Linnet photographed at Pulias [PUL] on 11/5/2011 Photo: © Royston Carré (visit site)

Smith records the Linnet as the commonest bird on Guernsey and this seems to have been true for the other islands as well. Current knowledge about the habitat preferences for Linnets showed that the rural way of life at the time was ideally suited to this species.

Linnets are now reasonably common on all the islands of the Bailiwick, including many of the smaller islands such as Lihou, Brecqhou, Jethou, and Burhou. Birds were found breeding in every square in the 1989-91 GBBS and occurred in most habitats on Guernsey. Coastal scrub, the coastal escarpment and areas of gorse and common land are the most favoured habitat. Few birds now breed on agricultural land, although some do still breed in the furze breaks and patches of scrub along the banks of fields. It is difficult to quantify the loss of scrub in inland Guernsey but as furze gave way to oil and electricity as the major fuel used in Guernsey for cooking, the management of gorse as a crop has ceased, and much of it has disappeared or is decimated during hedge cutting.

Post-breeding, birds flock up in mid-July. These numbers tend to remain steady throughout July and August and large numbers of migrants pass through the islands in September and the first half of October. By November, the bulk of the migrants have passed through and numbers remain low until March. In autumn, numbers are at their highest and several hundred birds can occur in flocks.

Small numbers of Linnets winter in the islands and flocks are rarely larger than 30-40 birds. Birds which wintered further south pass through the island in April and flocks of 100-300 birds are regularly seen on the islands' coastal headlands and in weedy agricultural fields.

Linnet numbers have declined dramatically over the past century and are still in decline. Despite little quantitative data, expert opinion considers the decline to be ongoing.