Habitat Marten prefer old growth coniferous or mixed woods forest, although some open areas may be used for foraging. However, the amount of undisturbed forest is continually diminishing, and new-growth forests do not support as many marten as the original forest did. Loss of habitat has contributed in a major way to the decline in abundance of this species in North America. There is some indication that martens may tolerate partial logging of their habitat, but this needs more study and a cooperative multiple use management program for forested lands. The misconception probably arose from the fact that martens are seen in trees where they have climbed to escape an intruder.
Martens are agile climbers but take almost all their prey on the ground.
Mostly they feed on red-backed voles, deer mice, field voles, varying hare, grouse, squirrels, and shrews. They are also known to take bird's eggs and amphibians and make extensive use of berries, especially raspberries and blueberries. Behaviour Marten hunt at all times of the day in spring and summer and are most active at daybreak and dusk. During these seasons they are active for about 16 hours a day. As the temperatures drop, marten are increasingly less active at night, until during the coldest months they may only hunt for a few hours in the warmest part of the day.