鸟类秘闻（2012）

甚至变成了巨大的堆栈
'It'll eventually be a giant stack
它们会积极地捍卫它
'and they'll defend it very aggressively.
尽管人类对城镇中心的这个巢不构成威胁
'Although in the middle of town, the nest is reasonably safe from people,
很少有人会下水冒险
'as few will venture into the water.
这里仅有的危险
'The only danger here
来自猛禽鸟 比如海鸥 苍鹭
is from predatory birds,such as gulls and herons.
雌鸟一次最多可生十枚蛋
'When the female has laid her eggs, and there could be as many as 10,
她通常会用水草盖住它们
'she'll usually cover them with weed to hide them.
鸟类经常会巧妙地运用人造设施
'Birds often use artificial landscapes in ingenious ways.
这是戴菲河口的莱瑞河
'This is the River Leri near the Dyfi Estuary.
河流穿过连通马汉莱斯
'The river is crossed by the Cambrian railway,
和阿伯里斯特威斯的威尔士铁路
which joins Machynlleth with Aberystwyth.
乌鸦是威尔士沿途随见的风景
'Crows are a common sight throughout Wales.
但这些是足智多谋的乌鸦
'But these are resourceful crows.
它们发现铁轨有许多用途
'They've discovered that the railway track has many uses.
河口退潮时 它们会收集贻贝
'They collect mussels at low tide on the estuary.
它们的鸟嘴
'Their beaks, however,
虽然不适合打开贻贝
are not the correct shape to prize open the shells.
但它们找到了解决办法
'But they've worked out a solution to the problem.
它们把贻贝放在铁轨上
'They drop the shells on to the railway track.
这样的行为不仅是衡量智力的标准
'This behaviour is not only a measure of intelligence,
同时也展示了鸟类如何学会 如何突发奇想地
'but also shows how birds learn how to improvise
利用我们人类建造的一切
'and use whatever we build.
一只旁观的鹰隼被这一举动吸引了
'A watching kestrel seems impressed by the activity.
几乎我们建造的所有东西
'Pretty much everything we build can be used
都会被鸟类各种物种利用
'by one species of bird or another.
它们也会利用我们的垃圾
'And birds also use what we throw away.
这是六月一个美丽早晨的六点钟
'It's 6:00am on a beautiful June morning.
加的夫市苏醒了
Cardiff is waking up.
沐浴着第一缕阳光 海鸥们开始活动了
'Gulls have been active since first light.
它们巡视大街小巷 寻找食物
'They're patrolling the streets, looking for food.
这是你在夏季唯一能看到的鸟类大规模地活动
'It's an activity that you'll only see on a big scale during summer.
河滨区和格兰奇镇 今天是垃圾回收日
'In the Riverside and Grangetown areas of the town, it's bin day.
今天 海鸥们所有的清除行动
'Today, all the scavenging efforts of the gulls
都会集中在这里
will be concentrated here.
它们主要是小型黑背鸥
'They're mainly lesser black-backed gulls.
还有的是淡灰色翅膀的银鸥
'There are also herring gulls with light grey wings.
有时 黑背鸥会抢到垃圾袋
'Sometimes, a lesser black-back is boss of the bag.
有时是 则是银鸥
'Sometimes, a herring gull.
但是它们似乎总想
'But one gull always seems to
占据别人的垃圾袋
dominate others once a bag is opened.
这些银鸥正在用叫声宣示所有权
'This herring gull is making this clear with his warning display.
海鸥们并不受居民和政♥府♥的欢迎
'Gulls are not popular with the council or with the residents.
它们把街道弄得乌七八糟
'They cause havoc on the streets.
爱它们还是恨它们 多半是恨吧
'Love them or hate them, and it's mostly hate,
它们所做的就是适应
'all they're doing is adapting to an environment
我们人类扔给它们的环境
'that gives them what they want.
全是垃圾的环境
'And bags of it.
这是春末一个很重要的时期
'And this is very important late spring.
这些海鸥会吃的比实际食量多
'These gulls are eating far more than they need.
有个原因能解释它们为何如此贪婪
'And there's a good reason why they're being so greedy.
这是个繁殖的季节
'It's the breeding season.
城市里同样有海鸥极佳的筑巢地点
'And the city also has excellent gull nesting sites.
市中心工厂区的屋顶平台是个不错的基地
'On an industrial site near the centre, a flat roof is an ideal base,
离觅食区很近
'a short flight away from the feeding zones.
海鸥们起早贪黑得给雏鸟衔食
'The gulls take off and land with food for their chicks
来回往返
from dawn to dusk.
它们把食道塞满
'With their gullets full,
回来反刍食物给雏鸟
'they return and regurgitate the food for their chicks.'
屋顶平台上差不多有五六十只海鸥
There must be 50, maybe even 60 pairs of gulls on this flat roof.
主要是小黑背鸥
They're mainly lesser black-backed gulls.
还散布着一些银鸥 那边也有
There are a few herring gulls dotted here and there as well.
这些平台就像是离岸岛屿
This flat roof is exactly like an off-shore island,
离岸岛屿的海滩
like a beach on an off-shore island.
相当安全
It's really safe.
没有狐狸 没有猫猫 没有狗能到这来
No foxes, no cats, no dogs can get up there.
它们就像城市秃鹰
They're kind of like urban vultures.
这些加的夫市的海鸥的确很聪明
These gulls in the middle of Cardiff are really intelligent birds
它们知道垃圾回收日要去市中心
because they know when it's bin day over in the middle of the city.
它们扫荡你的垃圾袋 把食物拖出来
They'll rip up your bins and they'll get the food out of that.
每一对海鸥在这个筑巢点
'Each gull pair will have its own small patch of space
都有自己的小空间
on this artificial nesting site.
尽管雏鸟们免受了猛禽的威胁
'Although the chicks are safe from predators,
却会受到同类的威胁
'they're not safe from other gulls.
如果它们冒险离开自己的空间
'If they venture from their own patch,
就会有可能被其它成年同类杀死
'there's always a possibility that other adults will kill them.
在四月到八月的繁殖期里
'Gulls are only in the city in big numbers during the breeding season,
大批海鸥会在城里
between April and August.
其余时间 它们会去其他地方觅食
'The rest of the time, they'll go elsewhere in search of food.
它们不是鸟儿世界最美风景之一
'They don't provide one of the most beautiful views of the bird world,
但是你不得不佩服它们的智慧
'but you have to admire their intelligence.
鸟类是一种极其特殊的生物
'Birds are very special living creatures.
它们可以做到许多我们做不到的事情
'They can do many things that we can't.
由于威尔士的生物栖息地的范围广泛
'And because of the range of habitats that we have in Wales,
我们有相当广泛的物种
'we have a fantastic range of species
它们都是各自领域里的专家
'which have become specialists on their own patch.
下一集"鸟儿奥秘"中 我会通过多种方式探究
'In my next Secret Life of Birds, I'll be looking at the various ways
不同的鸟类物种在威尔士大♥陆♥的适应情况
'different bird species have adapted to the Welsh landscape
以及它们如何用不同的技巧
'and how the birds of different designs cope
应对威尔士的生活
with life in Wales.'