In the middle of April, the Bird Island Wetland in the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang, where the vegetation is reviving and birds are chirping. Egrets "form groups" in reed marshes to "have children" and multiply, adding a unique scene to the reserve.

Tuerhongjiang Tuerxun, director of the Wildlife Conservation Center of the Administration of Xinjiang Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, said that on April 11, the staff and volunteers of the Reserve found the breeding egret in the reed marsh near the lake during their patrol. "We carefully observed with binoculars and found that there were more than 50 egrets, which was the first time we saw so many egrets breeding in reed marshes." The staff and volunteers immediately recorded this scene with drones and cameras, "egrets have high choice and requirements for living environment, which shows that our wetland environment is good and the water quality is clear."

Egrets are the largest members of the egret family. They enter the breeding period from March to July every year. They will nest and lay eggs in pairs, with coir like feathers growing on their backs. They breed one nest every year, laying 3 to 6 eggs, and the incubation period is 25 to 26 days. Usually the young birds are fed by their parents for one month and then fly away from the nest.

The Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve in Xinjiang is the concentration distribution area of inland desert species in China, the key area of ecological environment changes in the Junggar Basin, and also the ecological security barrier of the economic belt on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains. In recent years, with the improvement of the ecological environment of the Reserve, the number of plant species has increased from 385 at the beginning of the Reserve to 687, and the number of animal species has increased from 257 to 327. (Zhao Mei and Yang Changle)

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