Birdwatching

观鸟

The benefits of global warming

全球变暖的好处

The white-tailed kite cruising over the coastal grassland at Stratford Point is feeling pugnacious. It hounds an alarmed kestrel out of the park, then barrels through a flock of seagulls. Satisfied, the kite returns to its perch and shows off the black epaulettes on its grey back. “That’s just such a wonderful bird.” gasps one of the watchers. The wonderful bird stares back at her.

白尾鹞鹰在斯特拉特福德海边草地上空游弋，感觉非常勇猛。它把一只警惕的雀鹰赶出了公园，又高速飞过了一个海鸥群，然后心满意足的飞回了巢穴来炫耀它灰色后背上的黑色羽毛。一名观鸟者深吸一口气说：“它就是那样的出众。”说着，那只很出众的鹞鹰回过紧盯着她。

It looks completely at home. But for all the confidence with which it hover-hunts in Connecticut, the kite is the first of its kind to be recorded in the state and only the second in New England. Its western range now extends to Oregon, but in the eastern United States the white-tailed kite remains a bird of the South. Normally, South Carolina marks its northern limit. Which is why, since arriving on August 1st, the kite has caused hundreds of birdwatchers (or twitchers, as the British like to call them) to migrate to Stratford.

它看起来完全就像在家一样。但是不管它在康涅狄格州游弋捕猎是多么的自如，鹞鹰是第一次在康涅狄格州出现，在新英格兰也仅仅是第二例。鹞鹰的活动区域往西延伸到俄勒冈州，但是在美国东部白尾鹞鹰仍只是一种南方鸟类。通常情况下，南卡罗来纳州就是它活动区域的最北端了。这也就是为什么，自从白尾鹞鹰8月1号到达斯特拉特福德后，它就吸引了数以百计的观鸟者（英国人喜欢把他们叫做twitcher）前往那里。

The white-tail is not the only southern bird to drift north recently. Mississippi kites now nest in New England. Black vultures, once just vagrants this far north, thrive in New Haven. Rising temperatures in the north-east may have helped. This year saw the hottest summer ever recorded, and that seems to suit the southerners.

白尾鹞鹰并不是唯一一种近来北迁的南方鸟类。密西西比鹞鹰现在开始在新英格兰筑巢，曾经只有流浪的黑秃鹫才到过如此靠北的地方，现在它们在纽黑文繁殖旺盛。东北部地区不断升高的气温可能助使这些鸟类北迁。今年夏天是有记录以来最热的，这似乎正好适合这些南方鸟类。

Whatever the explanation, birdwatchers are entranced. They hover in optimistic vigil, cameras and binoculars poised. More than 6,000 people follow the updates on the Connecticut Audubon Society’s blog. Many drive for hours, eager to glimpse the rarity before the cold fronts of autumn carry it back south. “I was out there fishing yesterday evening,” says one enthusiast, “and I swear it flew right over me. And then it flew over me again. I just couldn’t believe it.” If summers keep sizzling, there may come a time when white-tailed kites overhead are no longer unbelievable.

不管如何解释，观鸟者不会错过这些罕见的鸟类。他们拿着照相机和望远镜很乐观的靠近观察。有超过6000人不断关注康涅狄格州奥特朋协会的博客更新。很多人开车数小时，迫切希望在秋天寒流使这种罕见的鸟类回到南方之前见到它们。“我昨晚在那里钓鱼，”一名狂热者说，“我发誓白尾鹞鹰正好从我头上飞过，然后它又从我头上飞了一次。我简直不敢相信。”如果夏天能够一直这么炎热的话，会有这么一天的，那时候人们就不觉得白尾鹞鹰从头顶飞过是不敢相信的了。

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