Conservation workers at a nature reserve area in east China's Jiangsu Province are making preparations for the arrival of red-crowned cranes. The birds migrate here annually to spend the winter.

Staff at the Jiangsu Yancheng national reserve for rare birds have spread 10,000 kilograms of corn pellets, and distributed buckets of fish and small shrimps to help the cranes regain strength after their long flight.

Before migrating to the reserve from the end of October to early November, the birds nestled at the Zhalong State Nature Reserve for Red-Crowned Cranes, China's largest artificial breeding center specifically for cranes. The center is located in Qiqihar, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

About 300 to 1,000 red-crowned cranes fly to the Yancheng Reserve annually to pass the winter.

The use of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals has also been banned in about 6,000 hectares of farmland surrounding the reserve.

The reserve, extending over 453,300 hectares along the coastline, provides shelter to red-crowned cranes and millions of other wild birds. It is the second largest shelter for the red-crowned cranes in China.

The red-crowned crane, or Grus japonensis, is listed as a first-grade protected species in China. They are usually found in the northeast, east and far north regions of China.

(Xinhua News Agency October 21, 2007)