The reserve "Swan Islands" is currently an ornithological branch of the Crimean nature reserve and it is located in the Karkinitsky Bay of the Black Sea on the Swan Islands. Its area is more than 9.6 thousand hectares. The Karkinitsky ornithological state reserve, which area is more than 27.6 thousand hectares, also adjoins the reserve. The strictly protected part of the islands covers an area of 52 hectares. The climate in the reserve is arid, temperate continental. Summers are hot and dry here, while winters are mild and with little snow, with frequent thaws. And only sometimes, in especially harsh winters, all the straits both between the islands and with the mainland Crimea freeze over.
When in late XIX century, the German scientist Brauler visited the islands, then he saw a huge number of white mute swans and he decided that their nesting places were located here, so he gave these islands the name "Swan Islands". And this territory was reserved for the first time in 1947, and since 1949 it has become a branch of the Crimean nature reserve, which is currently the Crimean nature reserve. The main direction of his work is the protection of near-water birds.
The Lebyazhyi Islands reserve includes the territory of six islands, composed of sand and shell deposits and separated from each other by shallow straits. They stretched along the coast of the Crimea from the southwest to the northeast for 8 km. The islands are not only subject to constant changes in their configuration, but from time to time there is a change in their number. The thing is that the height of the islands above sea level does not exceed 1-2 meters, 
therefore they are susceptible to storms. Most large island is about 3.5 km long, with a width of about 350 m.
All islands of the reserve are surrounded by shallow waters, where there is an abundance of both plant and animal food. All this attracts many water birds here, and therefore it is one of the greatest places wintering and nesting of waterbirds in the Ukraine. It should also be noted that the Swan Islands are on the migratory route of birds from Europe to Africa and Asia.
Ornithological observations have shown that 265 species of birds are found on the territory and water area of the reserve, but only about 25 species of birds constantly live in the reserve. Black-headed Gulls, Gulls, Caspian Terns, Herring Gulls, Cormorants, many species of ducks, pelicans and flamingos, white and gray herons, waders and others constantly nest here. 
In summer, up to 6,000 individuals of mute swans are recorded in the reserve, which do not nest here, but only wait out the molt. During molting, the bird cannot take off, therefore the wild, uninhabited habitat is especially important for it. And mute swans hibernate in southern countries, and nest in the lower reaches of the Danube, Dnieper, in the Volga delta and in the floodplains of the Kuban. Whooper swans appear on the islands in late autumn before migrating further south for the winter. A lot stops here different types ducks, in different years they were observed in the range of 10-30 thousand and up to 2 thousand geese.
From other groups of vertebrates in the water area and on the territory of the reserve, there are bottlenose dolphins, white-barrels and porpoises; as well as large jerboas, ground squirrels, murine rodents, choris; two types of endangered reptiles: steppe viper and yellow-bellied snake, and from fish: thorn, beluga, Black Sea salmon, seahorse ...
Location:
87 km east of the village. Chernomorskoe, Razdolninsky district, in the Karkinitsky Bay of the Black Sea, near the village of Portovoe.
Even the Crimean residents will not all answer you where they are located and what are these islands remarkable for. But, perhaps, this is good, as well as the fact that they hid away from the noisy resort villages and beaches.
North of Cape Tarkhankut, behind the Bakalskaya spit, in the Karkinitsky Bay of the Black Sea, near the village of Portovoe (the old name is Sary-Bulat), once, more than a hundred years ago, there was a spit with lush vegetation and even a source drinking water... There locals for the whole summer they drove cattle out to free pasture. But over the years, the scythe blurred and there were three pretty large islands... They began to be called the Sary-Bulatskys, and the name Lebyazhy appeared later. Naturally, the grazing of cattle there ceased, and the fertile places began to be intensively populated by birds. The local population began to use this in every possible way: they mined the meat of game birds (they also traded in delicious swan meat), while the scale of collection of bird fluff and eggs was such that they made it possible to use eggs not only as a food product, but also in mortars for the special strength of buildings.
It must be said that the sea, having created an island from the spit, did not calm down on this, and after a while six smaller ones "disappeared" from the three islands. And such a number of them was until recently, when suddenly one of the islands was swallowed up by the restless sea, having washed up a small spit instead. So after all the twists and turns of local relief formation, there are five islands. They received the name Lebyazhye with the light hand of the German scientist Brauler, who visited here at the end of the 19th century. The scientist saw a huge colony of mute swans and screamer swans and suggested that this is their nesting place. Apparently, he happened to be on the islands in July-August, since to this day, in these months, thousands of these royal birds fly here in order to throw off, as in Andersen's fairy tale, their old feathers and grow new ones.
During the moulting period, swans cannot fly and choose these islands and the water area of the shallow bay, overgrown with grass, which they eat with pleasure, as the safest ones. But swans do not build nests here and do not breed chicks, although some of the swans live on the islands throughout the year. These are young birds that do not lay eggs until 4-5 years old, as well as adults who, for some tragic reason, have lost their pair. 
There are legends about swan fidelity, and although, indeed, swans create monogamous unions and live in pairs, if they lose a partner, they do not rush to the ground from a height, but more often than not they look for their other half again. Here on our islands there is also a "dating club" for lonely swans.
Quite a lot of swans come here for wintering (sometimes up to 5 thousand individuals), because the bay practically does not freeze, and if it does freeze, then there are always large openings. Sometimes, in extreme cold, some of the swans fly to the beaches of Yalta, Sevastopol, Yevpatoria. There people feed them. And then the birds again return to their quiet, cozy, safe island kingdom-state, which since 1949 has officially been the ornithological branch of the Crimean State Reserve.
This means that on the Swan Islands it is not only forbidden to hunt birds, but also to disturb them in general, as well as to fish, collect medicinal plants, and generally conduct any activity. 
The area of the islands themselves is 52 hectares, the surrounding shallow water - 9612 hectares. The adjacent water area of the Karkinitsky Bay and the coastal lands of the Razdolnensky and Krasnogvardeisky districts are also protected. Only gamekeepers and ornithologists are allowed to be here, who observe the birds in different time of the year. Indeed, in addition to swans on the islands, you can see another 260 species of birds, 49 of which are listed in the Red Book! Such, unfortunately, now rare birds such as: spoonbill, glossy ibis, yellow heron, white-eyed duck, little cormorant, stilt, chigrava, curlew, bustard, steppe kestrel, curly pelican, etc. There are only 250 to 50 individuals. Some of them nest here, others come only in winter, and still others rest on the flight. The most numerous colony of birds on the Swan Islands belongs to the order of gulls (among others, the Herring Gull or Martyn). There are more than 5 thousand pairs of them.
The largest, the black-headed gull, is also listed in the Red Book for its rarity. Their only colony on the Black Sea lives on these islands. And also a colony of gray heron - the largest bird in the south of the European part of the CIS. 
Recently, pink pelicans have appeared on the nest. Numerous flocks of migratory birds also stop on the islands on their way to Africa, Europe, Asia: turukhans, ulits, sandpit pies, terns, ducks, white-fronted and gray geese, swallows, larks, blackbirds, wagtails. At the same time, there are up to 75-100 thousand of them in clusters, and during the day, at the height of the flight, up to a million! It is not for nothing that the Swan Islands have an international reserve status, because it is extremely important to preserve this "resting station" along the thousand-kilometer migration route of many birds.
Bird watchers are constantly researching all these birds and changing conditions in the reserve. I am glad that these conditions are gradually improving. For example, as a result of a decrease in the intensity of chemical processing of rice paddies, the coastal areas and the seabed are overgrown with grass, and this is the main food base for birds. There are more fish and other marine life in the bay. The protection of land from poachers has improved: the staff of gamekeepers has doubled, equipment has appeared (cars, boats, although, of course, there are not enough of them). They also managed to save these places from attempts to issue hunting licenses, allegedly to earn money for development ...
Although the reserve is considered an ornithological reserve, it also protects fish (seahorse, thorn, beluga, Black Sea salmon) and animals: marine (bottlenose dolphins, azovka and common barnacle) and land animals (large jerboa, white polecat; endangered species of the steppe viper and yellow-bellied snake). But of course, the main dream of local specialists remains the organization of the Karkinitsky reserve, which will include the entire bay, as well as the Bakalskaya spit and the salt Bakalskoe lake. Then, instead of a branch, there would be an independent reserve here. Maybe the Swan Islands will be lucky and they will be taken under his care by a rich and generous person who is not indifferent to our beast and bird, as the Askania-Nova nature reserve was once lucky with the wonderful Baron Falzfein.
How to get there:
from the Black Sea you can get to shuttle bus going through the village. Razdolnoe. Further - on foot (8 km to the north to the village of Portovoye on the Karkinitsky Bay), which will not only strengthen your health, but also give you an unforgettable experience of the surrounding landscapes. If you are traveling by your own transport, then you must first drive 79 km north along the territorial road T0107 to the village. Razdolnoye, in which at the ring you need to turn left and drive another 8 km north to the village. Port on the Karkinitsky Bay.
Swan islands
Swan Islands - can be found in the northwestern Crimea, near the village of Portovoye, in the Karkinitsky Bay. This is a branch of the Crimean nature reserve, which is of international importance. In other guidebooks you can find another name - Sary-Bulat. This was the name of the village of Portovoye until 1948. Here during molting and wintering they live a large number of swans. It is these birds that can cause only bright and kind feelings in all people without exception.
The islands are covered with sand and small shells, so the area, configuration and, oddly enough, the number of islands often changes. Their height above sea level barely reaches two meters. The shallow waters, the abundance of plant and animal food in water and on land, combined with the protected regime, attract a huge number of birds to the islands, basically all of them are waterfowl. More than 230 species live in the protected area of the islands, about 25 species of birds nest.
The pride of the island, which is always in the spotlight, is the mute swan. Almost all year round, beautiful feathered creatures can be found on the protected islands. Mute swans go to the south to winter, they nest in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Danube, Dniester, in the floodplains of the Kuban, in the Volga delta. And in the summer, more than 6 thousand of these swans arrive in Crimea. But at the end of the 19th century, their number reached a minimum, because they were shot by hunters.
A huge number of birds - that's what lives on the Swan Islands. When viewing these islands from an airplane in spring, you can see only a white clot - this is a huge number of birds that live here on the islands. And also healing sea breezes, steppe forbs, cries of seagulls and the blue abyss of the sky - this is what you can admire in these places.
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Adygea, Crimea. Mountains, waterfalls, herbs of alpine meadows, healing mountain air, absolute silence, snowfields in the middle of summer, the murmur of mountain streams and rivers, stunning landscapes, songs by the fires, the spirit of romance and adventure, the wind of freedom await you! And at the end of the route there are gentle waves of the Black Sea.
Although the Crimean peninsula - most popular place summer vacation, but not everyone realizes that not only people rest here. Among its guests are many birds that find shelter here during the flight. There are many permanent feathered inhabitants in these places. Seagulls, cormorants, pelicans, flamingos and, of course, swans - Crimea gives shelter to all of them. The Swan Islands of the Karkinitsky Gulf is a small bird paradise, preserved by the mind and goodwill of man.
Where is the natural monument in Crimea?
The Swan Islands are subordinate to the Crimean Nature Reserve, but they are located at a sufficient distance from it. They stretched out in a chain in, behind, a little to the north of Cape Tarkhankut. Nearest locality- the village of Portovoye, but you can get to the protected area only by water.
Swan on the map of Crimea
Education history: former scythe
The islands do not last long - they are a little over 100 years old. Before that there was a large sand spit overgrown with grass and bushes. Residents of the village The port (at that time it was called Sary-Bulat) grazed cattle there, and there was no question of any environmental work. But then the sea washed away the spit, after which a chain of islets formed. It became impossible to graze cattle, as a result, people forgot about this piece of sushi. Then the formations (they are all small, the largest now has 3.5 km in length and 350 m in width) was chosen by waterfowl.
Scientists noticed the presence of a huge number of mute swans on the islands at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is how the name Swan Islands appeared, although swans usually do not live there permanently, but stop for the duration of molting or for rest during the flight. The territory was taken under protection in 1947. Since 1971 it has been considered an ornithological (bird) reserve of international importance. In addition to the islets themselves, their unique water area near the Crimea is also protected.
Swan Islands: features of the feathered kingdom
Since the Swan Islands in Crimea are a nature reserve, it will not be possible to come here just like that, you need special permission and an employee's escort. The projects for the issuance of hunting licenses that have taken place have been successfully failed - this should only be rejoicing, 
since hunting cannot take place in the protected area.
The islets are low, flat pieces of land (1-2 m above sea level) covered with grassy vegetation. The map cannot give an accurate representation of them: the sea is constantly making its own adjustments, eroding the shores in some places and washing up land in others. Recently, one of 6 plots of land disappeared altogether, and instead of it, as in old times, a sand spit appeared. But this is a natural process, people do not interfere with it.
Here they protect not only birds, but also wingless inhabitants of the land (steppe viper, large jerboa, yellow-bellied snake), and fish (seahorse, Black Sea salmon), and dolphins (all Black Sea species). But the main task is to protect birds, both nesting on the islands, and migratory.
There are up to 320 species of them, 49 of which are included in the Red Book. Not everywhere you can see pelicans or flamingos at will, but on the Swan Islands it is possible. Cormorants, gulls, sandpipers live here, wagtails, gray, yellow and white herons and, of course, swans stop at the passage.
The beauty of the protected lands of Crimea
Only young or lonely swans live here, but there are several thousand of them on migration or during molting. Whooper swans stop to rest in late fall, heading towards the site. Mute swans have chosen calm, safe islands to moult when they cannot fly and are therefore particularly vulnerable. 
Before the creation of the reserve, local residents used this, arranging hunts for flightless birds for the sake of obtaining expensive meat.
In recent years, the number of birds on the Swan Islands has increased significantly - this is the result of a reasonable restriction of the use of chemicals in the processing of rice plantings. A much smaller amount of poison now enters the sea, as a result, the shallow water around is abundantly overgrown with marine vegetation. Abundance of food and safety attracts everyone large quantity feathered guests.
The staff of the reserve complex and tourists allowed to visit it regularly take beautiful photos of the bird kingdom here, giving priority to the swans. But other feathered photo models are not deprived of attention, they serve as an excellent advertisement for the protection of the Crimean nature.
Swan fidelity: almost like a song
Maybe it's not very romantic, but everyday life here is smashing to smithereens. a beautiful legend about swan fidelity. These birds really create permanent pairs, but in the event of the death of one, the other does not take suicide at all, but quickly enters into a new marriage. And the Swan Islands serve as a kind of "marriage agency" for singles.
Young birds that have not yet created their own families and those that have already lost their soul mate linger here. In the Crimea, they have romances and alliances are created, quite strong, but quite prudent. They do not build nests here and do not raise chicks, although it was believed 100 years ago that this is so.
How to get to the islands?
It is not necessary to delve into the question of how to get to the Swan Islands in Crimea, since the admission of tourists here is very limited and occurs only with the permission of the administration of the reserve. If this is received, the huntsman will take the group to the place by boat. Nature reserves are not the kind of attractions that anyone can visit!
Endless, flat as a table steppe, covered with stunted vegetation, coastal salt licks and salt marshes, muddy shores barely rising above the level of the lagoons, interspersed with almost bare shell spits - this is how the north-western Crimea looks dull.
Further north and northwest, the landscape is equally bleak: tens of kilometers of swampy shallow waters overgrown with algae or covered with dead and decaying remains. Half a kilometer from the coast, one can see low reed islands, a narrow chain of which stretches to the very horizon.
This is the Swan Islands - a reserved area of the Crimean nature reserve and hunting economy. They are accumulative formations that have arisen on one of the easternmost banks of the Karkinitsky Gulf of the Black Sea. The size of the islands, their outlines, the topography of the seabed near the coast, and even the total number of islands are constantly and rather rapidly changing.
Now the total length of the chain of islands is about 5 kilometers, the area is 57 hectares, of which about 7 hectares are in the inner bays and channels. The relief of the islands is calm, only western shores there are small elevations of shells, but they do not rise above 2 meters above sea level.
Compared to adjacent areas steppe Crimea the vegetation of the islands is quite rich and lush. Almost half of the entire area of the islands is occupied by reeds, confined to highly swampy depressions. In more elevated and drier places, high and dense thickets of wormwood alternate with thickets of giant spike, sea rush, quinoa, white melilot, salt marsh aster and seaweed. Moreover, on the islands, all these plants are characterized by gigantic growth and often form continuous, impassable thickets. The lush development of the herbaceous vegetation of the islands may seem surprising, since they are devoid of soil and are composed of loose coquina. However, abundant atmospheric moisture, seeping through the sand layer and lingering at a depth of 1 - 1.5 meters above the heavier layers of salt water, provides plants in abundance, and thousands of birds inhabiting the islands bring a lot of organic fertilizers.
The islands are located among vast shallow waters with a depth of 30-60 centimeters. There is no emergent vegetation here. The predominant type of bottom vegetation is the Zostera seagrass thickets. To the west of the islands, the depth gradually increases and at a distance of 200 - 300 meters is already 2 - 4 meters. In case of stormy westerly winds, the islands can be flooded with water and, if this coincides with the breeding season of birds, all clutches and many chicks perish.
The shallow waters of the Karkinitsky Bay are the only area of the Black Sea covered with ice. The duration of the freeze-up is on average about 30 days (from 15 to 45 days). In severe winters, the ice reaches 60 - 70 centimeters thick, and the shallowest areas freeze to the bottom. Warm southerly winds break the ice two and three times a winter and carry it out to sea; ice hummocks up to 6-7 meters high are sometimes formed near the islands.
Swan Islands is a bird sanctuary. There are almost no other animals here, except for the green toad, the quick lizard, the barrow mouse, the common vole and the steppe ferret. In winter, foxes come to the island across the ice of the bay, but in the summer they never stay here.
On the territory of the islands and the buffer zone, 223 bird species, according to the latest data from Yu. V. Kostin, are found throughout the year. Some of them visit here regularly and in large numbers for nesting, molting, migration and wintering, others are very rare or accidentally come to this area.
On a cold, cloudy January day, the steppe, barely covered with snow, is deserted, penetrating North wind presses flocks of field and steppe larks to the ground. At the coast there are heaps of greenish-gray spongy ice, and further, as far as the eye can see, endless ice fields with whitening ridges of hummocks, spots of ice and dark water of wormwood and cracks. Only from somewhere in the distance one can hear the cry of invisible whooper swans, and from time to time a flock of long-nosed mergansers, pintails or mallards will sweep in the distance. One feels that all life is concentrated somewhere out there, at the edge of an ice field or on vast watersheds.
A completely different picture is on a sunny January day. There are thousands of birds on the water of the bays: mallard duck, pintail, whistle teal, wiggles, shirokoski. You can find here the crested and sea duck, snot and great merganser. V warm winters on the shores of the Karkinitsky Gulf, herring gulls, turukhtans and great curlews, marsh harriers and long-eared owls stay for the winter; the white-tailed eagle often appears. True, there are few birds on the islands themselves in winter, only reed buntings and mustachioed tits are common, which take refuge in reed thickets.
On warm, fine days in late January or early February, herring gulls begin to gather to the islands. At this time, you can already hear their laughter, indicating that the birds are preparing for breeding. During February, the number of herring gulls on the islands increases, and from the middle of the month, gray herons begin to arrive at their nesting sites.
March is the month of intensive migration of waterfowl, the beginning of migration of passerines, and in the last decade the earliest clutches of gray heron, herring gull and mallard appear on the islands.
In addition to ducks, which are also encountered during the winter, in the spring, white-eyed ducks, shelves and in a very large number of teal-cracks fly through the reserve. In March, gray geese, bean geese, white-fronted geese and white-fronted goose fly. The flight of many waders begins, among which there are especially many turukhtans and lapwings. Black-headed gulls and the largest of our terns, the gleegrav, fly over to nest.
However, the March weather is still very unstable: there are cold winds, and frosts, and snowfalls. The span increases and decreases. Only herring gulls seem to be unresponsive to the weather and by the end of the month occupy all areas of the islands suitable for nesting. This gull is not very whimsical in choosing places for nesting and does not build nests only in solid reeds and on completely bare spits and shallows. In recent years, about 7 thousand pairs of these birds nest here. From a distance, the islands look dazzling white from the seagulls sitting on them, and in alarm, the birds flying up cover the sky with solid white lace.
In April, all the birds that arrived on the islands are busy making nests. Chegravs annually choose the most remote, completely devoid of vegetation, a shell spit for their colony. Gray herons often nest in dense reeds in rather dense colonies, but sometimes their separate nests can be found among thickets of wormwood.
Later than others - in April - ibis, little and great egrets appear on the islands. These three species have recently begun to nest on the islands; however, the whole history of ankle birds on the islands is only twenty years old. Gray heron nests were first found on the islands in 1947, but the number of birds was low. In 1955, 67 breeding pairs were counted, in 1963 - 218 pairs, and in 1971, 616 nests were already found.
Little egret did not nest on the islands until 1961. From 1961 to 1966, 4-5 clutches were found annually, but they perished for one reason or another. Only in 1967, when 30 pairs of these birds built nests not as a separate colony, as before, but among the nests of the gray heron, did the chicks safely hatch. Since then the number of herons has continued to grow, and in 1970 there were already 138 nests.
For the little heron, the ibis came to the islands, and its first seven nests appeared here in 1967. At first, it also nested unsuccessfully as a separate colony and all clutches perished. Only in 1969, several pairs made their nests among colonies of gray and lesser egrets, reared chicks, and in recent years this bird has become a common nesting species on the islands (more than 40 pairs).
Finally, in 1970, one pair of great egrets nested for the first time in the colony of small egrets; in 1971, five nests were already found, in three of which the chicks successfully hatched.
While the birds have already begun nesting on the islands, they fly over the islands, surrounding bays and steppe day and night. In April, cracker teals continue to fly, red herons are numerous, filling the night sky with their characteristic cries, soaring herons and tops. In no month of the year is this area visited by such a large number of bird species as in April. For several days in a row, dunlin and turukhtans fly in huge flocks across the Swan Islands, or flocks of small and black-headed gulls stretch from dawn to dusk over the coast in an endless string. There are massive flights of steppe harriers, common kestrels and red fawns, as well as cranes, cuckoos and swifts. But the most grandiose look is the spring flight of barn swallows, which at this time of the year are joined by city swallows and shorebirds. For several weeks, groups and individuals are rapidly crossing coastline and hiding above the waters of the bay all in the same direction. There are days when birds fly all daylight in one endless ribbon, and on cloudy, starless nights, you can listen to the never-ending call of flying white-brows, songbirds, mischiefs or forest horses until dawn. Later, in May, they will be replaced by northern sandpipers: dunlin, sparrow sandpiper, gerbil, white-tailed sandpiper.
In May, there was a commotion on the islands and a constant scream. Nests, nests and nests all around. Involuntarily, you constantly look at your feet so as not to step on the masonry or helpless down jackets. Through the soft cackle and gloomy laughter of diving gulls, a piercing cry is heard at the nest of the oystercatcher. Gray herons take off one by one from a high wormwood and dozens of small egrets take off together, as if on command. Huge nests of gray herons lie right here on the ground, among the wormwood bushes, and chicks have already grown up in them; nearby are light "saucers" and nest cones of small egrets with whitish-blue eggs. Dozens of pairs of mallards, long-nosed mergansers and shelves also nest in dense and hard thickets of wormwood, and the gray duck also nests irregularly. Until 1968, up to 15 pairs of marsh harriers were bred here, but since 1969 this species has been found only during migration and wintering.
250-450 pairs of gleegrav regularly nest on the islands. Other terns - river, small, variegated, gull-billed terns - not every year and in small numbers. Many sea plovers nest here, and their cute, big-legged and colorful downy chicks now and then scatter in different directions and, hiding, fall to the ground itself.
The vast shallow waters of the Karkinitsky Bay, rich in plant and animal food and inaccessible to humans and land predators, have long served as a place for moulting mallards, coots and mute swans. In different years, from 1.5 to 3.5 thousand mallard drakes molt here. After the flight feathers fall out, when they lose the ability to fly, the birds huddle in the reeds and spend all the daytime there, leaving their shelter only at night. At about the same time, in late June - early July, mute swans also begin to molt.
Shallow waters in warm, calm weather are a wonderful sight, when 2-5 thousand huge snow-white birds gather in one of the bays at once. From a distance it seems as if a white haze hangs over the water of the bay.
As shown by the research of the reserve staff, carried out in 1959-1971, in the northeastern part of the Karkinitsky Bay, only mute swans molt; whoopers come here only for the winter. Here young - 1 - 3-year-old - swans shed, which do not form pairs yet. They do not stay on islands, but on the open surface of inaccessible shallow waters or away from the coast on deep places... When the boat approaches, the birds try to swim away; caught, they dive, but only those swans who have recently lost their wing feathers have succeeded, those whose feathers have grown by more than 1/3 helplessly hide the front of their bodies in the water, leaving their tail and legs on the surface.
On hot July days, when clouds of mosquitoes hang over the islands, young herring gulls and gray herons begin to leave their native places, first migrating to shallow waters, and then scattering throughout the Black Sea and Azov Sea regions, meeting in the first autumn even much north of Crimea. In August, only in the colony of gazelles can there be unfinished business, and belated chicks of the little egret or ibex walk around the empty colony of herons. On the contrary, in the shallow waters surrounding the islands, birds arrive. In addition to the mallards and moulders remaining after molting, tens of thousands of coots gather here for molting. Already in the middle, and sometimes at the beginning of July, most of the waders begin to fly here, among which there are especially many black-throated dunlin, turukhtans, herbalists, hand warders, and in some years there are common curlews and greeters. At the end of the month, snipes appear near the islands. At the same time, ducks begin to arrive for the autumn fattening.
In the first month of autumn, it is still quite warm here. Around the islands there are thousands, tens of thousands of ducks; most of all red-headed ducks, many teal-whistles and mallards. By October, the bulk of the red-headed ducks fly away, but there are more whistle teals, their thousands-strong flocks constantly rush over the islands, from time to time changing places of rest and feeding. Wigs appear, the number of pintails and broad-nosed grows noticeably; you can see red-nosed duck and crested duck, gray duck and gogol.
On the inner bays of the islands in autumn, numerous Easter cakes are looking for food, moors and chasers hide in the thickets, and over the reeds that have thrown fresh silvery panicles, and over the huge clumps of blooming salt asters, willow warblers and chiffchaffs, warblers-badgers and mustachioed tits now and then fly. Quite often, the most unexpected birds for such places fly out from under our feet: forest accent, zorianka, wren, songbird or blackbird.
In late October or early November geese fly, and then for several days in a row you can watch flocks flying high, and at night listen to their restless cackle. At the same time whooper swans arrive for wintering. Their trumpet cry will now herald both November storms and February blizzards. Gradually dying out, the flight ends in mid or late November. Mute swans and coots have left the places of molting. Sandpipers and seagulls are almost invisible ...
And then, if the winter is mild, the freeze-up is late and unstable, whistles, wiggles, pintail, mallards, a few gray and large egrets will remain for the winter. If the winter turns out to be early and severe, they will fly away to the shores of the Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean seas... Only long-nosed mergansers and whooper swans do not leave the bay even in the most severe winters, and mustachioed tits and reed buntings remain on the islands.
The first zoologist to visit these islands a little over a hundred years ago was K.F. For almost 90 years, these islands were forgotten. However, since 1949 they have been declared protected and included as a branch in the Crimean nature reserve. At this time, their study began, especially fruitful since 1958, when a hospital was organized on the islands.
With the accumulation of information about the birds of this area, it became obvious that the protection of only the territory of the islands is insufficient, since from July almost all nesting birds leave them, and migratory and wintering ones gather on non-protected shallow waters and the coast of the mainland. At the insistence of ornithologists, in the early 60s, a protection zone of the Swan Islands was established with an area of 5 thousand hectares, which was later expanded to 10 thousand hectares, which made it possible to take under protection not only nesting colonies of birds, but also places of concentration of waterfowl during molting, migration and wintering. The coastal strip of the Crimean steppes (6 thousand hectares) and the water space near the islands are set aside for the protective zone.
The area of the water area allocated for the buffer zone is now 4 thousand hectares. This includes all the bays lying between the islands and the main coast of the peninsula, and a 2 km wide open bay lying to the northwest of the islands. The water area of the buffer zone is of great importance as a feeding place for birds. Zostera biomass here averages 1.5 kilograms per square meter, in some places it reaches 4 - 5 kilograms. The total stock of zostera within the buffer zone can be estimated at 450 - 500 thousand tons. Zostera rhizomes and young shoots serve as the main food for swans, mallards, pintails, whistle teals and other ducks.
The value of the Swan Islands in the protection of birds, especially migratory and wintering ones, is enormous.
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