NANCHANG - A number of white cranes were spotted at Poyang Lake in East China's Jiangxi province Tuesday morning, which marks that the migratory birds have started this year's wintering in China's largest freshwater lake.

At 9:00 am, 14 white cranes, including two fledglings, were observed at the lake. Another 79 white cranes, including 19 fledglings, were spotted at 9:52, according to staff with the administration bureau of the Poyang Nature Reserve.

Statistics show that the white cranes arrived at Poyang Lake two days earlier than last year.

Poyang Lake is an important wintering area for waterbirds in Asia. Each year, hundreds of thousands of birds from Russia, Mongolia, Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as China's northwest and northeast quarters, winter at the lake.

About 98 percent of the world's white crane population spends winter at the lake.

The administration bureau of the Poyang Nature Reserve has adopted a series of measures to ensure the safety of these migratory birds.