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作者：艾許莉•帕金森 (西北樹蔭咖啡運動組織)
2002年1月10日，星期四
美國，華盛頓州，西雅圖--氣象預報說，今晨可能會下雨，不過在西華盛頓的一月，這倒不是太令人驚奇的事。儘管如此，我決定在史賓塞島上來點工作前的賞鳥活動。史賓塞島位於西雅圖北方約30哩，通往普捷灣的河流堆積物形成這一小塊陸地。低濕的河口生態系，是再理想也不過的定點賞鳥據點。我喜歡趕在黎明前到達，那正是活動最頻繁的時候，即使這表示早上六點就得起床。
這樣早的清晨，高速公路上的車潮全往南流進西雅圖，幸好我不住北郊。開車時，我可以不時地輪流看看西邊的奧林匹克山，或者東邊那頭一列濃厚紫雲下的卡斯克德山。當我抵達島上時，停車場裡的幾輛車意味著我並非孤單一人。這是件好事，因為（信不信由你）賞鳥是很「社交性」的活動，我們互相分享資訊，東聊西扯地說著哪個人看過了什麼。
有人很興奮地告訴我，島的南端有紅[弱鳥]混在一群松金翅裡-典型的鳥友談話。在發現紅[弱鳥]後，我把它從我的「鳥名冊」劃去。我不是那種死忠鳥迷，隨時隨地都攜帶一份打字的鳥類名單，但每回發現一種新鳥，心裡絕對難掩興奮狂喜的。
冬天是西北部最佳的賞鳥時節，即使此時我們的候鳥們已經南飛了。我在島上四處走著，看見一大群凍原天鵝還有一隻美麗的藍蒼鷺。幾隻北方澤鷹在地面上追捕獵物，而我正聆聽著那隻毛茸茸的、用小腦袋敲著樹幹的啄木鳥。經過一棵樹，上頭竟滿是亮眼的頭部紅色、像是戴了紅寶石王冠的金冠鷦鷯，我還嚇跑了沼澤裡一隻孤單的美國鸕鶿。大約一小時後，島上的活動就漸漸平息了。
橄欖脅綠霸鶲。照片版權歸屬 西雅圖奧杜邦學會。
走回車子時，我突然有個念頭：過不了多久-只要再幾個月-鳴鳥類就開始返回華盛頓了。候鳥實在是種神奇的生物，有的輕至僅僅一盎司，你甚至只需一張郵票就足夠寄送牠們，但是有些候鳥每年歷經的旅途卻有數千英哩之遠。以橄欖脅綠霸鶲舉例來說，它是一種長距離遷徙的候鳥，夏季它們最北自阿拉斯加啟程南飛，最後在安地斯山脈中北部森林過冬。然而，自1960年代以來，由於棲息地縮減，棲息量已下降近四分之一。安地斯山谷區的樹林幾乎砍伐殆盡，已失去了85%或更多的高山林。在美國，橄欖脅綠霸鶲偏好成熟的毬果樹林，尤其是那些經常受天然火災侵擾的區域。成熟樹木的逐年減少，再加上國家的火災壓制政策，使僅存的鳥類棲息地更加地分散破碎。
在北美洲，環保意識的覺醒已超過三十年，但天然棲息地的喪失仍以令人擔憂的速率持續著，市郊悄悄地擴展至山區，光害增強而迫使鳥類離開。殺蟲劑的使用雖然不若1960年代嚴重，仍然從郊區草地及農地蔓延開來，嚴重影響到小型生物的生態，比如鳴鳥類。
儘管如此，以賞鳥開始這一天還是令人無比振奮。駕車回西雅圖，回到辦公室、電腦及電話，我知道自己需要更常出外賞鳥。真迫不及待地想看到那第一隻鶲，或者綠鵑，歷經漫長旅途，自溫暖的冬日返回這咖啡國度。
【文章連載】
■樹蔭咖啡日記 (一) (二) (三)
(四) (五)
全文與圖片詳見： http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/
parkinson011002.asp
版權歸屬 Earth Day Network，環境資訊協會(李珮華 譯，徐怡德 審校)
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Thursday, 10 Jan. 2002
SEATTLE, Wash.--There's a chance of rain this morning, but in western Washington in January, that doesn't come as much of a surprise. Despite the forecast, I've decided to do a little pre-work birding on Spencer Island, a small landmass about 30 miles north of Seattle formed by the rivers leading to Puget Sound. A low, wet estuary ecosystem, it's ideal for spotting birds. I like to get there just before sunrise, when there is the most activity, even though it means getting up around 6 a.m.
This early in the morning, all the traffic on the freeway is heading south into Seattle and I count myself lucky that I don't live out in the northern suburbs. As I drive, I can alternately see the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east just below a line of thick, purple clouds. When I arrive at the island, a couple of cars in the parking lot signal that I'm not alone, which is great because (believe it or not) birding is a very social activity. We share information, gossiping about who has seen what.
Someone tells me excitedly that there are redpolls mixed in with a flock of pine siskins on the south side of the island -- typical birder talk. I find the redpolls and check them off my "life list." I am not a hardcore birder with a typed life list in hand at all times, but there's a certain thrill in mentally noting a new species.
Winter is an ideal time for birding in the Northwest, even if our migrants have flown south. Walking around the island, I see a big flock of tundra swans and a great blue heron. A couple of northern harriers hunt for prey on the ground while I listen to a downy woodpecker banging its head against a tree. I pass by a tree full of bright red-headed ruby-crowned kinglets and scare a lone American bittern out of a marsh. After an hour or so on the island, activity slows down.
An olive-sided fly catcher.Photo: Seattle Audubon Society.
As I head back to my car, it strikes me that it won't be long -- just a few more months -- before songbirds start returning to Washington. Migratory birds are amazing creatures. Weighing as little as one ounce, you could mail many of them with a single postage stamp, yet some travel thousands of miles each year. Take the olive-sided flycatcher, for example. A long-distance migratory bird, it travels from as far north as Alaska in the summer to the forests of the northern and central Andes in the winter. But populations have declined by about 25 percent since the 1960s, primarily due to habitat loss. Andean valleys are almost completely deforested, and 85 percent or more of montane forests have been cut. In the U.S., the olive-sided flycatcher prefers mature, coniferous forests, particularly those undergoing natural fire disturbance regimes. The decline in old growth forests and national fire suppression policies have seriously fragmented remaining habitat.
In North America, we've had 30 years or more of environmental awareness and still habitat loss occurs at an alarming rate -- suburbs creep into the mountains and pollution from lights increases, throwing birds off course. Pesticides, though not nearly the problem they were in the 1960s, still run off suburban lawns and agricultural fields, profoundly affecting small creatures like songbirds.
Despite all this, birding is an exhilarating way to begin the day. Driving back to Seattle, back to my office and the computer and phone, I know that I need to go out bird-watching more often. And I can't wait to see that first flycatcher or vireo, back from a long flight and a warm winter in coffee country.
http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/week/
parkinson011002.asp
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