Farewell to Poyang Lake: Over 2,000 White Cranes Migrate North

People's Daily - Jiangxi Channel Original Article

People's Daily Nanchang, March 22nd, March 21st morning, at Poyang Lake, in the Wu City Protection Station of the Jiangxi Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve, patrolman Wang Xiaolong observed during patrol in the lake's deep waters that more than 2,000 white cranes took flight and migrated north from Poyang Lake. Monitoring data shows that currently the lake area is mainly dominated by goose and duck species, with an increase in the number of shorebirds.

It is reported that from October to the second year of March, Poyang Lake experiences water recession and the emergence of mudflats, attracting a large number of migratory birds for wintering. It is estimated that there are 381 species of birds in Poyang Lake, totaling more than 600,000 feathers. The total number of white cranes is more than 4,000, accounting for more than 98% of the global total; the total number of white-necked cranes is more than 3,000, accounting for more than 70% of the global total. Furthermore, Poyang Lake is also the largest migratory wintering ground for the world's largest population of Canada geese, with a number of 600,000; it is also the largest habitat for the largest population of mute swans in China, reaching a maximum of 900,000.

At the same time, Poyang Lake is also an important migration channel and resting place for many rare migratory birds, with more than 10 species of shorebirds migrating between the northern and southern hemispheres supplementing their food here, with a number of 1% of the global population. (Shi Yu, Tan Si Hong)