The bird whisperer
| Steve Nichols has a way with birds. The founder of the UK's National Parrot Sanctuary connects with them in a way few people can understand. Strolling through the centre at Friskney, in Lincolnshire, he can individually name most of the 414 parrots under his care. And like a horse whisperer who can "break" troublesome equines, Mr Nichols has the ability to bond with the worst behaved birds. He says: "I have got a natural affinity with parrots... they actually relate to me." "When a wild creature will jump off the tree and come walking over to you, and when it has been someone's bad pet, then I think I just feel so special." The majority of birds at the sanctuary are "problem pets" which overwhelmed their owners. Mr Nichols said increasing numbers of owners were finding their parrots too much to handle and were surrendering them to the sanctuary. At the current rate, he expects the sanctuary's stock to go up to more than 1,000 birds within two years. The influx can be put down to the rising number of parrots being imported into the UK and the fact that the animals get more difficult to manage as they get older. It is noise and aggression which usually drives most people to give up their birds. When BBC News Online visited the sanctuary, one woman phoned Mr Nichols about giving away her bird after owning it for just nine days - despite paying ￡900 for it. The bird had started attacking family members. Mr Nichols says: "Most people just don't realize what they are getting themselves into when they buy parrots.... they are still wild animals and can be very difficult. In recent weeks, Mr Nichols has opened his sanctuary to paying customers, mainly in the hope of raising money for his expanding operation, which also includes a 24-hour helpline for worried owners. "As more birds come into the sanctuary the more it is going to cost. "So we came up with the idea that if we show people what we do, and they contribute by paying to come in, hopefully we can secure the longevity of the parrots."
| 史蒂夫·尼科尔斯是养鸟高手。 这位英国国家鹦鹉保护区的创始人用很少有人能够理解的方式来和鸟儿沟通。 漫步在林肯郡Friskney的保护区，他能够逐一叫出大多数在他照看下的鹦鹉的名字，共414只。 就像马语者能够驯服倔强的烈马一样，尼科尔斯先生能够和最不规矩的鸟儿做朋友。 他说：“我对鹦鹉有一种天生的吸引力，他们确实和我很有默契。” “当一只野鹦鹉从树上跳下来走向你，当它曾是某人顽皮的宠物时，我想我就会感到很特别。” 动物保护区内大部分的鸟都是“问题宠物”，它们让主人无计可施。 尼科尔斯先生说越来越多的主人发现他们管不住自己的鹦鹉，所以他们只能将鹦鹉送到保护区来。 以目前的增长速度，他预计在两年之内保护区收容的鸟将超过1000只。 大量的鹦鹉涌入保护区是因为从国外进口到英国的鹦鹉不断增多，而且鸟儿年纪越大越难养。 鸟类发出的噪声和它们对人类的攻击往往使大多数人放弃养鸟。 当英国广播电台在线新闻采访鹦鹉保护区的时候，有一名妇女给尼科尔斯先生打电话，准备放弃她养了仅仅九天的鸟--尽管她为这只鸟花了900英镑。 这只鸟已经开始攻击她的家人。 尼科尔斯先生说：“大多数买鹦鹉的时候根本没有意识他们将陷入怎样的境地……鹦鹉仍然是野生动物，它们很难伺候的。” 尼科尔斯先生每隔几天就更换一次手机铃声，防止他的鹦鹉们模仿铃声。 “鹦鹉不像狗那样容易驯养，狗已经和人类一起生活几千年了。” 最近几个星期，尼科尔斯先生把他的保护区向公众开放，收取门票，主要是希望能够为他不断扩大的业务筹集资金。他还向遇到困难的主人们提供24小时热线电话服务。 “保护区里的鸟越多，花费就越大。” “所以我们想到这个主意：如果我们告诉人们我们所做的事，他们通过出钱参观保护区做一点贡献，我们就有希望保障鹦鹉的寿命了。” Put down to：归因于 |