MoreandmorebirdsareflyingtosettleatQinghaiLakeoneofthehighestinlandlakesinChinathankstotheprotectioneffortsoflocalgovernments.Coveringanareaofover4000squarekilometersQinghaiLakeisalsothecountry’sbiggestsalt-waterlake.
LocatedinNorthwestChina’sQinghaiProvincethelakeisfamousforthetwoislandsatitsnorthwestpoint--CormorantIslandandEggIsland.
Thetwoislandshaveplentyoffloatinggrassandvariousschoolsoffishofferingrichfoodsourcesforbirds.Theislandshavebecomeaparadisefordifferentkindsofgroupsofbirdsandhavebeencalled‘BirdIslands’.
EachMarchandAprilwheniceandsnowcoveringtheQinghai-TibetPlateaustartstomeltover20kindsofbirdsflytotheBirdIslandstolayeggs.
Duringthemonthsflocksofbirdscoverthewholeskyovertheislandsandbirdseggscanbefoundeverywhere.Visitorscanhearthesingingofbirdsfrommilesaway.Thesehavebecomeaworldfamoussymbolofthelake.
ToprotectthisparadiseforbirdsandsupportcallsforecologicalprotectionChinasetuptheQinghaiLakeNaturalProtectionZoneattheendof1997.MeanwhiletheStatehaspointedouttheBirdIslandsandSpringBayoftheQinghaiLakeascentralprotectionzones.
Inspectionofficialsandmanagementemployeesoftenpatrolthelakeimprovinglocalresidents’knowledgeofrelatedlawsandspreadingknowledgeaboutanimalprotectiontovisitors.Theyaremakinggreateffortstocallonpeopletoloveandprotectthebirds.
Atthesametimetheyhavebuiltspecialfencesaroundtheislandareatopreventwolvesfoxesandothercarnivorousanimalsaswellasillegalhuntersfrombreakingupthebirds’nest-buildingegg-layingandbreeding.Asaresultmoreandmorebirdsarecomingtotheislandsforshelteringandbreeding.
【小题1】Whyaremoreandmorebirdscomingtothebiggestsalt-waterlakeintheGreatNorthwest?