鸟瞰地球（2011）

and push onwards to the fertile lands that lie further north.
向北部的沃野推进
But like the walls of the Grand Canyon,
但与大峡谷的岩壁一样
the huge sandstone buttresses deflect air upwards.
巨型砂岩壁使气流折而向上
It's just the help a family needs.
这仅仅是一个家庭所需要的帮助
Migrating geese appreciate these free rides,
迁徙的雪雁懂得这些免费的搭乘
using them to join other flocks flying overhead.
借此加入上空飞行的雁群
On the West Coast, pelicans are also on the move.
在西海岸鹈鹕也在迁徙途中
They must keep to a strict timetable
它们必须严格遵循时间表
if they are not to miss a great feeding event.
如果它们不想错过一场伟大的盛宴
They say, "A wonderful bird is the pelican,
人们说“鹈鹕是只神奇的鸟
"his bill can hold more than his belly can".
鸟嘴能耐比肚子大”
While it's true he could swallow five kilos of fish in one gulp,
这是真的它一口能吞下5公斤鱼
these rays are way out of his league.
这些鳐鱼并非其捕食目标
They trawl for tiny shrimps using their mouths as a net.
它们用嘴做拖网来兜住小虾米
They are also known as Devil rays,
它们也被称为魔鬼鱼
and at times they appear to display supernatural powers.
有时他们显示出超自然的力量
It seems they too can fly!
似乎它们也能飞!
Why they indulge in such weird aerobatics is anyone's guess.
所有人都在猜测:为什么它们沉迷于这样不可思议的特技飞行表演
But the pelican's aerial perspective
但鹈鹕的空中视角发现
reveals that the jumps happen around the edge of the shoal.
跳跃发生于浅滩周围
Perhaps they panic the shrimps into the mouths of the other rays.
也许它们恐吓小虾米并赶进其他鳐鱼口中
Or maybe they're just showing off!
或许它们仅仅在炫耀!
But the rays' aerobatics won't delay the pelicans.
但鳐鱼的特技飞行表演不会耽误鹈鹕
They are heading for one of the most bizarre natural spectacles in North America.
它们向北美最离奇的一场自然景观前进
The youngsters follow the adults as they navigate
年轻的鹈鹕紧随成年鹈鹕飞行
to a very special beach in the Sea of Cortez.
飞向位于科尔特斯海的一处很特别的海滩
They are right on time.
它们很准时
The tide has reached its highest point.
浪潮已达到它的最高点
The sea now reveals its prize.
海洋现在展示其奖赏
An entire shoreline, carpeted in gulf grunion.
整个海岸被海湾银汉鱼所覆盖
The adult pelicans know exactly when the grunion will arrive,
成年鹈鹕知道银汉鱼确切的抵达时间
passing on this knowledge to the youngsters travelling with them.
并把这项知识传授给随其飞行的年轻鹈鹕
The grunion surf ashore, and the females burrow backwards,
银汉鱼随海浪冲向海岸 雌鱼委身于其后
laying their eggs in the exposed sand.
在暴露的沙土上产卵
The males then coil around to fertilise them.
然后雄鱼包绕其外周授精
They are laying their eggs out of the reach of aquatic predators,
它们在水生猎食者到达之前产卵
above the high tide mark.
在高♥潮♥线以上
Their young will hatch on the next spring tide and return to the sea.
来年春季涨潮时会孵化出其下一代并返回大海
These fish out of water should be a doddle for a pelican to catch.
对于鹈鹕来说捕获这些离水之鱼轻而易举
But they're missing the right tools for the job.
但是它们没有合适的工具来完成此项工作
Their bills are too unwieldy to scoop the grunion from the sand.
它们的喙不够灵活难以舀取沙土中的银汉鱼
The pelicans are relegated to fishing in the surf zone
鹈鹕则退居在冲浪区捕鱼
as the orgy goes on behind.
随后大吃特吃
Not the easiest place to fish, especially on a rough day.
在此捕鱼并非轻而易举尤其是狂风暴雨的天气
But as the fish make their getaway, the pelicans seize their chance
但当它们逃亡之际 鹈鹕抓住了自己的机会
and go back to what they know best -
并返回到他们所知道的最佳之地——
plunge diving on to their prey.
猛烈地向他们的猎物俯冲
The marshlands of South Carolina are the setting
在南卡罗来纳州的沼泽地上演了
for another strange fishing story.
另一场完全不同的捕鱼故事
One that involves a very talented pod of dolphins.
一群天才的河豚也参与到其中
They are closely watched by a flock of great egrets,
它们被一大群白鹭所密切监视
who have become experts on the dolphins' behaviour.
后者是河豚行为专家
As the dolphins manoeuvre, the egrets shadow them,
在河豚行使策略时白鹭躲藏起来
leap-frogging from one spot to the next.
从一个点到下一点跳跃式前进
Their cue is the moment a dolphin pops to the surface,
河豚突然冲出水面的时刻即是它们的暗示
checking the position of the nearest mud bank.
检查泥浆浅滩的最近位置
The egrets are poised and ready for action.
白鹭保持姿势准备行动
Then it happens.
然后故事发生了
The dolphins drive the fish shoal ashore.
河豚将鱼儿驱赶至岸边浅滩
As the fish flounder, the dolphins scoop them up.
在鱼儿挣扎之际河豚将之从沙土中舀出
But the egrets also pile in.
但是白鹭也蜂拥而至
This is the only place in the world where dolphins "strand feed" like this,
世界上只有这一个地方 河豚进行这样的“搁浅式捕食”
and the local birds have learnt to make the most of it.
当地的鸟类已经学会如何尽可能的加以利用
As the tide drops further,
当潮水进一步后退
the dolphins search for more fish shoals.
河豚搜索更多的捕鱼浅滩
Strangely, the dolphins always use their right sides to push ashore.
奇怪的是河豚总是使用他们的右侧推向岸边
Their bellies flush pink with the excitement of it all.
它们的腹部因兴奋而通体泛红
The young dolphins pick up this technique from their parents,
年轻的河豚从其父母获取该项技巧
as do the egrets that follow them.
白鹭也紧随其后
Many no longer fish for themselves,
多数白鹭不再自己捕鱼
and totally rely upon the dolphins' cast-offs.
完全依赖于河豚的取舍
The egrets are living proof of birds' extraordinary ability
白鹭是鸟类具有非凡能力的活生生的证明
to adapt to the opportunities on offer.
机会主义的适应者
Snow geese taking the Mississippi route pass over Nebraska.
飞密西西比路线的雪雁要越过内布拉斯加
Here, over the last 150 years,
在这里最近的150年
natural grasslands have been transformed into America's grain belt.
天然草原已转化为美国的粮食带
From the goose's perspective, the changes are a major improvement,
从雪雁的角度来看该变化是一个重大改进
and now the snow geese population is booming.
目前雪雁群繁荣兴旺
It is increasing at an incredible 5% per year
以每年5%的速度令人难以置信的递增
as farmers grow crops that the geese can eat on their migration.
农民种植的粮食成为雪雁迁徙途中的食物
Many of the birds that touch down here
许多鸟儿选择在此地休息
will have been flying continuously for three days.
然后继续飞行三天
They would have travelled 800 miles, burnt over 3,000 calories
它们大概已经飞行了800英里 消耗了3,000多卡路里的热量
and lost a third of their body weight to reach here.
损失了三分之一的体重才到达此地
The first priority is to top up their lost reserves.
其首要任务是补足失去的储备
But even best-laid plans are at the mercy of the weather.
但即便是最佳的计划也要受制于天气
An overnight snowfall can blanket everything.
彻夜降雪覆盖了一切
They have no option but to move, even on empty stomachs.
它们只有前行即便饿着肚子
But flying burns calories,
但是飞行消耗热量
and many of the migrating geese are pretty much running on empty.
多数迁徙的雪雁肚子空空上路
Any young now have to rely on their parents' knowledge of the area -
年轻的雪雁现在必须依赖它们的父母对该区域的了解——
without food, they simply won't make it.
没有食物它们根本做不到
In San Francisco Bay,
在旧金山湾
the young pelican reaches the end of his journey.
年轻的鹈鹕抵达了旅程的尽头
The Golden Gate Bridge spans waters teeming with some of the most diverse marine life on the planet.
金门大桥横跨的水域 充满了地球上最丰富多样的海洋生物
Pelicans only make short migrations,
鹈鹕只做短程迁徙
and for many, it's the end of their journey.
对多数鹈鹕来说这里是其旅程的尽头
In fact, the prison island of Alcatraz
事实上阿尔卡特拉兹的恶魔岛
is named after the old Spanish word for pelican.
就以鹈鹕的古西班牙语命名的
Throughout their travels, pelicans have learnt to find food
在整个旅程中鹈鹕学会了发现食物
by watching other animals or using their ingenuity.
通过观察其他动物或利用其技巧
But here, the going is easy.
但在这里很容易
He can either catch fish in the bountiful waters of the bay
它们可以在海湾的富饶水域捕鱼
or scavenge on waste discarded by fishing boats.
或在废弃的渔船上觅食
He can even partner with Californian sea lions.
它们甚至与加州海狮为伴
Like dolphins, they help find and corral the shoals.
跟海豚一样依靠它们发现猎物并在浅滩围猎
With plenty of food to be had,
带来大量的食物
more than 1,000 sea lions laze around without a care in the world.
1,000多头海狮懒洋洋的散布于各处 对其他一切不理不睬
It's a carefree end to the pelicans' journey,
鹈鹕的旅程尽头无忧无虑
but it is the beginning of another.
但对于另一种鸟类来说 这也是其旅程的开始
These are California gulls,
这些鸟儿是加州海鸥
a bird that lives on his wits around the harbours of the Californian coast.
依靠智慧生存于在加州海岸港口周围的一种鸟类
But despite their love of the seaside,
尽管它们喜欢海边
each spring they hear the call of the wild
每年春季它们听到野性生活的呼唤
and all 65,000 of them up sticks and leave.
65,000只集结在一起离开
They head 200 miles inland to a barren salty lagoon known as Mono Lake.
它们向内陆前进200英里 来到一个贫瘠的盐碱湖—莫诺湖
Here, towers of calcium carbonate rise from the lake surface,
在这里碳酸钙盐塔高耸出湖面
creating a surreal landscape.
形成了一片离奇的水上风景
It makes a stark contrast to the comforts of the gulls' usual home
这跟海鸥家乡的舒适形成鲜明的对比
along the San Francisco seafront.
旧金山海滨沿岸
Even the water is poisonous -
水体甚至是有毒的——
a caustic chemical brew of alkaline salts.
碱性盐形成腐蚀性化学坩埚
Despite its lack of amenities, the gulls flock here in their thousands.
尽管没有舒适的环境还是有成千上万的海鸥涌向这里
Each morning, they wait for an event that happens as the day warms up.
每天早晨它们等待气温升高的时刻来临
Suddenly, the shoreline fills with vast clouds of brine flies,
突然大群的卤蝇云涌向海岸线
billions of them.
数十亿计
For the gulls, it's a feast like no other.
对于海鸥来说这是一场无与伦比的盛宴
As the flies gather to breed and feed, they turn the sand black.
由于苍蝇聚集滋生和进食 它们使得沙土变成黑色
His technique is anything but sophisticated -
技术根本不复杂——
he just opens his mouth and runs.
只需张开口向前跑