Hundreds of endangered black-necked cranes and whooper swans have arrived early at key nature reserves across China, signaling both a successful migration season and the fruitful results of intensified conservation efforts.

At the Ruoergai Wetland National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province's Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, around 1,100 black-necked cranes have completed their southward journey. Their migration routes span 600 to 1,000 kilometers, crossing more than a dozen counties in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, and typically take three to six days.

The reserve has also entered a critical protection period for wintering migratory birds, including about 200 whooper swans, which are expected to remain in the area until April next year.

The Napa Lake Nature Reserve in Shangri-La City in the nearby Yunnan Province has also received a group of black-necked cranes departing from the northwestern province of Qinghai. The migratory birds arrived about a week earlier compared with the previous years.

"Over recent years, the number of black-necked cranes arriving at our nature reserve has been growing steadily. At one point, their number stayed at around 300 and we have recorded gradual and noticeable growth in recent years," said Chen Zhipeng, a senior engineer at the management bureau of the Napa Lake Nature Reserve.

Since its establishment in 1984, the number of black-necked cranes coming to the nature reserve for winter had grown from the initial 61 to 387 in 2021. And since 2023, that figure has been above 500 for two consecutive years.

"We have prepared food for the migrant birds to spend winter here, including potatoes, highland barley, and corn," said Feng Zhiping, head of a management station at the Napa Lake Nature Reserve.

In Minqin County, northwest China's Gansu Province, an iconic national wetland park has received flocks of ruddy shelducks and whooper swans and a single reservoir in the park has hosted over 200 whooper swans.