林中漫步

Christian+Begeman+李巧兰

I am not a man of the trees. I grew up under the open sky and rolling prairie. A forest to me was any track1） of trees wider than three across. Therefore any story or fairy tale that featured mysterious woods held all the more2） magic for me. When I first hiked in the silent Ponderosa pines of the Black Hills， I was surprised at how quiet the world became. Nowadays， when I walk in the woods， I notice other things. I hear songs of unseen birds， see the flicker of a butterfly wings and catch glimpses of wildflower color， all of which make great subjects to put in front of a camera.

Photographing unseen birds， however， is impossible. Finding those birds is why I've spent more time in the woods of Eastern South Dakota this year than any other. It started in February when a local birder3） reported seeing Northern Saw-whet owls at Newton Hills State Park. This little owl is usually only found on the western side of the state. I had never seen one before and after three unsuccessful trips， I nearly walked into4） one resting in some young cedars north of the Horse Camp area of the park. The elfin5） owl looked at me with wide and unblinking eyes， seemingly unconcerned and possibly a little annoyed. I slowly backed away. The owl began to relax and fall back asleep. It may seem like I'm overstating things， but it felt like I was in one of those old fairy tales for just a moment.

Last spring I witnessed/photographed the warbler and songbird migration for the first time. I saw bold and brightly colored birds that I'd never seen before. I guess I was hooked6） because this spring I was back in the woods searching for more. It is a lesson in patience and listening. At Lake Herman State Park near Madison， I sat for a couple of hours in the trees as waves of warblers made their way through every 10 minutes or so. At Newton Hills State Park， I sat for an hour or two watching two male Ruby-throated hummingbirds make their rounds7） from perched preening to feeding on flowering bushes and wild bergamot blooms then achieving amazing aerial8） acrobatics while squabbling9） with each other—and then starting the sequence all over again.

I have a goal to photograph all the colorful birds that call South Dakota home. One that has eluded10） me to this day is the Scarlet Tanager. They are best found in Union Grove State Park or Newton Hills and are colored crimson red with black wings. This year， I made three separate trips to find them. I also took time to learn their song and call. This helped me find a female at dusk at Union Grove， but I could not get a decent photo. Later in the week， as I began another search at Newton Hills， a Summer Tanager flew to a tree next to me and gave me a long look. It was a real treat because the Summer Tanager is much rarer to find in South Dakota than the Scarlet. Later in the day， I finally saw my first male Scarlet ... well， his tail feathers anyway. By the time I spotted him， he was flying deep into the tangled woods. I was disappointed. Then I thought that maybe this was an invitation. "Come back into the woods. Lose yourself amongst the leaves， listen to the song I sing and maybe one day we will meet." I look forward to that day.

我不是一个以树木为伴的人。我在辽阔的天空下和连绵起伏的草原上长大。对我来说，任何并排超过三棵树的小径都算树林。因此，那些凡是涉及神秘树林的故事或童话对我来说都格外神秘。当我第一次在布莱克丘陵那片寂静的黄松林间徒步时，我惊叹于世界竟变得如此安静。如今，当我漫步林间，我会留心其他事物。我会聆听那些看不见的鸟儿唱歌，观察蝴蝶振动着双翼飞舞，一瞥野花缤纷的色彩，所有这些都是相机镜头可以捕捉的绝妙题材。

然而，为那些看不见的鸟儿拍照却是痴人说梦。我今年待在南达科他州东部树林里的时间比以往任何一年都要长，就是为了找到那些鸟儿。这件事儿开始于2月份，当地一位野鸟观察者报告称在牛顿山国家公园看见了北方锉锯枭。这种小猫头鹰一般仅分布于南达科他州西部。我以前一只也没见过，在经历了三次失败之旅后，我差点撞上一只北方锉锯枭，它停栖在公园马营区域北面的一片小雪松中。这只小精灵似的猫头鹰瞪大了眼睛，目不转睛地盯着我，仿佛对我毫无兴趣，可能又有点儿气恼。我慢慢往后退。那只猫头鹰开始放松下来，重返梦境。这或许像是我在夸大其词，但就是有那么一瞬间我感觉自己好像身处某个古老的童话之中。

去年春天，我生平第一次亲眼看见（并拍摄到）柳莺和燕雀的迁徙。我看到了自己以前从来都没见过的那些颜色鲜亮、醒目的鸟儿。我猜想自己是着迷了，因为今年春天我回到了这片树林，来寻找更多的鸟儿。这是一堂有关耐心和倾听的课。在麦迪逊附近的赫曼湖国家公园里，我在树林中一坐就是好几个小时，一群群柳莺每隔十分钟左右就从林中穿梭而过。在牛顿山国家公园，我坐了一两个小时，看着两只雄性红喉蜂鸟周而复始地先栖息在枝上用喙梳理羽毛，随后在开花的灌木和野生佛手柑花上进食，然后一边相互争吵一边表演着令人叹为观止的空中特技——然后又按照这个顺序从头再来一遍。

我的目标是拍摄所有栖息在南达科他州的那些绚丽多彩的鸟儿。有一种到今天还一直对我避而不见的是猩红比蓝雀。在尤宁格罗夫国家公园或者牛顿山最有可能觅得其踪迹，其通体深红，翅膀为黑色。今年，为了见其真容，我分别去了三次。我还花时间去学它们唱歌和鸣叫。有了这项本领的帮助，我于一天黄昏时分在尤宁格罗夫国家公园发现了一只雌鸟，但我还是没能拍到一张像样的照片。那个星期后半周，当我在牛顿山开始又一次寻觅时，一只玫红比蓝雀飞到我身旁的一棵树上，久久地注视着我。这可是一次实实在在的礼遇，因为在南达科他州，玫红比蓝雀比猩红比蓝雀要罕见得多。后来那天我终于生平第一次看见了雄性猩红比蓝雀……呃，至少是它的尾羽。等到我发现它时，它正飞往乱蓬蓬的树林深处。我感到失望，随即我想到，或许这是一种邀请：“回到树林里来吧。让你自己陶醉于繁茂的树叶之中，聆听我唱的歌，也许有一天我们将会相遇。”我期待着那一天。

1.track [tr?k] n. 小路；小径

2.all the more： 格外；尤其

3.birder [?b??d?（r）] n. （在野外）观察（或研究、鉴别）野鸟的人

4.walk into： 轻易得到（工作等）

5.elfin [?elf?n] adj. 小精灵（般）的

6.hooked [h?kt] adj. 入了迷的

7.make one's rounds： 巡回

8.aerial [?e?ri?l] adj. 空中的

9.squabble [?skw?bl] vi. （为琐事）争吵

10.elude [i?lu?d] vt. 躲避