VOA慢速英语2019 鸟类观察者和居民帮助鸟类迁徙（在线收听）

How Birdwatchers, Others Can Help Migrating Bird Populations

The kinds of birds coming through your neighborhood are probably changing, and so is the timing of their migrations.

每年飞过你家附近的鸟类可能一直在变化，它们迁徙的时间也在改变。

Birdwatchers noticing these differences are playing a big part in understanding how climate change and severe weather events are affecting bird populations.

鸟类观察者注意到这些差异可能对于他们理解气候变化以及恶劣天气如何影响鸟类种群方面发挥着重要的作用。

John Rowden is director of community conservation at the National Audubon Society, which aims to protect birds and their environments. He said, “Birders have to be much more alert to when birds are coming through than they used to be, since birds may be coming through much earlier or much later…”

约翰·罗登（John Rowden）是美国国家奥杜邦协会的社区保护主席，该协会致力于保护鸟类及其生存环境。他说，“观鸟者必须比以往更加警惕鸟类何时飞来，因为鸟类可能来得更早，也可能来得更晚……”

Birdwatchers are increasingly seeing birds in their area that are usually found elsewhere, Rowden says. And, they are seeing fewer of the birds that usually travel through.

罗登表示，鸟类观察者越来越多地发现他们的地区经常出现其他地区的鸟类。此外，该地区常见的鸟类反出现得更少了。

“...Just because we’ve seen these birds (year after year) doesn’t mean they’ll always be there. They are declining in numbers because we’re throwing so many things at them, so we need to do what we can to help them,” Rowden said.

“……我们年复一年地看到这些鸟并不意味着他们一直会出现在那里。 它们的数量在减少，因为我们向它们“扔”了太多东西，所以我们要尽最大努力帮助它们，”罗登说。

At least 314 species of American birds are expected to lose 50 percent or more of their range by the end of the century. Those species are listed by the Audubon Society as climate-threatened or endangered, Rowden added.

到本世纪末，预计至少有314种美国鸟类将减少50%甚至更多。罗登补充说，这些鸟类被奥杜邦协会列入受气候威胁或濒危的物种。

A United Nations science report issued Monday says 1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of disappearing from Earth.

联合国周一发表的一篇科学报告称，有100万种动植物面临着从地球上消失的危险。

Scientists who issued the report blamed development that has led to loss of habitat as well as climate change, overfishing, pollution and invasive species.

发布报告的科学家们指责称，发展导致栖息地减少、气候变化、过度捕捞、污染和物种入侵。

Environmentalists say there are a few easy steps people can take to help struggling bird populations. These include planting native species, which leads to more native insects for the birds to eat.

环保人士表示，人们能够采取简单的措施来保护苦苦挣扎的鸟类种群。包括种植当地植物产生更多的当地昆虫供鸟类食用。

The Audubon Society’s Plants for Birds web page provides plant suggestions for people in the United States, based on where they live in the country.

奥杜邦鸟类协会的“鸟类可食用植物”网页为居住在美国不同地区的人们提供了植物种植建议。

During spring and fall migration seasons, people can help migrating birds by keeping outdoor lights turned off and covering reflective surfaces like large windows. People also should make indoor plants less visible to passing birds.

在春、秋两个鸟类迁徙的季节，人们可以通过关闭户外灯光和遮盖大块反光玻璃等方式帮助鸟类迁徙。人们也需要隐藏室内植物，避免路过的鸟类看到。

The Audubon Society also runs a community science program called Climate Watch. It aims to collect data on how bird ranges -- or the places they are found -- are changing. Rowden says the program asks people to count the numbers of each species they see. The program goes from May 15 to June 15.

奥杜邦协会还进行了一个名为“气候观察”的社区科学项目。它致力于搜集鸟类活动范围（或它们被发现的地方）是如何变化的。罗登表示，该计划要求人们记录所看到的每个种类的数量。该项目从5月15日持续到6月15日。

Geoff LeBaron, director of the Christmas Bird Count at the National Audubon Society, says he has seen the effects of climate change firsthand.

杰夫·莱巴龙（Geoff LeBaron）是美国奥杜邦协会圣诞节鸟类统计活动的主任。他表示，自己亲身体会到气候变化的影响。

“I’ve been a birder since I was a little kid,” he said. “It’s clear that climate change is affecting and will continue to affect birds on a global scale, and it’s a question of whether or not they can adapt to what the climate is throwing at them.”

“我小时候就爱观察鸟类，”他说，“很明显，气候变化正在并将继续影响全球各地的鸟类，鸟类能否适应气候带来的影响也是个问题”。

Record droughts, floods, hurricanes and more are having a major effect, he says. Hurricanes usually happen during migration season, LeBaron noted. They have an especially big effect on sea birds, whose migration paths might change by thousands of kilometers as a result.

他说，创纪录的干旱、洪水、飓风以及更多自然灾害正在严重影响着鸟类。勒巴伦指出，飓风通常发生在迁徙的季节。飓风对海上鸟类影响尤其严重，它们的迁徙路线可能会因此改变数千公里。

Experts say sea birds and grasslands birds are most at risk from climate disasters. Birds known as aerial insectivores are also at risk because the insects they eat are getting harder to find.

专家指出，海上鸟类和草原鸟类最容易受到气候灾害的威胁。空中食虫的鸟也受到了威胁，因为它们食用的昆虫越来越稀少。

Words in This Story

migration - n. the act of moving from one area to another at different times of the year

alert - adj. able to think clearly and to notice things

decline - v. to become lower in amount or less in number

range - n. the area in which an animal or plant naturally lives

habitat - n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

reflective - adj. causing light, sound, or heat to move away

visible - adj. able to be seen

global - adj. involving the entire world

drought - n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

aerial - adj. performed in the air

insectivore - n. an animal that eats insects