What a thread! I haven't been on the site in quite a while. This one is amazing. Maybe a story for Pond Boss.
For 25 years I have been in the profession of designing, building, stocking and managing private lakes and ponds. It's a fascinating business, and quite an honor in which to participate.
While much of the biology makes good sense, some of the natural occurrences don't.
Let's throw a little more common sense into the mix of this discussion. Let's say an egg or two make it to another pond via some bird transport device.
The egg must arrive moist, viable, and then come off the leg, feather, beak, butt of a bird. Then, the egg must fall/be placed/end up in a substrate which will allow it to hatch. Then, after it hatches, the fry must avoid being eaten by some giant zooplankter/insect/creature. Then, the fry must go through its stages to maturity, then meet up with another creature of the same species (which went through the same astronomical odds) to mate and begin to create a population.
Not likely.
I have treaded around muddy ponds many times during and after rainfall events.
I have come to the conclusion small fish will travel long distances in relatively shallow flowing water to find a safe home.
I bet, upon further investigation, the Haughton pond in question has a nearby swamp/marsh/creek/pond that has the alledged fish in it, and they made their escape during heavy rains.
It's common to find fish in small mud holes/cattle tracks in a pasture, both above and below a pond, immediately after rainfall.
I can't imagine birds successfully transporting eggs, in their beak, on their legs, or through their parasite ridden intestines.
Fish move through running water.
Now, after that little tirade, I will truthfully tell all that I honestly don't know how it happens, but it does.
One other note...some hatcheries may mix fish, but most don't. They have reputations, and the professional ones don't want that reputation tarnished, especially those who wish to stay in business for a while.
