as a well fed lion will ignore a herd of potential food and the herd ignores them, these things happen Nature is by and large practical so no hunger, no kill no panic. Of course if I was an "expert" I would have to say, based on what I had seen, that Pine Martens present no threat to any other wild animals or birds, obvious isn't it.
Anyway as we all know, it has been widely publicised, water voles are in danger, mainly where mink are on the loose. Last evening I was talking to a man who had caught a one and a half pound wild brown trout and contained within it's stomach were two water voles. Now, putting my expert hat back on, this is very serious. This fish was taken from a Highland Loch, no mink present here, so I can only conclude that mink should be left in peace to multiply and do what they do, and the Government should focus all of it's energies towards constructing a Brown Trout containment programme
John