Falcons Patrol Fruit Fields for Pesky Invasive Birds
猎鹰“巡逻员”阻止鸟类入侵水果农场

Birds of prey work where other traditional methods of bird abatement like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting-fail. Emily Schwing reports.
当传统驱逐入侵鸟类的方法，如稻草人、烟火，布网失效时，猛禽就派上了用场。埃米利·施温报道。

撰文/播音：埃米利·施温(Emily Schwing)
翻译：郭鑫鹏
审校：索红日

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.
华盛顿州是美国樱桃和蓝莓的最大产地。华盛顿州的酿酒工业产值仅次于加利福尼亚州。但是一种非本土的讨厌的鸟类灾害正在肆虐。

[Sound of starling call.]
欧椋鸟的叫声

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.
一个世纪前，欧椋鸟被一些不知情的，想要引进莎士比亚著作中提到的鸟类的博物学家们带到了南美洲。如今，欧椋鸟造成了华盛顿农作物数亿美元的损失。但是有人想出了一个非猎杀性的驱逐办法。

“We’re not terminators. Our job description would be more like security guards.”
“我们并不是终结者，我们的工作更像是保安人员。”

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.
瓦赫·阿拉维地，是个猛禽饲养员。刚刚早上6点，他早已外出来到亚基马谷的一处樱桃果园。而他的工作“拍档”是一只游隼。

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.
只要游隼在这些农场上方飞翔，喜爱水果的鸟类如知更鸟、雀科小鸟和欧椋鸟就不会出现。第四代果农Mark Roy评价阿拉维地的猛禽拍档们每天可以帮他减少一千美元产物的损失。

“So, I mean it pays to come and to scare the birds away.”
“因此，用它们来吓跑那些鸟类很有效。”

Birds of prey work where other traditional methods or bird abatement-like scarecrows, pyrotechnics and netting-fail. Alaverdian says even the most modern technology is no match for problem birds like starlings.
当其他一些驱逐鸟的传统方法，如稻草人、烟火以及布网失效时，猛禽就派上了用场。阿拉维地说道，即使是最先进的技术也无法解决欧椋鸟造成麻烦。

“People said ‘oh, we’re going to put you out of business. We’re got drones, we’re doing to program these drones and then we’ll fly them over blueberries.’ And then what?”
“一些人说‘噢，我们会让你失业的。我们有无人机，我们可以编程控制这些飞机在蓝莓农场上方飞。’结果你猜怎么样？”

Eventually, he says, starlings get used to the drones.
结果这些欧椋鸟却适应了这些无人机，他说。

“It’s just not something they’re genetically programmed to avoid. It’s good for 48 hours and then you need another tool.”
“这些无人机并不是欧椋鸟“写进基因”的天敌。无人机只能发挥48小时的作用，然后你们就需要其他的工具了。“

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.
现代工具可以将果农的损失降低到30%，但是阿拉维地说有加利福尼亚州葡萄园的委托人认为猎鹰的使用可以将其再降低5%-7%。

It’s a tried and true taloned tool, that protects even the lowest hanging fruit.
这是一个可靠的、如利爪一般的手段，甚至可以保护果树上最低处的果实。

-Emily Schwing