站在格鲁吉亚黑海海岸上方一片翠绿的山丘上，鸟类学家巴特·霍克斯特拉俯瞰着眼前正在上演的世界上最壮观的野生动物奇观之一，随后枪声划破了空气。霍克斯特拉共同主持巴统猛禽计数项目，这是一个国际志愿者组织，每年秋季统计飞越该路线的百万以上猛禽数量，黑海和高加索山脉在此形成迁徙瓶颈。“这是世界上猛禽迁徙规模第三大的地方，”来自乌特勒支大学的34岁荷兰人霍克斯特拉说。
Standing on a verdant hill above Georgia's Black Sea coast, ornithologist Bart Hoekstra looked out over one of the world's greatest wildlife spectacles unfolding before him then gunshots pierced the air. Hoekstra co-chairs Batumi Raptor Count , an international volunteer organisation that counts the million-plus birds of prey that fly the route every autumn, where the Black Sea and Caucasus mountains form a migration bottleneck." It's the third-largest place in the world in terms of raptor migration," said the 34-year-old Dutchman from Utrecht University."
“无论你把望远镜对准天空的哪里，都能看到鸟类。”蜂鹰主导着早秋的迁徙通道，随后是数量逐渐增加的黑鸢、草原鹰和小斑鹰。他说话时，步枪在巴统度假城市周围被亚热带植被覆盖的陡峭山坡上不断鸣响。根据安特卫普大学2013年的一项研究——这是目前最可靠的估计——每年秋季大约有9000只鸟被击中。由于鹞类经常低空飞行，它们受到射击的影响尤为严重。
Wherever you put your binoculars in the sky, there are birds." Honey buzzards dominate the early autumn passage, followed by growing numbers of black kites, steppe buzzards and lesser spotted eagles. As he spoke, rifles cracked incessantly across steep slopes cloaked in subtropical vegetation around the resort city of Batumi. Around 9,000 of the birds are shot each autumn, according to a 2013 University of Antwerp study, the latest reliable estimate. Harriers are disproportionately vulnerable to shooting because they often fly low."
“说实话，这太可怕了，每次听到枪声都让人心碎，而且你永远也习惯不了……你总是会感到痛苦，”伊朗的计数协调员米特拉·丹尼什瓦尔说。“真正令人痛心的是，当真正罕见的物种被从天空中击落时，”霍克斯特拉补充道。
It's horrifying honestly, it's really heartbreaking every time you hear the shots and you never get used to it... you always feel the pain," said Mitra Daneshvar, a count coordinator from Iran." What truly hurts is when it's really rare species that get shot out of the sky," Hoekstra added.
“对此你也无能为力。”格鲁吉亚环境监督部门记录显示，今年狩猎季首月，该地区发生39起狩猎违规行为，但未具体说明其中有多起涉及猛禽。该部门称其开展全天候巡逻以打击非法狩猎，但霍克斯特拉表示，在巴图米周边多山地区打击非法射击行为具有挑战性。——当地经济命脉——被称为“巴图米瓶颈”的地区，会将来自俄罗斯、东欧和哈萨克斯坦的猛禽引向南方，因为大多数猛禽在繁殖后会前往非洲。
"And there's nothing you can do about it." Georgia's Environmental Supervision Department recorded 39 hunting violations in the region during the first month of this year's season, without specifying how many involved raptors. It says it conducts round-the-clock patrols against illegal hunting, but Hoekstra said policing illegal shooting was difficult in the rugged hills around Batumi.- Local economic lifeline -The "Batumi bottleneck", as it is known, funnels raptors from Russia, Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan south as most head for Africa after breeding.
这些鸟类通过在陆地上升腾的暖气中盘旋来节省能量，同时避开海面，而高加索山脉的云层可能将它们推入格鲁吉亚黑海海岸上方的狭窄通道。位于巴图米度假城市上方的萨赫瓦什奥村以及更深入格鲁吉亚郁郁葱葱丘陵的舒阿姆塔的BRC志愿者开始统计每年迁徙经过的鸟类数量。他们从日出开始，使用双筒望远镜和望远镜进行扫描。
The birds save energy by circling in the warm air that rises over land, avoiding the sea, while clouds in the Caucasus mountains can push them into a narrow corridor over Georgia's Black Sea coast. From stations at Sakhalvasho a village perched above the resort city of Batumi, and nearby Shuamta, deeper into the lush Georgian hills, BRC volunteers set about counting the number of birds making the annual journey. They start at sunrise, scanning with binoculars and telescopes.
当一只鸟穿越一条想象中的线时，他们点击手持计数器。协调员将经过的鸟群分成若干段，由不同的观察员观察，以避免重复计数。这一壮观景象是该地区贫困农村村庄的重要旅游吸引力，志愿者们希望这本身就能帮助遏制非法狩猎。游客纷纷涌向萨赫瓦什奥和舒阿姆塔的客栈，为当地家庭提供了保护鸟类的经济激励。
As a bird crosses an imaginary line, they click a handheld counter. Coordinators divide the passing streams into sections watched by different observers to avoid double-counting. The spectacle is a major tourism draw for the region's poor, rural villages one volunteers hope in itself could help curb illegal hunting. Visitors flock to guesthouses in Sakhalvasho and Shuamta, giving local families an economic incentive to protect the birds.
对于接待BRC参与者的萨赫瓦什奥客栈老板鲁斯兰·洛马泽来说，这些游客“改变了”他社区的生活。“这里没有其他真正的收入来源，”这位45岁的他说。
For Ruslan Lomadze, a Sakhalvasho guesthouse owner who hosts BRC participants, the visitors have "changed life" in his community." There is no other real source of income here," the 45-year-old said.
“如果没有观鸟旅游，民宿和家庭旅馆就会倒闭。”他将狩猎描述为一种继承的传统，并表示一些观鸟者选择远离，因为他们无法忍受看到鸟类被杀害。“现在这种情况减少了，生态旅游也产生了影响。”他说道。- '让人感到谦卑' -接受法新社采访的猎人拒绝谈论这一做法。霍克斯特拉表示，在计数站附近的射击活动有所减少，但警告称，这可能转移到了该项目未监测的地区。
"Without birdwatching tourism, guesthouses and family hotels would close." Describing hunting as an inherited tradition, he said some birdwatchers stay away because they cannot bear to see birds killed." Now there is less of it, and ecotourism has had an impact," he said.- 'Makes you humble' -Hunters approached by AFP refused to speak about the practice. Hoekstra said shooting had declined near the counting stations but cautioned that it might have shifted to places the project does not monitor.
如今观鸟者占据了曾经猎人使用的地点，但霍克斯特拉担心，如果资金中断，猎人可能会回来。该组织的工作今年一度几乎停滞，但在筹款受阻后，一笔匿名捐助的15,000欧元拯救了秋季鸟类计数。“我们这里聚集了许多积极主动的人，”霍克斯特拉称赞志愿者们，但同时呼吁国际组织和大额捐助者“认识到这种监测方式的价值——它效率极高。”
Birdwatchers now occupy sites once used by hunters, but Hoekstra fears the hunters could return if funding dries up. The organisation's work nearly stopped this year before an anonymous donation of 15,000 euros rescued the autumn count after fundraising stalled." We get really motivated people here," Hoekstra said, hailing the volunteers, but called on international organisations and big donors to "see the value of this style of monitoring that is incredibly efficient."
该项目自2008年以来收集的记录帮助研究人员在其他计数难以进行的繁殖地追踪不同鸟类种群。9月27日，协调人达内什瓦尔统计了本季的第百万只猛禽。她看着鸟群在头顶流动，感到敬畏。“它们早在我们来到这里之前就一直这样做，而且在我们离开后也会继续这样做。”她说。“这让人感到非常谦卑。”
The records collected by the project since 2008 have helped researchers follow different bird populations across breeding grounds where other counts are difficult. On September 27, coordinator Daneshvar counted the season's millionth raptor. Watching the birds stream overhead, she drew awe." They've been doing it long before we came here and they will do that long after we are gone," she said." It makes you very humble."