在大流行病期间，观鸟活动蓬勃发展

在大流行病期间，观鸟活动蓬勃发展

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.

在大流行病期间，大多数动物在没有人类的情况下生活得更好，但人类和自然的一个共同作用可能得到了持久的推动:赏鸟。

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?

这恰好是一种爱好，对野生动物和人类都有好处。鸟类得到一些急需的欣赏，这使得它们更好地被保护。而人类，他们从观鸟活动中得到了很多好处。我们已经知道户外活动对健康的好处，即使一天只有几分钟。我们提到过你也可以呆呆地看着各种各样的鸟来放松吗?

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.

难怪观鸟越来越流行了。

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.

据《洛杉矶时报》报道，美国奥杜邦协会的鸟类识别应用程序在3月和4月的下载量是平时的两倍，其网站的访问量达到惊人的50万。人们似乎正以一种新的热情拥抱自然世界。而大自然，在大流行期间有时间喘口气，似乎正以惊人的速度回报它们。森林，城市公园，甚至是后院都充满了鸟类，尤其是在这个筑巢季节。

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.

马里兰州安纳波利斯的居民康纳·布朗在接受《洛杉矶时报》采访时表示:“鸟类的世界比我以前意识到的要活跃得多。”

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

布朗刚开始这个爱好一个月，但已经能识别30多种鸟类。

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

“它给了我一个走出家门的理由，它激励了我。”

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.

但是观鸟的热潮可能是在人们大部分时间还被关在自己的房间里的时候开始的。据《纽约时报》报道，每年的5月9日是一年一度的观鸟日，在我们大多数人都还在“闭关锁国”的情况下，这一天的观鸟活动却创下了历史记录。观察鸟类的应用程序eBird总共报告了200多万次观察，记录了6479种鸟类。

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

很可能这些观察都是通过人们的窗户和门廊进行的。

"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.

缅因州弗里波特的鸟类学家、生物学家德里克·洛维奇告诉《纽约时报》:“人们确实渴望接触大自然，尤其是考虑到我们现在的行动能力是多么有限。”

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.

当然，观鸟并不是在大流行期间才出现的。第一本关于北美鸟类的野外指南是1889年出版的《观鸟之镜》。从那时起，这个爱好已经发展成为一个产业，为经济注入了数亿美元。美国鱼类和野生动物管理局的一项研究估计，观鸟者和其他野生动物观察者为美国经济贡献了近800亿美元。

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.

从那时起，这些数字一直在增长——尤其是在这种不太可能出现的大流行热潮的情况下。最好的部分是什么?鸟儿们不介意那些新鲜的赞美。事实上，它们根本不介意我们。

"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.

“鸟类不知道有大流行。它们在迁徙，筑巢和产卵，就像它们一直做的那样。”

"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."

他说:“这有点像把我们带回到六、八周前的神奇时刻，那时还没有大流行。”“它让我减压，让我远离世界上发生的每件事，至少在一段时间内。”

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.

想要加入这些渴望的行列——或许还能找到另一个让自己沉浸于大自然的好理由?斯塔雷·瓦坦写了一本观鸟入门指南，奥杜邦学会有很多深入研究的建议。