Winter visitor and passage migrant. Not recorded from May to August
Mathew (1894) considered the Brambling a rare and irregular visitor, whereas Lockley et al. (1949) considered it regular.
Today they pass through Pembrokeshire in small numbers most autumns between 3 October and 28 November, though one was at Skokholm as early as 25 September in 1976. It is probable that more pass undetected at night as there are occasional falls of larger numbers, such as 800 seen at Skokholm on 22 October 1966.
A few can usually be found among other finches in winter, but larger flocks of 100-110 occur in some years, usually among turnips which have seeded, or, more recently, in unharvested flax.
A small and erratic spring passage has been recorded on the islands and in coastal districts between 4 March and 27 April.