30 August 2026
(Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. PHOTO: zoloto.city)
On the northern coast of the Black Sea, primarily in the Kherson region, stretching from the southern shore of the Dnipro-Bug Estuary to the eastern shore of the Tendriv Bay, lies one of the oldest and most important nature reserves in Eastern Europe — the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. This latest installment of the“Amazing South” series is dedicated to this unique protected area.
The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve is recognized as the largest marine nature reserve in Ukraine and holds the highest protection status. Its total area exceeds 109,000 hectares, with the majority (nearly 85%) consisting of marine waters—the Tendrivska and Yagorlytska gulfs. The reserve’s primary goal is to preserve the unique steppes, islands, and marine bays in their pristine, wild state.
The reserve’s history began nearly a century ago—in 1927. At that time, scientists and conservationists began to express concern over the mass destruction of wildlife, particularly the unique bird nesting sites in southern Ukraine.
In 1927, the Coastal Nature Reserves were officially established, and the lands of the current nature reserve became an integral part of them. At the time of its creation, the area covered 27,000 hectares. By 1976, it had expanded to 64,806 hectares.
In 1933, the reserve was granted the status of an independent research institution and came to be known as the Black Sea State Reserve. Scientists began to study the local flora and fauna in detail.
World War II caused significant damage to the reserve. Scientific archives, collections, and buildings were destroyed. However, the wilderness survived, and immediately after the liberation of the territories, scientists returned to their work to rebuild the reserve.
In 1984, UNESCO included the Black Sea Reserve in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This meant that the reserve became an important part of not only Ukraine’s heritage but was also recognized as a global benchmark for wilderness.
On November 26, 1993, a decree by the President of Ukraine officially granted it its current status: the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. Thanks to the efforts of many generations of scientists, it has become a true “living museum” under the open sky, where nature follows its own primal laws.
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Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. PHOTO: khers-on.com
The reserve includes mainland areas located on the Kinburn Peninsula and the Black Sea coast, the shallow bays of the Black Sea — the Tendrivska and Yagorlytska bays — with small islands, as well as a strip of marine waters along the coast.
Yagorlytska Bay was not immediately included in the reserve. The process of incorporating the water area and the bay’s coastline took place in stages over several decades. This part of the protected area deserves a separate discussion. In this issue, we will examine some other natural features of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve.
The Tendrivska Bay is a unique shallow bay in the north of the Black Sea off the coast of the Kherson region. It is separated from the open sea by the long, sandy Tendrivska Spit, which we have already discussed in a previous installment of this series.
The bay cuts into the mainland for nearly 45 kilometers, and its total area is about 630 square kilometers. Its average width is 7 km.
The body of water is divided into two parts. The eastern part is very shallow (up to 4 meters), and the water here warms up very quickly in the summer. The western part is deeper, with depths ranging from 6 to 15 meters. The bottom is mostly muddy, but the underwater ridges are covered with coarse sand and shells. A lot of aquatic vegetation grows here.
In 1995, the bay received international recognition. Since then, it has been included in the list of wetlands of international importance (Ramsar Convention).
There are several uninhabited islands in the Tendra Bay, including the Tendra Spit, which separates the bay from the Black Sea. Due to the lack of a land connection to the mainland, the spit is geographically considered a large island called Tendra.
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Tendra Island. PHOTO: motor-yachts.od.ua
Bili Kuchugury is a unique sand spit (or peninsula) located in the western part of the Tendrivska Spit. The Bili Kuchugury Spit stretches from west to east and partially extends into the waters of the Tendri Bay. The word “kuchugury” in Ukrainian means large sandy hills or dunes. Here, they consist of fine white sea sand and shell fragments.
From Bili Kuchugury further east, a long underwater protective shoal (bank) stretches across the bay toward the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula. In this area stands a separate navigational aid—the Bili Kuchugury Lighthouse—which helps ships navigate around the bay’s dangerous shoals.
One of the most famous island groups in the bay is Babyn Island—a large patch of land surrounded by water. It is located opposite the central part of the Tendrivska Spit. It is surrounded by untamed nature: hundreds of bird species nest here, and wild animals gather in the area.
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Babyn Island. PHOTO: storage.googleapis.com
Smaleny is an indigenous island in the bay, an ancient remnant of dry land. The island is covered with dense coastal meadows and shrubs. In the shallow waters near the shore, vast underwater meadows of unique edible algae stretch out, creating ideal conditions for young mullet and gobies.
Due to the bay’s shallow waters, fluctuations in water level, and the movement of sand deposits in its eastern part, micro-islands, sandbars, and shoals are constantly forming and eroding, serving as resting places for migratory birds.
The Potievskyi section encompasses the coastal strip at the far eastern end of the Tendrivska Bay. It is known for its coastal salt marshes and lakes, which serve as the primary resting and wintering grounds for thousands of migratory birds.
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Potievskyi Section. PHOTO: upload.wikimedia.org
The Potievska Spit is a long, narrow spit that forms part of the reserve’s Potievska Section. It is strictly protected. The spit is located on the eastern coast of the Tendrivska Bay. The spit separates the shallow coastal lakes and salt marshes from the main body of water in the bay and plays a vital role in the ecosystem of the entire Black Sea region.
The surface of the spit consists of sand and shell material. Unique herbaceous plants grow here, resistant to salinity and constant winds.
Together with the adjacent shallow waters, the Potievska Spit is one of the most important sites in southern Ukraine for the nesting, resting during migration, and wintering of hundreds of thousands of waterfowl. Huge flocks of ducks, geese, swans, and waders gather here—a veritable bird metropolis.
This is the oldest and largest land-based protected area of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, located inland in the northeastern part of the Kinburn Peninsula within the so-called Ivanivska Sand Arena. The protected area covers approximately 3,104 hectares.
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Ivano-Rybalshchanska Section. PHOTO: Y. Moskalenko
The territory is remote from the open sea and coastal bays but borders the southern shore of the Dnipro-Buzky Estuary near the villages of Ivanivka and Rybalche. Unlike coastal salt marshes, forest-steppe continental landscapes predominate here. This area is characterized by large sandy hills—known as “kuchugury”—that alternate with lowlands.
A distinctive feature of the Ivano-Rybalche section is its unique relict forests, known as “kolky.” These are small natural groves of birch, oak, and aspen hidden in the lowlands between the sandy “kuchugury.” They grow where underground freshwater comes close to the surface.
Within the waters of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve’s bays and the coastal mainland areas, there are numerous amazing lakes. Most of them are lagoons or salt lakes. Here are the most interesting and largest of them, which are part of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve.
The Tendrivska Spit itself is literally covered with small lakes. There are more than several dozen of them, and they vary in salinity.
Lake Tendrivske is the largest body of water on the spit itself. The lake is elongated and stretches along the spit’s shore. The water in the lake is extremely salty, and in the summer, due to the heat, a white crust of salt forms in the shallow areas.
The spit also features unique small “well-like lakes” fed by underground freshwater sources. It is from these that the famous wild horses of Tendry drink.
Some of the lakes on the Kinburn Peninsula border the Yagorlytska Bay. These bodies of water are characterized by extremely high salinity. In the summer, the water in them can take on a bright pink or reddish hue due to the microalgae Dunaliella salina, which accumulates β-carotene under conditions of high salinity and intense sunlight.
The Potiev Lakes are a network of large lagoon-like saltwater bodies on the mainland shore of the Tendriv Bay. They are of immense conservation importance. Here, the shallow waters are overgrown with reeds, creating ideal nesting conditions for whooper swans, gray herons, and rare pelicans.
The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve is distinguished by its exceptionally rich flora and fauna. Its uniqueness lies in the combination of sea inlets, sandy steppes, salt lakes, and remnants of ancient forests.
The reserve’s vegetation is highly diverse due to the combination of different landscapes. There are over 800 species of higher vascular plants here.
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The reserve’s flora. PHOTO: wownature.in.ua
Large underwater thickets of zostera, or eelgrass, stretch across the reserve’s bays. They form unique underwater meadows and play an important role in the bays’ ecosystem.
On the shores of the salt lakes, which dry up in the summer, salt-tolerant plants—halophytes—grow, the most famous of which is the saltwort. In the fall, it paints the shores of the water bodies a bright crimson-red color. Kermex also grows here.
The mainland protected areas preserve pristine Black Sea steppes. Here, feather grass, fescue, wormwood, and endemic species—such as short-headed cornflower and Dnieper thyme—thrive.
The reserve’s fauna is impressive in its scale. It is home to about 3,500 animal species, and the reserve’s greatest treasure is its birds, numbering as many as 300 species.
The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve was established primarily to protect nesting and migratory birds. The symbol of the reserve is the black-headed (Mediterranean) tern. A vast portion of its global population nests on the islands of the sea inlets. Hundreds of thousands of ducks, geese, and coots gather on the Potievskaya Spit and the salt lakes, along with large flocks of mute swans and whooper swans. Rare and exotic species—pink pelicans, herons (white and gray), waders, white-tailed eagles, and bustards—nest and rest on the reserve’s lands during migration.
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Black-headed gull. PHOTO: kinburn.com.ua
Unique mammals can be found in the protected marine waters. In addition to the three species of Black Sea dolphins (bottlenose, white-beaked, and Azov), the extremely rare monk seal—which is on the brink of extinction worldwide—is occasionally sighted in these waters.
Dozens of fish species spawn and live in the underwater seagrass beds: glossy turbot, gobies, mullet, pipefish, and seahorses. There are also many shrimp and crabs here.
The mainland areas of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve are home to wild boars, roe deer, foxes, badgers, raccoon dogs, and hares. Among the rare species are Falz-Fein’s emuran and the Podillia blind mole rat. Reptiles and amphibians found here include the steppe viper, the yellow-bellied snake, the European pond turtle, and the green toad.
Along the coast of the Tendrivska Bay and the Tendrivska Spit, there are over 100 animal species listed in Ukraine’s Red Book. One of the most famous features of the Tendrivska Spit is its population of feral horses, which roam freely throughout the area.
The reserve is currently facing difficult times due to the occupation and ongoing hostilities in southern Ukraine; it is suffering enormous damage from fires and shelling, which is causing the death and distress of wildlife. However, scientists remain hopeful that the reserve’s natural environment will eventually recover. Reserve staff continue to work remotely from territory controlled by Ukraine.
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