VOA标准英语2010年-Backyard Birders Help Monitor Oil Spil

Their journey takes them through the Gulf¹ of Mexico. Vinson is heartsick about the oil contaminating the Gulf of Mexico and the fate of her Purple Martins and other migrants.

"I'm afraid that for the next 20 even maybe 30 years we are going to be looking at some really horrific results, particularly for the shore birds, that also migrate," says Vinson.

Duwain Whitis
Citizen scientist Barbara Vinson lowers plastic gourd² nests to check on her Purple Martins or to clean their cavities after they've left for the season.

Call-out for birders

Wildlife biologists continue to monitor species adversely³ affected⁴ over the past three months by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Since 1965, Cornell University's Laboratory of Ornithology⁵ has collected over 400,000 records on most of North America's breeding birds.

Now, the lab has put a call out for bird-watchers across North America, like Vinson, to keep a special eye on nests in their own backyards. Birders provide data on birds in their local environments, species which can include birds that migrate through the Gulf of Mexico, a major flyway. 

"We may see effects from the Gulf oil spill on birds, likely far into the future. So it's really important to get information on nesting birds this year and in future years," says NestWatch Project leader Laura Burkholder.

Keeping track

Vinson is one of those citizen scientists who logs data into the lab's online database. Vincent runs a small map publishing business from her home outside of Austin.

Over the past 20 years Vincent and her husband have transformed their 1-hectare backyard into a wooded wildlife habitat to attract birds and butterflies.

She says it's been a good year for her colony of Purple Martins. Twenty-three pairs nested in special aluminum⁶ boxes and hanging gourds⁷ on her property.

Courtesy Barbara Vinson
Barbara Vinson has Purple Martin nesting cavities on her Texas property, where she says 40 different types of birds can be found.

"We monitor how many birds come in. We check every two to five days to see how the nest is progressing, how many eggs are laid, how many eggs hatch and then how the pairs are doing as far as feeding their young and how many actually fled."

Vinson, who watched the last Purple Martin fledgling leave its nest this week, says naturalists⁸ like herself, have an important role to play.

"I truly feel that we are not separate from nature, that we are an integral part of nature and that my love of the wilderness⁹ and the world around me, tells me that as an integral part of it, I need to respect it and understand it and do what I can to support it."

Vinson hopes the work that brings her such joy will lead to better safeguards for the birds whose survival is threatened by oil spills and other human activities.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 gourd   

n.葫芦

参考例句：

• Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
• Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。

3 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 ornithology   

n.鸟类学

参考例句：

• He found his vocation in ornithology.他发现自己适于专攻鸟类学。
• His main interests are botany and ornithology.他主要对植物学和鸟类学感兴趣。

6 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

7 gourds   

n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Dried gourds are sometimes used as ornaments. 干葫芦有时用作饰品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The villagers use gourds for holding water. 村民们用葫芦盛水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

9 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。