Karkinitsky Reserve (

Karkinit Bay Karkinit, Karkinitski, Carcinites, or Karkinitsky Bay (, ''Karkinits'ka zatoka''; , ''Karkinitskiy zaliv'', ) is a bay of the Black Sea that separates the northwestern Crimean Peninsula from the mainland Ukraine. It was named after the early Gr ...

Sanctuary, ) is an

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

zakaznik ''Zakaznik'' (, transliterated: ''zakaznik, zakazniki''; , transliterated: ''zakaznyk'', ''zakaznyky''; Belarusian: заказнік, заказнікі, transliterated: zakaznik, zakazniki) is a type of protected area in former Soviet republics ...

'' (

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

) located in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, between the southwestern

Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

and mainland

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It was established in 1979 (the area of 27 646 ha). The reserve has a mission to preserve the gene pool of the local flora and fauna, and also to protect the unique communities of wildlife. It is a resting place for migratory waterfowl in spring and autumn, and the habitat of nomadic birds in the winter. Islands, which are surrounded by Karkinit's Bay shallow water and plenty of plant and animal food, attract a large number of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

. There are more than 240 species of them:

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

herons Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus '' Botaurus'' are referred to as ...

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gul ...

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

, etc.

Mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...

s and

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genu ...

s are the pride of the islands.

Sources

* http://ukraina-krym.com/index/0-19 * https://web.archive.org/web/20140107182706/http://www.nedaleko.ua/sight/ * http://www.megabook.ru/Article.asp?AID=637970 {{Ukraine-geo-stub Geography of Crimea Nature reserves in Ukraine

See also

Sources