Скачать или смотреть As drought recedes, little egrets return to their home at Sun Moon Lake

With the end of this year’s drought comes a return to thriving life for nature in Taiwan. At Sun Moon Lake, birdwatchers were delighted to see a colony of little egrets return to their home. The birds were driven away from their lakeside habitat by the extreme lack of water. After successive plum rains, the lake is once more at a normal level. But ecologists are watching carefully to see how the birds recover.

As dawn breaks over Sun Moon Lake, nature lovers around the Dazhu area are amazed to see these white flowers glitter among the reeds.

But on closer inspection, those are no flowers. They’re little egrets, searching for food. The early bird catches the worm, as they say. Photographers also caught the birds taking flight.

Chuang Liang-huo
Nature photographer
Now that the water level has gotten so high, the little egrets are congregating on the reeds by the water.

During the worst days of the drought, this Dazhu area turned into a parched yellow grassland. No water meant no food, and the egrets were forced to relocate to other areas to survive. But with progressive plum rains bringing the water back, Sun Moon Lake is looking more like itself again. And that means the egrets are coming home.

Chuang Liang-huo
Nature photographer
Now the water is full, and recently the army came and dredged the silt. Plus it’s breeding season.

According to Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute, little egrets are extremely sensitive to their environment. When they thrive, that means the waters of Sun Moon Lake are healthy. But how long will this beautiful sight go on? Ecologists and bird lovers are watching keenly how the egrets fare this summer.