Brambling

🔍 Overview

The Brambling is a winter finch visitor from Scandinavia, adding colour and excitement to Sussex flocks. Most often seen in beech woods or mixed with Chaffinches in farmland.

🪶 Key Identification Features

Size: Small (14–16 cm)
Plumage: Orange breast, white belly, black or mottled head (depending on season)
Distinctive Marks: White rump, orange shoulders
Bill: Pale yellow in winter, black in summer
Tail: Notched
Flight: Bounding and flocking

🗺️ Habitat & Distribution

Present in Sussex October–March, particularly in woodland clearings, farmland hedgerows, and beech mast-rich areas.

🎶 Voice & Behaviour

Call is a sharp, nasal “zweee.” Less vocal than Chaffinch, often quiet in flocks.

🍴 Diet

Feeds on seeds (especially beech mast) and insects in spring.

📸 Birding Tip

Look for them at Chantry and Kithurst Hill, Cissbury Ring, Hollingbury Hill or farmland near the South Downs. Best seen during cold spells or mast-rich winters.