What was I doing 30 years ago?

30 years ago I lived started living in an abandoned ranger station in the middle of the forest. This place now is included in Bryansky Forest Nature Reserve. In the photo above is a house where my oldest sons grew up. Only in 1983 and 1987 the spring water raise so high it entered the house. It never happened since.

Living in the forest we had to mostly grow our own food. Even when we had some money (I worked on two jobs: as a school teacher and as a forest guard), there was not much to buy in nearby stores: bread, canned fish, cheap candies. Would you believe it that I first tried bananas after I was thirty, only when I started working at newly established Nature Reserve and had to visit Moscow.

We always had plenty of fresh milk. But that required mowing all summer long...

My younger brother, Nikolay, and I are stacking hay.

My father and I are riding our only means of transportation.

Nearby village - Smelizh.

There are no stores in my village, it is too small for that. The nearest store is in a neigboring village, Smelizh, 8km away. The store is open only twice per week, but if a villager needs something urgently, the sellerwoman, Katya, will open the store as a favor. She is one of the most important figures in this village.

Every time I go there I feel nostalgia for my childhood: the store changed very little over years. The only difference is that during my childhood there were no oranges or bananas...

This is a general overview of the village in December and below is the road I take every day to take my sons to school in Smelizh.

 

First day of spring in Bryansk Forest!

 

 

These are some of black-eared residents of Bryansk Forest Nature reserve. It is the first day of spring here, and the snow is slowly melting. Very soon white storks will come and the spring will fully bloom.

 

 

Originally posted at:

http://shpilenok.livejournal.com/171004.html

and

http://shpilenok.livejournal.com/170554.html

Mefodiy 16 months ago and now.

 

On a first photo Mefodiy is less than a day old. He recieved this name from my readers. Mefodiy was the first bison being born free in a newly reintroduced european bison population in Bryans Forest Nature Reserve.  

 

This morning, before the sunrise, I took a photo of him at the additional food supply location in the reserve. During two hours while I was observing him, Mefodiy managed to butt with all the grown up bulls, just as before.

 

Additionally, he tried to lift up the haystack weighting 300 kilograms (661 pounds). But he couldn't. He is not quite strong enough to lift it... yet!

 

 

Originally posted in Russian/Оригинал на русском:

http://shpilenok.livejournal.com/170044.html

White birds.

Two large white birds live in my backyard and fish in my pond nowadays. The stork (right) was brought in by people. He was misfortunate to get caught in abandoned water tower not far from Suzemka. We do not know how he got in and how long was he there without food or water. He became so week, that he was not able to follow other storks that migrated south in a second half of August. Even now, after a week of nourishing diet he still doesn't fly.

And egret (left), a rare bird for Bryansk region, came by himself: he got interested in abundance of fish in the pond. He learned that the dog and people are not posing a danger here, and now he is always full. The migration south for egrets will start later.


Originally posted by at Две белые птицы.

Waiting for the summer...

And this is the owner of the nest.



Originally posted by at В ожидании лета...

Little bison favorite pastime!

Good morning from Bryanskiy Les nature reserve! The favorite pastime of a one and a half month old bison, that we call Mefodiy as my readers suggested, is to butt with grown up bulls. It seems like adults like this game as well, they even step down into the ditch to level themselves in height with a baby.

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

What shall we call him?

We have wonderful news! It is unknown yet, if it's a "boy" or a "girl".

Originally posted by at Как мы его назовем?

Hidden road in pine forest.

Good morning from Bryankiy Les Nature Reserve!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

Are there any foxes in Bryansk Forest?

Very frequently I recieve this question in the comments, so I will answer in a separate post.

Of course there are foxes in Bryansk Forest. I see them almost every day. But I do not have any photos of them. They are very cautious, and no wonder, they were hunted for for many centuries in this part of the world. Bryanskiy Les nature reserve's area is too small to establish the population of foxes that would not be afraid of people, as they are in huge Kronotsky Nature reserve in Kamchatka. However I found this photo of local naive fox-cub. I took it in the beginning of May several years ago not far from his borrow that was less than a mile away from my village house.

Originally posted by at Есть ли в Брянском лесу лисы?

Our little herd of bisons is getting ready for winter!

Good morning from Bryanskiy Les nature reserve!

In the end of October three more bisons arrived from bison nursery in Prioksko-Terrasnyi nature reserve to to Bryankiy Les: Murkuaza, Muntanna and Munatep (see the full story at european-bison label). Our little herd of total 10 animals, 5 cows and 5 bulls, will soon be released to start a new population in a wild. But for now our bisons are adapting in a large enclosure. Some of the animals will be wearing satellite collars and the reserve scientists will be monitoring their position in real time.

This work on restoration of european bison population in Bryansk Forest is part of a larger project aimed at bringing these bisons back to the wild throughout all the forests of European part of Russia. Among approximately 200 bisons, that are living in the wild in national park Orlovskoe Polesye and in nature reserve Kaluzhskie Zaseki, there are many, that were born in a wild! And that is a great accomplishment!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

Frosty morning.

It was 8C below freezing (18F) at the daybreak today. The grass, still green, was covered with dense white frost... Fallen and frosen leaves were rustling underfoot and first ice cruckle as I walked in frequent autumn puddles...



Originally posted by at Минус 8 на рассвете.

New friends have arrived.

Three more bisons made it to Bryankiy Les: cows Musavra and Muzanna, and a young bull Muston. Two of them were brought from Prioksko-Terrasnyi nature reserve in Moscow region, and one came from Okskiy nature reserve in Ryazan region. So now we have total of 7 animals: three females and four males. You can only see six of them on a photograph from yesterday, because the bison from Okskiy reserve arrived late in the evening, so it was dark and snowy when we were releasing him.


And this is their colorful tranportation unit from Prioksko-Terassnyi nature reserve.

Originally posted by at Пополнение в стаде.

First snow!

Good morning!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро! С первым снегом!

Beaver's lodge.

These are the ponds that were created by european beavers in the proximity of "Bryanskiy les" nature reserve headquaters. They built series of dams on a small forest river Terebushka. And beaver's lodge is their house, that is pictured on the top photo.

Originally posted by at Бобровые запруды у конторы заповедника.

Mysterious photo.

Do you think it is a multispectral image of space?

Early morning at Nerussa River.

Good morning from Bryanskiy Les Nature Reserve!

Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!

European bisons. First days in Bryanskiy Les Nature Reserve.

Today I had time to observe our new settlers, European bisons. For now they are living in a large enclosure, but when the other members of this future herd of 10 will arrive, we will release the animals.

New home for European bison.

European bison - is heaviest surviving land animal in Europe. When last vast expands of wild forests were destroyed as a result of expanding civilization, these bisons survived by pure chance in several nurseries and zoos, where they are sucessfully bred. Now, it is believed that only Russia has large enough forests suitable for long term conservation of these species in the wild. Currently the bisons are being reintroduced in Orlovsky, Kaluzhsky and Bryansky regions. In national park Orlovskoe Polesye and in nature reserve Kaluzhskie Zaseki tens of bison cubs already were born in the wild. And today four new residents arrived from Okski nursery to nature reserve Bryaskiy Les.




















Originally posted by at Зубриное новоселье заповеднике "Брянский лес".

Good morning from "Bryansky Les" Nature reserve!

During the whole year that I spent in Kamchatka harsh weather and tough everyday life condidions I haven't caught a single cold. And here, amoung people I immidiately got sore throat infection with high fever, which made me stay indoors for a week during this beautiful time of Indian summer. But today I feel better and ready to get back to work. Nevertheless I'll have to wait with photography: tomorrow I am going to Irkutsk for a week, for national parks stuff meeting. And there is a chance that I'll get to see Lake Baikal. But for now, these are the pictures from around my home village...





Originally posted by at Доброе утро из заповедника "Брянский лес"!