Observers have spotted the first of this year's migratory birds at Poyang Lake, China's biggest freshwater lake.

Wen Sibiao of the Jiangxi Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve, said Tuesday that more than 500 birds had showed up at the reserve, seven days earlier than last year.

"Five species have been seen so far," Wen said.

Huge flocks of migratory birds will soon arrive at the lake as the high water season there comes to an end.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of birds from Russia, Mongolia, Japan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as China's northwest and northeast quarters overwinter at the wetland.

About 95 percent of the world's white crane population spend winter at the lake.

Source : XINHUA