espy vs pick up on

espy

verb
  • To find out or observe (someone or something, especially if not easy to see) by spying or looking; to catch sight of; to see; to spot. 

  • To see (someone or something) without foreplanning or unexpectedly. 

pick up on

verb
  • To notice, observe, learn, or understand, especially something otherwise overlooked. 

  • To adopt a practice in which others already engage. 

  • To continue or build upon (for example, a task, analysis, or narrative), beginning from a point at which someone has previously stopped. 

How often have the words espy and pick up on occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )