科學美國人60秒英文文本
This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Emily Schwing.
Washington state is the country's largest producer of cherries and blueberries. The state's wine industry is second only to California's in value. But one non-native, nuisance bird is wreaking havoc.
[Sound of starling call.]
The European starling was brought to North America more than a century ago, by unwitting naturalists who wanted to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Today, the starlings do hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage to Washington's crops. But one man has taken it upon himself to get rid of the birds—without killing them.
"We're not terminators. Our job description would be more like security guards."
Vahé Alaverdian, raptor wrangler. It's barely 6 A.M., but he's been out in a field of cherry trees in Yakima Valley since much earlier. He's working with a Peregrine falcon.
And as long as the falcon flies over these fields, fruit-loving birds like robins, finches and starlings will not. Fourth-generation fruit grower Mark Roy estimates Alaverdian's raptors save him a thousand dollars a day in otherwise lost produce.
"So, I mean it pays to come and to scare the birds away."
椋鳥.jpg
Birds of prey work where other traditional methods of bird abatement—like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting—fail. Alaverdian says even the most modern technology is no match for problem birds like starlings.
"People said 'oh, we're going to put you out of business. We've got drones, we're going to program these drones and then we'll fly them over blueberries.' And then what?"
Eventually, he says, starlings get used to the drones.
"It's just not something they're genetically programmed to avoid. It's good for 48 hours and then you need another tool."
Modern tools can decrease fruit damage to thirty percent, but Alaverdian says one client at a Vineyard in California has seen falconry bring that down to between five and seven percent.
It's a tried and true taloned tool, that protects even the lowest hanging fruit.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Emily Schwing.
科學美國人60秒中文翻譯：
This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Emily Schwing. 這里是科學美國人——60秒科學。我是埃米莉·施溫。
Washington state is the country's largest producer of cherries and blueberries. 華盛頓州是美國大的櫻桃產(chǎn)地和藍莓產(chǎn)地。
The state's wine industry is second only to California's in value. 該州的釀酒工業(yè)價值位居全美第二，僅次于加利福尼亞州。
But one non-native, nuisance bird is wreaking havoc. 但是，一種非本土且令人討厭的鳥類正在制造破壞。
The European starling was brought to North America more than a century ago, by unwitting naturalists 一個多世紀以前，歐洲椋鳥由自然學家在無意中引入北美，
who wanted to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. 這些自然學家想引入莎士比亞戲劇中多提到的所有鳥類。
Today, the starlings do hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of damage to Washington's crops. 現(xiàn)在，這種椋鳥對華盛頓的作物造成的損失高達數(shù)億美元。
But one man has taken it upon himself to get rid of the birds—without killing them. 但是現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)有一個人承擔起了驅(qū)逐這種鳥類而不殺死它們的責任。
"We're not terminators. Our job description would be more like security guards." “我們不是終結者。我們的工作職責更像是保安?！?BR> Vahé Alaverdian, raptor wrangler. Vahé Alaverdian是一位猛禽牧人。
It's barely 6 A.M., but he's been out in a field of cherry trees in Yakima Valley since much earlier. 現(xiàn)在剛剛6點，但是他早就到雅吉瑪谷的櫻桃田里了。
He's working with a Peregrine falcon. 他正在和游隼一起工作。
And as long as the falcon flies over these fields, fruit-loving birds like robins, finches and starlings will not. 只要游隼在這些田地上空盤旋，那么知更鳥、雀類和椋鳥等喜愛水果的鳥類就不會出現(xiàn)在這里。
Fourth-generation fruit grower Mark Roy estimates 馬克·羅伊是第四代果農(nóng)，
Alaverdian's raptors save him a thousand dollars a day in otherwise lost produce. 他估計Alaverdian的猛禽每天能為他挽回1000美元的損失。
"So, I mean it pays to come and to scare the birds away." “我認為讓它們把那些鳥嚇走很值得?！?BR> Birds of prey work where other traditional methods of bird abatement—like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting—fail. 猛禽工作的領域在于稻草人、煙火、捕鳥網(wǎng)等傳統(tǒng)驅(qū)鳥方法無效的地方。
Alaverdian says even the most modern technology is no match for problem birds like starlings. Alaverdian表示，即使先進的方法也無法解決椋鳥的問題。
"People said ‘oh, we're going to put you out of business. “人們說，我們可以取代你的方法。
We've got drones, we're going to program these drones and then we'll fly them over blueberries.' And then what?" 我們有無人機，我們可以設定無人機程序，讓它們在藍莓樹的上空盤旋?？墒墙Y果是什么呢?”
Eventually, he says, starlings get used to the drones. 他說，結果是椋鳥習慣了無人機的存在。
"It's just not something they're genetically programmed to avoid. “因為那不是椋鳥生來就躲避的事物。
It's good for 48 hours and then you need another tool." 這種方法在48個小時以內(nèi)可能有效，但是之后你就需要換另一種工具了。”
Modern tools can decrease fruit damage to thirty percent, 現(xiàn)代工具可以將水果的損害率降低到30%，
but Alaverdian says one client at a Vineyard in California has seen falconry bring that down to between five and seven percent. 但是Alaverdia表示，加州葡萄莊園的一位客戶表示，放鷹捕獵這種方法可以將損害率降低到5%—7%之間。
It's a tried and true taloned tool, that protects even the lowest hanging fruit. 這是一個久經(jīng)考驗的方法，這種方法甚至可以保護懸掛在下面的果實。
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Emily Schwing. 謝謝大家收聽科學美國人——60秒科學。我是埃米莉·施溫。