Near the Bering Sea, at a distance of 100 kilometers north of the village of Khatyrka, on the shore of a channel connecting the sea and two large lakes is the village of Meinipilgyno. Translated from the Chukchi language, the name means “mouth, large neck”. The locals mainly call this settlement “Maina”. What is special about this tiny village, and why are scientists from all over the world striving to get here?
The settlement appeared in 1957, and acquired its modern appearance in the two thousandth. It was during this period that each family living here was provided with their own house, built according to a Canadian project, with connected sewers, a central heating system and water supply. There is a school, a kindergarten, an art school, a hospital, a museum, a recreation center with a national ensemble and a team of theater-goers in Maine.
But there is a problem with work in the village. In addition to government agencies, there are no enterprises in the village. Previously, a reindeer herding farm worked here, but in the nineties of the last century it was closed, and this type of employment ceased to exist. The only thing people can make money on is fish. There are a lot of navaga, smelt and more here. People fish for their own needs, and during the fishing season they can earn extra money at a floating fish factory, but this job is of a temporary type. The population is slowly decreasing. Currently, approximately three hundred people live here.
There are also problems with transport links in the village. Passengers are not carried by sea and products are delivered in containers on ships. In case of favorable weather conditions, a helicopter arrives three times a month. Not everyone is able to get to Beringovsky (260 kilometers) by trekol or snowmobile in winter.
What attracts Meinypilgyno
But only at first glance, things are so sad here. There is one feature that attracts the attention of the scientific world, and this is a small bird - the sandpiper.
There are many species of these birds, and only a specialist can distinguish them from each other. But with this sandpiper, the situation is completely different. It simply cannot be confused with anyone. It is called the shovel-sandpiper because of the shape of its beak. He has it like a spatula or a rhombus.
Not so long ago, there were about five thousand of them, but at the moment there are only five hundred. As a result, this species of waders became “endangered”. To preserve it, a working group headed by ROSIP was created. A special hospital was equipped near the village in 2021. Funding for him consisted of grants from various scientific organizations and donations from around the world. The title of this project to rescue a disappearing bird is "Start to Life".
When choosing a place, we were guided by the fact that it is in this area that the largest population of birds is located. For shovels, the danger comes from seagulls, foxes and even eurasian gulls. In order for as many chicks to survive as possible, the first clutch of eggs is taken by ornithologists into a special incubator. Birds lay eggs again.
Young chicks are first in the box, and then transferred to the aviary. Once they are able to fly, they are released. As a result, the ability to survive increased sixfold. For eight years of such work, 180 waders were released into nature.
To understand how spatulas migrate, miniature transmitters weighing less than two grams are attached to them (1, 7). It is very important to trace the entire path of the birds to Southeast Asia, which is eight thousand kilometers. It is there that the sandpiper flies and there he is already met by ornithologists.
Growing chicks begins in early summer, and ends at the end (June-August). During this period, bird watchers live in the village. Other work is underway to preserve rare representatives of the animal world. ROSIP initiated the creation of the "Land of the Shovel-Shovel", a natural regional park. We are working on the project now.
The village itself will benefit, as people will have the opportunity to work, and transport will go and fly more often.
Continuing the topic read, why the reindeer breeders of the North will not give up uncomfortable clothing made of skins in favor of modern down jackets.