CHANGSHA -- The number of waterbirds arriving at central China's Dongting Lake for winter exceeded 240,000 this winter, up 6.3 percent year on year, according to a survey by lake protection authorities.

The migratory birds in Dongting Lake, the country's second largest freshwater lake, increased by 14,257 year on year. Bean gooses, numbered 60,000, became the largest population of waterbirds wintering there.

To restore the wetland ecosystem and supply more food for the birds, lake administration staff planted lots of aquatic plants in the reserve, said Yi Feiyue, an official with East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve.

Fifty-eight species of waterbirds were spotted in the lake, including red-breasted brants found for the first time in January.

Since 1978, the area of Dongting Lake, which links with the Yangtze River, has increased by 779 square kilometers to 3,470 square kilometers thanks to continuous restoration efforts, said the Hunan provincial bureau of water resources in November.