在大流行病期間，觀鳥活動蓬勃發(fā)展

在大流行病期間，觀鳥活動蓬勃發(fā)展

Most animals have been better off without us during the pandemic, but there's one confluence of humans and nature that may have gotten an enduring boost: bird-watching.

在大流行病期間，大多數(shù)動物在沒有人類的情況下生活得更好，但人類和自然的一個(gè)共同作用可能得到了持久的推動:賞鳥。

It just so happens to be a hobby that's good for both wildlife and humans. Birds get some much-needed appreciation, which often leads to conservation. And humans, well, they get a world of good from staring at birds. We already know the health benefits of getting outside, even for just a few minutes a day. Did we mention that you also get to gawk at birds, in all their diversity and spectacle?

這恰好是一種愛好，對野生動物和人類都有好處。鳥類得到一些急需的欣賞，這使得它們更好地被保護(hù)。而人類，他們從觀鳥活動中得到了很多好處。我們已經(jīng)知道戶外活動對健康的好處，即使一天只有幾分鐘。我們提到過你也可以呆呆地看著各種各樣的鳥來放松嗎?

You don't have to wander far to immerse yourself in the ways of birds. (Photo: trattieritratti/Shutterstock)

It's little wonder birding is booming.

難怪觀鳥越來越流行了。

The National Audubon Society's bird-identification app was downloaded at twice its usual pace in March and April, according to the Los Angeles Times, with visits to its website up by an astounding 500,000. People seem to be embracing the natural world with a newfound enthusiasm. And nature, given time to take a breather during the pandemic, seems to be paying them back in spectacular spades. Forests, city parks, even backyards are teeming with bird life, especially during this nesting season.

據(jù)《洛杉磯時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道，美國奧杜邦協(xié)會的鳥類識別應(yīng)用程序在3月和4月的下載量是平時(shí)的兩倍，其網(wǎng)站的訪問量達(dá)到驚人的50萬。人們似乎正以一種新的熱情擁抱自然世界。而大自然，在大流行期間有時(shí)間喘口氣，似乎正以驚人的速度回報(bào)它們。森林，城市公園，甚至是后院都充滿了鳥類，尤其是在這個(gè)筑巢季節(jié)。

Birds like this great tit have gained an entirely new fan base as bird-watching has soared. (Photo: sasimoto/Shutterstock)

"The world of birds is so much more vibrant and active than I'd ever realized." Annapolis, Maryland resident Conner Brown tells the LA Times.

馬里蘭州安納波利斯的居民康納·布朗在接受《洛杉磯時(shí)報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示:“鳥類的世界比我以前意識到的要活躍得多。”

Brown is only about a month into the hobby, but can already identify more than 30 kinds of birds.

布朗剛開始這個(gè)愛好一個(gè)月，但已經(jīng)能識別30多種鳥類。

"It's given me a reason to get out of the house, it's motivated me."

“它給了我一個(gè)走出家門的理由，它激勵(lì)了我。”

But the explosion in birding may have actually got its start while people were still mostly confined to their quarters. The Global Big Day — a bird-spotting event that takes place on May 9 every year — set an all-time record for participation while most of us were locked down, according to The New York Times. In all, the bird-spotting app eBird, reported more than 2 million observations, recording 6,479 species.

但是觀鳥的熱潮可能是在人們大部分時(shí)間還被關(guān)在自己的房間里的時(shí)候開始的。據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》報(bào)道，每年的5月9日是一年一度的觀鳥日，在我們大多數(shù)人都還在“閉關(guān)鎖國”的情況下，這一天的觀鳥活動卻創(chuàng)下了歷史記錄。觀察鳥類的應(yīng)用程序eBird總共報(bào)告了200多萬次觀察，記錄了6479種鳥類。

And likely many of those observations were made from people's windows and porches.

很可能這些觀察都是通過人們的窗戶和門廊進(jìn)行的。

"There is definitely a craving for engagement with nature, especially considering how limited our ability to move is right now," Derek Lovitch, a birder and biologist in Freeport, Maine, tell the Times.

緬因州弗里波特的鳥類學(xué)家、生物學(xué)家德里克·洛維奇告訴《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》:“人們確實(shí)渴望接觸大自然，尤其是考慮到我們現(xiàn)在的行動能力是多么有限。”

Wildlife watching can bring your heart rate down. (Photo: Agnieszka Bacal/Shutterstock)

Of course, birding didn't just emerge during the pandemic. The first field guide to birds in North America was "Birds Through an Opera Glass" published back in 1889. Since then, the hobby has grown into an industry that pours hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy. A study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that birders and other wildlife watchers contributed nearly $80 billion to the U.S. economy.

當(dāng)然，觀鳥并不是在大流行期間才出現(xiàn)的。第一本關(guān)于北美鳥類的野外指南是1889年出版的《觀鳥之鏡》。從那時(shí)起，這個(gè)愛好已經(jīng)發(fā)展成為一個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)，為經(jīng)濟(jì)注入了數(shù)億美元。美國魚類和野生動物管理局的一項(xiàng)研究估計(jì)，觀鳥者和其他野生動物觀察者為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)貢獻(xiàn)了近800億美元。

Since then, those numbers have only grown — especially with this unlikely pandemic boom. And the best part? The birds don't mind all that fresh admiration. In fact, they pay us no mind at all.

從那時(shí)起，這些數(shù)字一直在增長——尤其是在這種不太可能出現(xiàn)的大流行熱潮的情況下。最好的部分是什么?鳥兒們不介意那些新鮮的贊美。事實(shí)上，它們根本不介意我們。

"The birds don't know that there's a pandemic. They're migrating, building nests and laying eggs, just like they always have," North Carolina birder Michael Kopack Jr. tells the LA Times.

“鳥類不知道有大流行。它們在遷徙，筑巢和產(chǎn)卵，就像它們一直做的那樣。”

"It kind of takes us back to a magical time six or eight weeks ago when there was no pandemic," he said. "It lets me decompress and get away from everything that's going on in the world, at least for a little while."

他說:“這有點(diǎn)像把我們帶回到六、八周前的神奇時(shí)刻，那時(shí)還沒有大流行。”“它讓我減壓，讓我遠(yuǎn)離世界上發(fā)生的每件事，至少在一段時(shí)間內(nèi)。”

Want to join those eager ranks — and maybe find another good reason to immerse yourself in nature? Starre Vartan wrote a guide to getting started with bird-watching, and The Audubon Society has plenty of tips for going deeper.

想要加入這些渴望的行列——或許還能找到另一個(gè)讓自己沉浸于大自然的好理由?斯塔雷·瓦坦寫了一本觀鳥入門指南，奧杜邦學(xué)會有很多深入研究的建議。