Very murky over the last few days - when visibility allows up to 50 golden plover and up to about 80 black-tailed godwits can be seen on the brooks. A few dunlin and 1 or 2 ruff are still to be found amongst flocks of lapwing. On saturday afternoon (about 14.30 - 15.30) 2 barn owls were hunting nr the public footpath along the river Arun flood bank. A short-eared owl has been reported occasionally on the north brooks in the last couple of weeks, again mid/late afternoon. Little egrets are starting to reappear in greater numbers (6 or 7 on sunday, up from just 1 or 2 for most of the winter), perhaps a sign of increasing amphibian activity in the ditches - I saw my first frogspawn of 2011 at the weekend. Huge numbers of fieldfares (up to 200) present in the field in front of the visitor centre, and flocks of redwings on the reserve are getting noisier, a sure sign of them getting ready for departure.