Tisbury Natural History Society
  • Home
    • About the Society
    • Committee
  • Blog
  • Talks
  • Field trips
  • Young Nature Watch
  • Resources
    • Wildlife identification and recording >
      • Local wildlife >
        • Mammals
      • Identification
      • Recording
    • Other useful websites
    • Reading list
  • Contact us

Blog

Look out for...Bramlings

9/1/2021

 
PictureMale brambling. Dunpharlain, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Also known as Fringilla Montifringilla.  Andrew Graham explains that its scientific name means 'mountain finch' so my thanks to him especially for that.  He continues:  ' Its name originates from Common West Germanic - brâma meaning bramble or a thorny bush.' 

This is a bit confusing - perhaps we should call it the 'mountain bramble bird'!
​
'This attractive bird is a winter visitor, similar in size and shape to the chaffinch.  Bramblings are gregarious and often join up with flocks of chaffinches. They have a black head and mantle and orange patches on the breast, shoulder, and throat. Underparts are brown and wings are black with white and orange bars. Females are duller than males [but I think the female on the NewNews page is very pretty - Ed] and juveniles are like females with dark head and grey cheeks.  Birds moult after breeding so their plumage is at its freshest in Autumn and Winter. By January, the buff tips on the feathers have been worn off and the breeding plumage so achieved is at its most distinctive.  

​In flight, the bird shows a long white rump, and this is a key to identification, but beware of confusing it with the plumper bullfinch (unlikely to be found in flocks of chaffinches).
Picture
Bullfinch_male © Francis C. Franklin CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 httpscreativecommons.orglicensesby-sa3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
​Bramblings arrive in the UK in autumn with numbers building from September onwards. First arrivals are seen on the east coast, arriving via the continent to avoid long crossings over the North Sea. They then spread inland to all parts of England, Wales, and lower lying parts of Scotland. They will start leaving from Feb to March onwards and all will have returned to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia and north-west Russia by May. One or two pairs occasionally nest in highland Scotland.

Bramblings feed on berries, insects, and seeds but particularly on beech mast. The numbers that arrive here depend upon the amount of mast available in Scandinavia and on the continent. In good mast years relatively few will arrive but if food is scarce or winter weather particularly bad, large numbers may reach us. Perhaps variations in food availability makes brambling migrations unpredictable: birds that winter in the UK one year have been found in Italy the next.  Bramblings come into gardens and visit bird tables but usually only during the harshest weather.

The best place to look for them is moving through beech woods or on farmland fields nearby. Beechwoods near Compton Abbas airfield and Melbury Wood are promising locations. At this time of year, it is worth checking any flock of finches. On the continent they may form huge flocks, some roosts have been estimated to contain over ten million birds.

Comments are closed.
    Photo: Avocets ​(Izzy Fry)

    ​The headers display photos taken by our members. Do get in touch via the Contact Form if you'd like to submit a photo for selection.
    Get our website news by email:
    Also go to our pages at:

    Facebook
    Instagram
    Twitter

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    August 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018

    Categories

    All
    Birds
    Butterflies & Moths
    Conservation & Biodiversity
    Field Trips
    Film
    Fish
    Focus Magazine
    Fungi
    Identification & Recording
    Insects & Molluscs
    Mammals
    Oysters Coppice
    Plants
    Special Events
    Surveys
    Swifts Project
    Talks
    Trees

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
    • About the Society
    • Committee
  • Blog
  • Talks
  • Field trips
  • Young Nature Watch
  • Resources
    • Wildlife identification and recording >
      • Local wildlife >
        • Mammals
      • Identification
      • Recording
    • Other useful websites
    • Reading list
  • Contact us