本集内容

Puffins return to island for first time in at least 25 years

海鹦鹉 25 年来首次回到北爱尔兰海岛

文字稿

Puffins on the Isle of Muck – a sight that hasn't been seen for more than a quarter of a century.

穆克岛上的海鹦鹉——一个超过 25 年未曾见过的景象。

Since 2017, a major scheme has been underway to remove invasive brown rats from the island.

从 2017 年开始，一项大型计划一直在持续进行，目的是从该岛上移除外来入侵的褐鼠。

They're known to eat puffin eggs and chicks, and now years of work seems to be paying off.

众所周知，褐鼠以海鹦鹉的蛋和雏鸟为食。现在，多年的努力似乎终于开始有所回报。

Sara Girvin, BBC correspondent
"Why is this such a big deal?"

莎拉·格文 BBC 通讯员
“这件事为什么意义重大？”

Andy Crory, Ulster Wildlife
"It's a big deal because it's the first time in decades. There were reports of puffins breeding maybe 50, 60 years ago, and it was all anecdotal. So to see them last year on the island and then to have evidence of breeding this year is absolutely amazing."

安迪·克洛瑞 阿尔斯特野生动植物组织
“这件事意义重大的原因是它在几十年来尚属首次。大约五六十年前也有过关于海鹦鹉繁殖的报道，但都是基于传闻。所以去年在岛上看到海鹦鹉，然后今年又发现了它们繁殖的证据绝对是令人惊叹的。”

Five puffins were spotted last year, and then this spring, cameras set up to look for rats caught two puffins coming and going from a burrow on the cliff edges.

去年人们发现了五只海鹦鹉，而今年春天，用于寻找老鼠而设置的摄像机捕捉到了两只海鹦鹉在悬崖边上的一处洞穴里进进出出。

The footage that shows them bringing food back to the nest was a positive sign that they were breeding.

影像显示海鹦鹉把食物带回巢中，这是它们正在繁殖的积极信号。

Sara Girvin, BBC correspondent
"The puffins have now left the island for the winter, and on a wet and windy day like this one, well, who could blame them? But there is real hope now that they'll be back come next spring and summer, and that there could even be baby puffins, known as pufflings, to spot on these cliffs."

莎拉·格文 BBC 通讯员
“海鹦鹉现在已经离开这座小岛去过冬了。在像今天这样一个潮湿、刮着大风的日子里，谁又能怪它们离开呢？但人们现在真切地希望到了来年春夏它们能够回到这里，甚至可能还会有被称为‘小海鹦鹉’的海鹦鹉雏鸟出现在这些悬崖上。”

Those behind this project are excited for what's to come.

这个项目的工作人员对未来感到十分兴奋。

Andy Crory, Ulster Wildlife
"It'll be the icing on the cake. I mean, that's really what we're working for. It's, to have puffins and have signs of them breeding, but to actually have pufflings next year is, something that, you know, something that I'm really looking forward to, and it really will be a dream come true."

安迪·克洛瑞 阿尔斯特野生动植物组织
“那样将会是锦上添花。我想这就是我们努力的目标。要看到海鹦鹉以及出现它们正在繁殖的迹象，并且能在来年看到小海鹦鹉，这是我期待已久的事情，那将是梦想成真。”

Puffins spend most of their lives at sea, only returning to land to breed with the same partner each year, with each pair raising a single chick.

海鹦鹉一生中大部分时间都在海上度过，每年只会为了繁殖而和同一只伴侣回到陆地上，每对海鹦鹉只会养育一只雏鸟。

It's hoped that this project will help make this isolated island a place the puffin population can call home for generations to come.

人们希望这个项目能帮助这个偏远的小岛成为海鹦鹉种群未来世世代代的家园。

重点词汇及表达

a major scheme 一项大型计划

invasive （动植物）外来入侵的

chick 雏鸟

anecdotal 传闻的

positive sign 积极的信号