Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, are beautifully colloured finches. Over the summer they breed in Finland and Scandinaviabut then move further south when the cold weather arrives. The first sighting in Guernsey this autumn was a small flock of about six at Pleinmont on 13 October. They can be seen throughout the winter, although some birds will migrate further south to the Mediterranean.
They change their diet according to the season: insects during the breeding season which are plentiful and nutritious and then changing to seeds during autumn and winter. They are especially attracted to beech mast and, like Chaffinches their close relatives, will happily feed on the ground.
My first sighting this year was on 5 November when I had two on my feeders together with Chaffinches. This was a new tick for the garden and shows that as I have encouraged some untidiness around the edges and put in more native planting and allowed more cover for the birds, there is more wildlife being attracted into the garden.
Perhaps even better than a sighting in the garden happened the following day when they were present at Chateau des Marais and I was able to ring a very smart bird and could see it at close quarters. In the breeding season, this male will have a black head.
Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey 