. The story of hedgerow and pond . uwatch any particular swallow you willsee that it is circlingabout just where themayflies are thickest, and that in itsflight it seems to meet mayfly after may-fly, and each time the insect suddenlyand mysteriously disappears. Take140 Pond Life another bird, and it is doing the same ;they are all catching maythes as fast asthey can while the * rise is on, for itmay stop at any minute, and the birdsseem determined to make hay while thesun shines! They even pick them offthe water while floating. Others aresuddenly sucked down quietly frombelow ; the trout are o
. The story of hedgerow and pond . uwatch any particular swallow you willsee that it is circlingabout just where themayflies are thickest, and that in itsflight it seems to meet mayfly after may-fly, and each time the insect suddenlyand mysteriously disappears. Take140 Pond Life another bird, and it is doing the same ;they are all catching maythes as fast asthey can while the * rise is on, for itmay stop at any minute, and the birdsseem determined to make hay while thesun shines! They even pick them offthe water while floating. Others aresuddenly sucked down quietly frombelow ; the trout are on the watch forthem. Taking up its position betweentwo weed-beds, or wherever the set ofthe current will bring them, a trout willlie, and while the rise is on will suckdown every floating mayfly which passesover it, the small fish with a jump andsudden splash, but the big fish quietly,and barely breaking the calm surface ofthe water. They also eat them underwater, catching them as they rise tothe top. The wagtails and sparrows,141. Pond Life starlings and other birds pick them upwhen they are washed on the banks, andeven try to catch them flying. They dosucceed in catching a good many in thisway, but their more awkward attemptsdo not compare with the graceful andeasy work of the swallows and the farmyard ducks and geeseflock to the place for their share of thefeast. With so many hungry enemies itseems difficult to see how any of themcan escape. After this annual feast ofthe mayfly the trout are plainly fatterand heavier and in better condition thanthey were before. All this should be seen to be thorouoh-ly enjoyed, and a river is really the bestplace to see it, because trout are notusually to be found in ponds, thoughmayflies are. But if the pond is a fairly142 Pond Life big one, and there is a small streamrunning through it, as is so often thecase, and it is stocked with trout, thenwhat I have tried to describe may beseen. The mayflies and dragon-flies aremembers
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