Biryuchyi Island. Mysterious and astounding

If Henichesk and the Arabat Spit became my discovery of 2016, then Biryuchyi Island is a super-discovery, and my impressions of the trip there are simply astounding.

The island is a continuation of the Fedotova Spit and, until 1929, was separated from it by a channel, which later disappeared as sand was washed up, forming a continuous peninsula. And yet Biryuchyi is still called an island because of its certain isolation and inaccessibility, and its mystery too. The island is about 20 km long, with a maximum width of up to 5 km. You can get to it only on a guided tour, by land from Kyrylivka or across the Sea of Azov from Henichesk.



Of course, a sea voyage is far more interesting than a car journey.
The 18 km that separate the island from the mainland can be covered by motorboat in 45 minutes. Moving ever further from the shore, you take in Henichesk from the sea. The town gradually vanished into the haze, but the domes of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God went on showing blue in the distance for a long time.


After a while the island's lighthouse appeared above the smooth surface of the sea, 30 m high. It was originally built in 1869 by French specialists, commissioned by the tsarist government of the Russian Empire. It was a masterpiece of architecture of its kind. During the Second World War the enemy blew it up several times, but the lighthouse did not collapse at once. The one in operation was built in 1957, and the keeper there is a third-generation member of a dynasty in this rare profession. The service building — a contemporary of the first lighthouse — has survived to this day.



"Biryuchyi" means "of the wolves". Before the trip, my idea of the island was of a scrap of land forgotten by all, with hungry wolves. But it is not grey predators at all that inhabit this unique region. For Biryuchyi is part of the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park, and deer, roe deer, mouflons, kulans, raccoon dogs, foxes, hares and other animals have settled here. They were brought here to acclimatise, and they feel comfortable and free. After adapting, they are transferred to other reserves. Sadly, it is rather hard to see the island's inhabitants; they scattered the moment they heard the sound of the approaching car.





The migration routes of numerous flocks of birds pass across the island. Some of them make a stopover on the island's estuaries and near the coast. Quite a few stay to nest — these are oystercatchers, partridges and teals. Herons have woven their nests in the trees. Pheasants, brought from Czechoslovakia in 1958, have long felt themselves masters here. Some marvellous birds could be seen in flight. Still, the arrival of a group of bloggers disturbed the islanders' idyll.
Characteristically, the island has fresh groundwater (perched water) and artesian wells.







From the open-top car, the flat relief of the terrain was clearly visible. The only low kurgan, 20 m in diameter, is a burial earthwork in which burials of people from the 2nd millennium BC were discovered. It is supposed that these are ancient Scythians.





The vegetation cover is represented by the most diverse species of flora, many of them listed in the Red Book. The aroma of the blossoming honey plants is so rich that you breathe and cannot breathe your fill, and you keep wanting to breathe more. There is a planted forest — a scientific base for studying the adaptation of plants in the steppe zone. I can imagine what the honey is like at the local apiary, but in May the bees are only just gathering it.







Here, at the so-called cordons, live the reserve's workers and the foresters.





At the "Bukhta" cordon there is a common grave of Soviet soldiers. After its liberation from the fascists, Henichesk remained a front-line town for another 5 months. The enemy was still on Chonhar and the Arabat Spit. Fishermen helped the 51st Army to liberate the territory, delivering ammunition and provisions to the front line across the Tonka strait. On 9 April 1944, on 12 launches, they ferried across a landing party of soldiers who liberated the Arabat Spit. Thirteen defenders died in the battle. They were buried in the common grave on Biryuchyi Island.



After the thrilling trip we rested a little in gazebos and under awnings, bathed in a sea of unseen beauty and sunbathed on the cleanest of beaches, and then returned to Henichesk on the same motorboat.





We saw dolphins in the sea — a bonus from Biryuchyi.
I thank Olha, a worker of the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park, for her interesting account of the island and the information about the common grave. To the motorboat driver, to all the organisers of the excursion, and to our escort Denys Stetsenko — thanks from the whole group of bloggers. The impressions are unforgettable, and I gladly share them with you.

Related stories: The Park of the Sokil Sanatorium · The Oleshky Sands. Through Forests, Hills and Dunes · The "Sokil" guesthouse on the Arabat Spit · Bloggers' Forum "Arabat Spit 2016"

This story is also available in Ukrainian: Острів Бирючий. Таємничий і приголомшливий