Ptichy Island (Shantar Islands)

Ptichy Island (Russian: Остров Птичий, Ostrov Ptichy, meaning Bird Island) is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk.

For other places with the same name, see Ptichy Island.
Ptichy Island
Остров Птичий
The Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk
Ptichy Island (Russia)
Geography
LocationSea of Okhotsk
Coordinates54°35′59″N 137°04′47″E
ArchipelagoShantar Islands
Length1.6 km (0.99 mi)
Highest elevation290 m (950 ft)
Administration
Federal SubjectKhabarovsk Krai
Demographics
Population0

Geography

Ptichy Island is one of the Shantar Islands. It lies between the southwest point of Bolshoy Shantar and Cape Bol'shoy Dugandzha on the mainland. It is a little over 1.6 km (1 mi) in length and rises to a height of 290 m (951 ft).[1]

History

Between 1857 and 1889, American whaleships cruised for bowhead whales off Ptichiy.[2] They called it Big Stinker[3] or just Stinker Island, "on account of the dead whales drifting along there from the ice".[4] Along with Utichy, it was considered one of the Stinker Islands.[5][6][7] Ships also anchored under it during strong winds[8] and boat crews spent the night on the island after cruising for whales all day.[9]

Fauna

In the summer there is a large colony of spectacled guillemots on the island, as well as a smaller nesting colony of thick-billed murres.[10]

References
  1. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (2014). Sailing Directions (Enroute): East Coast of Russia. U.S. Government, Springfield, Virginia.
  2. Frances Henrietta, of New Bedford, August 18, 1857, Nicholson Whaling Collection (NWC); Mary Frazier, of New Bedford, July 18, 1859, NWC; Josephine, of New Bedford, September 25, 1864, August 28, 1865, Kendall Whaling Museum (KWM); Sea Breeze, of New Bedford, September 4, 1866, Old Dartmouth Historical Society; Mary and Helen II, of San Francisco, August 15, August 17, 1885, KWM; E. F. Herriman, of San Francisco, August 26-27, September 5-6, September 10, September 25, 1889, George Blunt White Library (GBWL) #761.
  3. William C. Nye, of San Francisco, August 31, 1862, Bancroft Library (BL).
  4. Williams, H. (1964). One whaling family. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
  5. Charles W. Morgan, of New Bedford, September 5, 1866, GBWL.
  6. William C. Nye, of San Francisco, August 8, August 30, 1862, BL.
  7. Bart Gosnold, of New Bedford, September 14, 1863, GBWL.
  8. Endeavor, of New Bedford, August 27, 1859, NWC.
  9. Antelope, of Newport, August 22, 1858, Nantucket Historical Association.
  10. Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East". Seabirds of the Russian Far East, 37-81.
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