1. It may just have been the little suckers time.
2. Some birds do fly at night and do roost on the ground. ( If you
have ever been in the path of a woodcock migration on a full moon, you
might think it was raining birds.)
3. The crayfish body you found may have only been it's shell. It will
shed the shell as it outgrows it. They usually cannot catch a healthy
fish and don't care to. There is enough stuff to eat that doesn't
fight back.
Relax ........ enjoy your new toy. (spotlight)
"Sue Alexandre" wrote in message
news:xXbHa.9059$8p2.4206@lakeread04...
Hubby bought me a new, improved 1.5 million candlepower rechargeable
spotlight for my "midnight pond checks" and I saw three different
things
tonight,not sure if they're good or bad.

First, found a dead fish. I NEVER see dead fish in my pond, and this
guy is
a bottom sucker or something that has been there for 3 years that I
think my
kids caught in a nearby brook. It was about an inch long when they
brought
it home, and it was probably 7 inches long tonight. It bothers me and
scares me that it died, since I don't know why.

Second discovery was kind of strange, I found a bird sitting on the
grass
under a hosta. Since when do birds sleep on the ground???? I'm not
even
sure what kind it was, it happened so fast. I was sliding my foot
under the
plant to get a closer look in the pond, and then there was this
flutter and
a bird flew out and away! What in heck was he doing in there? It
was
right next to where the UV light is - think there's any connection?

Third thing I then spotted in the pond was a fairly large crayfish. I
knew
my kids had put two in there last year, and I found one "body" when
opening
this spring, just kind of assumed they both had died. Now WHERE
this guy
seems to be hanging out is right where I found the dead fish. So I
can't
help but wonder if the fish got attacked, but he looked perfectly
intact
when I removed him.

Any ideas why birds sleep on the ground, why fish die, or why crayfish
attack fish? OK, skip the last one. I guess even crayfish have to
eat!
Sue