Hummingbird Winter(蜂鸟的冬季) by Arnette Heidcamp

Hummingbird Winter by Arnette Heidcamp蜂鸟的冬季The thrill of seeing my first hummingbird in my garden has never left me---the sight of t his unbelievably tiny creature with dazzling plumage flitting boldly from flower to flower. To entice others, I began growing their favorite plants -- fuchsia, bee balm, cardinal flo wers, touch-me-nots. Hummingbirds soon began visiting my garden from May through late September, before departing for warmer climes. In 1988 the last one left October 3 -- or so I thought.我至今仍未忘记第一次在我家后花园看见蜂鸟时的那种心跳的感觉，一只小的不可思议的小生物，披着炫目的羽毛，大胆的在花丛中飞来飞去。

为了招来更多的蜂鸟，我开始在花园里种植他们喜欢的植物---倒金钟，聚香脂，害羞草等。

不久，从5月到9月下旬，蜂鸟不停的光顾我家花园，之后便向温暖的地方飞去了。

大约在1988年10月3日，最后一只蜂鸟也离去了---我想是这样的。

On October 21, a cold, frostbitten day, I went outdoors for my early-morning chores. Sud denly I saw a young male ruby-throated hummingbird in what had been a patch of flower ing tobacco. I couldn't believe my eyes. By this time he should have been in a much wa rmer climate.10月21日，一个寒气逼人的日子，还出现了霜冻。

我一大早出门干杂活时，突然在一块以前开满烟花的烟草地里，我发现一只年幼的颈部呈红宝石色的蜂鸟。

我不敢相信自己的眼睛，在这时候他应该在一个气候比较暖和的地方呀！I quickly assessed the yard. Hummingbirds usually need to feed once every ten to fifteen minutes, and most of the flowers in my garden were frosted over. This bird would have nothing to eat. So I hung out a feeder with a nectar solution. However, the bird didn't se em to know what to do with it and kept circling a particular spot, apparently looking for the fuchsia plants that I had brought in the night before. Hummingbirds remember, even a year later, where the "good stuff" was.我迅速扫视了一下院子。

蜂鸟通常需要大约每隔10-15分钟进食一次，但是花园里大部分花都被霜覆盖了。

因此他没有可吃的东西，于是我就将一个装有花蜜的食挂在外面。

但是鸟儿似乎不知道该怎么做，只是在一个地方不停的兜圈子。

显然是在寻找我昨晚上搬到屋子里的倒挂金钟植物。

即使事隔一年，蜂鸟依然还记得存放“美食”的地方。

Finally I placed a trail of plants leading to my sun room, where there were plenty of flo wers in bloom. When the hummingbird came inside, I closed the door behind him, then s et up another feeder. The bird went from flower to flower before at last discovering the f eeder. He liked the nectar and fed on it the rest of the day.最后，我在通向日光花房的路上摆放了一排小植物，花房里群花争艳。

当蜂鸟进到里面去，我就关上门，然后又重新搭了一个喂食器。

它喜欢这些鸟食，这些天来它都一次为食。

Although I loved the idea of a hummingbird spending the winter in my sun room, I hesit ated to deprive him of his freedom. But I also didn't want him to die. So I called a univ ersity ornithology lab.尽管我想让蜂鸟在花房里过冬，但又不愿剥夺它的自由。

我不想他死。

因此我给一所大学的鸟类实验室打了个电话。

Hummingbirds are the smallest bird in the animal world. An adult male bird measures onl y 2.24 inches in total length, half of which is taken by the bill and tail and weigh 0.056 oz. (females are slightly heavier). Hummingbirds mainly feed on flower nectar and help s pread pollen.蜂鸟是动物世界里最小的鸟类，一只成年的雄鸟总长仅仅2.24英寸，但它的鸟嘴和尾巴就占去了一半。

它的体重为0.05602盎司（雌鸟略重）。

蜂鸟主要是以花蜜为食并且可以帮助传播花粉。

The ornithologist warned me this bird was probably not going to make it: hummingbirds need to add 50 percent extra body weight before migrating south, and I had doubts this li ttle guy had done that. The ornithologist gave me three choices: I could keep the bird all winter, fatten him up and let him go after a few days, or find someone to release him down south.鸟类学家警告我说，这只小鸟可能无法南迁，因为蜂鸟在往南方迁徙之前需要额外增加50%的体重，我怀疑这个小家伙是否能做到这一点。

鸟类学家给我三条建议：我可以留它在此过冬，或者把它养肥，几天后让它飞走；或者找个人把它带到南方放飞。

If the bird had nothing outside to eat today, tomorrow wouldn't be any better, I reasoned. And sending him south was not feasible. However, I could provide suitable living conditi ons in my glassed-in sunroom.我推测，如果蜂鸟今天不能在外面找到任何食物吃，那么明天情况也不会好转。

而且把它送往南方也不现实。

但是在我的可以透进阳光的玻璃房内，我可以给它提供合适的居住条件。

I decided to keep the bird until spring. I named him Squeak because of his constant sque aky chirping. He certainly seemed content that first day, and he'd already captured my he art.我决定把它留下来直到来年春天，我给它取名为“吱吱”，因为不时的发出吱吱的声音。

显然第一天它看上去很满足，而且它让我一见倾心。

Offering Squeak a balanced diet now became my main concern. Besides nectar, hummingb irds need protein from insects. They may eat hundreds every day. There weren't enough i nsects in the sun room. A zoo with a hummingbird aviary suggested Nektar-Plus. I kept t wo feeders of this complete diet going at all times.如今为吱吱提供平衡的膳食成了我最主要的牵挂。

蜂鸟除了吃花蜜，它还需要来自虫子的蛋白质。

它们每天可以吃上百条虫子。

但是暖房里没有足够的虫子了，因此，一个有着大型蜂鸟鸟舍得动物园建议我买Nektar—Plus牌的鸟食，于是我便一直在暖房里给鸟儿放有两个装有这类营养全面的食物的喂食器。

Because hummingbirds love to bathe, I also bought a small plastic birdbath for Squeak. B ut he had different plans. On his third morning, he flew over to a plant I had just misted and began to slide around on the leaves, chirping all the while. He was getting his unde rparts wet -- his breast, his wings, his chin. After bathing, he flew around the room to dr y himself. The air passing through his wet feathers produced a sound like a deck of card s being shuffled. Once dry Squeak preened his sparkling emerald-green garb.因为蜂虫酷爱洗澡，我于是为吱吱买了一个小小的塑料澡盆，但是它却有着不同的花样。