Linnet Carduelis cannabina

Linnets are fairly small birds that belong to the finch family. In the breeding season males have a grey head with white throat, a crimson breast and forehead and a chestnut-brown back, with white edges to primaries and tail feathers. In winter they lose their grey head and crimson colour, becoming duller, with a streaky breast more like the female and juvenile.

Linnets are lowland farmland birds. They prefer areas of scrub such as Gorse or Blackthorn, suitable hedges, especially Hawthorn, or low trees. They may also be found in orchards, heathland, uncultivated land and saltmarshes and are becoming more common in parks, gardens and other suburban habitats. Linnets tend to form loose neighbour groups of up to 20 or so pairs for nesting, starting in mid-April and continuing to breed until early August. They raise two or three broods with four to six bluish spotted eggs in a clutch. The adults and chicks feed on a wide variety of wildflower and crop seeds. After breeding, large flocks form on stubbles, set-asides, fallow fields and waste ground.

Current Status

Linnets are widespread and common across mainland Europe but their range has contracted and numbers declined in north-west and central Europe. The bird is abundant and widespread across the British countryside. In common with most other lowland farmland birds, Linnets are in decline. Between 1968 and 1991 the population fell by 56% and is now down to less than 540,000 territories. The range has also decreased. Linnets are on the RSPB Red List of 'Birds of Conservation Concern'. Although they have shown some signs of a recent recovery nationally, action is required to raise their numbers to previous levels. Linnets are also included on the UK Biodiversity Steering Group 'Middle List of Globally Threatened/Declining Species'.

Within Hull there is very little farmland but several typical farmland birds, including Linnets, are just surviving on the north-east boundary of the city, particularly East Carr and North Carr. Linnets are quite common in this area with 10 to 15 breeding pairs. Large winter flocks of more than 200 individuals have also been recorded. Scrub habitats are important for Linnets in Hull. Disused land and land associated with railways are particularly important habitats. Flocks of Linnets have been sighted to the west of St Andrew's Quay and Victoria Dock. Linnets seems to be surviving well in Hull despite the national decline but the large flocks reported in the early 1990s are becoming less common.

Current Factors Affecting Linnets

• The recent decline of Linnets has occurred at the same time as decreases in the numbers and/or range of other farmland birds with similar diets. It is thought that changes in agricultural practices are responsible.
  
  
• The increased use of herbicides and loss of field margins has resulted in loss of weeds on which Linnets prefer to feed.
  
  
• The switch from spring-sown to autumn sown crops has led to the loss of winter stubble fields. There has also been a general reduction in farmland habitat diversity due to the decline of mixed farming and increased specialisation.
  
  
• The removal of hedges and unmanaged scrub, combined with the increased frequency and severity of hedge trimming and heavy grazing in some areas, may have led to the losses of suitable nesting habitat.
  
  
• Within Hull many of the scrub areas, allotments and dockland where Linnets used to breed have been subject to development. Insensitive mowing is damaging Old Main Drain at North Bransholme, which is home to several breeding pairs of Linnet.

Current Action

Legal Status

The Linnet is protected under the EU Birds Directive. It is also listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention. In England all wild birds, their nests and their eggs are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (amended by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000). The Wildlife and Countryside Act makes it an offence intentionally to kill, injure or take any wild bird. It is also illegal to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built or to take or destroy the egg of any wild bird. The Linnet is also listed in Schedule 3 of the Act which means that it may be sold at all times if it is ringed and bred in captivity.

Management, Research and Guidance

The UK Biodiversity Steering Group has produced an Action Plan for the Linnet. The plan seeks to halt or reverse the decline in numbers by the year 2003, then see a sustained recovery so that the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) index is at least 50% higher than the 1996 levels and the range has recovered to 1968-1972 levels by 2008. The UK plan also encourages further research. The plan stresses the importance of monitoring the population to enable trends to be identified. Monitoring will be achieved through the annual Breeding Birds Survey.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) have organised a winter farmland bird survey for three successive winters from 1999/2000. This aims to encourage members of the public to record winter numbers and locations of winter farmland birds, including Linnets.

The RSPB has recently purchased a 180-hectare farm in Cambridgeshire, which will be used to investigate and develop new wildlife-friendly farming methods to benefit birds such as the Linnet. The farm will allow the RSPB to carry out a detailed programme of research to devise and test new cropping techniques for the future, which farmers will be able to incorporate on farms throughout the UK. The new carefully costed techniques, designed to provide specific wildlife benefits, could include the provision of thinly cropped nesting areas for Skylarks, and less intensive cultivation techniques that leave seeds in the fields for Linnets and other finches in winter.

Within Hull, there are many local people who record bird sightings, which is very useful for monitoring the population in Hull. The recently published 'Birds of the Hull Area' contains detailed information on every bird species recorded in the city and the immediate parts of the East Riding. However, there is currently no local action under way for Linnets.

Action Plan Aims

1. To evaluate the size and distribution of Hull's breeding and wintering Linnet population.
2. To monitor the Linnet population to determine changes in numbers and distribution.
3. To improve existing hedgerows and increase the length of hedgerow in Hull to provide nesting habitat.
4. To improve hedgerow management.
5. To leave uncut margins on grass verges and amenity grassland to provide a seed source for Linnets.
6. To encourage management practices on farmland, golf courses and other relevant land that would favour Linnets.

What We Are Going to Do

What We Can All Do

• Let the Hull Biodiversity Partnership know if you see Linnets in Hull.
  
• Be aware of the need for areas of uncut grass to encourage and protect wildlife.
  
• Encourage the planting of new hedges around school fields and amenity areas.
   

Links With Other Action Plans

Habitat management will be very important for this bird and the action plan should be considered in conjunction with those for Trees, Scrub and Hedgerows, Industrial Land, Grassland and Parks, Golf Courses and Cemeteries. It is likely that the implementation of this plan will also benefit other birds such as the Reed Bunting, Skylark, Song Thrush and Tree Sparrow.

References

Broughton, R.K. (2002) Birds of the Hull Area. Kingston Press, Hull.

Gregory, R.D., Noble, D.G., Cranswick, P.A., Campbell, L.H., Rehfisch, M.M. and Baillie, S.R. (2001) The State of the UKs Birds. RSPB, BTO and WWT, Sandy.

RSPB (1996) Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. RSPB, BTO and WWT, Sandy.

RSPB. The Loss of Farmland Birds. RSPB, Sandy.

RSPB (2001) Wild Birds and the Law. RSPB, Sandy.