Starichki Island

Starichkov Island is a world-famous zoological monument of nature. The basis of the population of the island are two species of birds nesting in burrows throughout the earth surface of the island: the axe - 32 thousand individuals, the old man - 13 thousand individuals. In honor of the latter, the island is named. The company of the above species are sinks, cormorants, seals and island seals, killer whales and dolphins.

Water reserve "Starichkov Island" was established in 1981. It has been declared a natural monument to create conditions for seabird colonies for peaceful nesting and breeding. The monument is managed by the Kamchatka branch of the Pacific Geographical Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Everything on the island is stones and bird markets. As for plants, thanks to the rapidly rising water during high tide, these same plants cannot survive. Only at the top of the plateau there is a large mshanka, which in Kamchatka grows only on the islands of Starichkov and Toporkov, stonebreaking and other modest Kamchatka herbs. In total, about 70 species of plants are found on the island.

Among other advantages, the island has important navigational value. It indicates the proximity of the Avacha Bay when swimming from the south. In this capacity, the island began to be used since the late 30s of the XVIII century. On maps of that time it is called Vilyuchinsky.