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WONDERS OF NATURE
Delta of the Volga. Nature miracle
It is not easy to define in a few words what the Volga delta is. It's probably best to start with just taking a map of Russia and tracing the course of this great Russian river from north to south. Whimsically meandering along the Russian Plain, it flows first to the southeast, then to the northeast, then to the east, and finally to the south, to the Caspian Sea. Having laid a steep loop along the road at the Zhiguli Mountains, the Volga rolls irresistibly to the south, hurrying to complete its 3500-kilometer route near the gray Caspian. But just before it flows into the sea, the mighty river, as if frightened, slows down the movement. Its channel scatters more than 800 channels, forming something like a giant triangle filled with islands, islets, bays, creeks and narrow arms. This is the delta.
The intricate intricacies of land and water are densely overgrown with reed jungle and have long become a "bird's paradise". Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of birds inhabit the Volga Delta. For some, this is their home, others stop here to rest, returning to the northern regions after wintering somewhere in India or Arabia. In spring, due to the abundance of feeding birds, water is simply not visible in many bays and channels. Dry steppes and semi-deserts surround the delta on three sides. In summer (and it lasts here for almost half a year) the heat reaches 45 degrees. But in winter there are also thirty-degree frosts. The weather is clear all year round in the delta: few other places on Earth have so many sunny days a year. In the vast space between the Volga and the Caspian, two colors reign: blue on the surface of countless channels and dull green on the surrounding reeds, cattails and willows. Warm water and an abundance of vegetation attract countless flocks of fish here. Up to fifty species of them live in the Volga delta, including the famous Volga sturgeon, beluga and stellate sturgeon. Sometimes fishermen come across ten-kilogram carps and two-pound catfish in the nets. For many birds here, fish is the main food. And there are even more birds on the lower Volga than fish - 250 species! And many of them are very rare in Russia. Pelicans and flamingos, egrets and relatives of Egyptian ibises - loaves, swans and pheasants, grebes and terns, cormorants and remez, flocks of thousands of geese and ducks inhabit the reed and willow thickets of the delta islands. But the feathered life in this fertile land was not always free and carefree. The whimsical fashion of the early XNUMXth century created a demand for egrets (openwork tail feathers) of egrets. They, as well as feathers of terns, then decorated ladies' hats. Fashionistas also liked bird skins. As a result, the numerous bird colony at the mouth of the Volga was almost completely destroyed. In other years, agents of Parisian fashion firms bought here up to a hundred thousand skins of herons, terns and swans. Poachers collected millions of bird eggs, which they handed over to soap factories. Established in 1919, the reserve saved the birds from final extermination. For eighty years, the feathered population has restored its numbers. But even now, outside the reserve, smart birds keep high in the sky, beyond the reach of a gun shot. Only having flown up to the protected area, they sharply decrease and fly over the reeds. Of the large birds in the Volga Delta, there are the most gray herons: almost half a million. Long legs allow them to feed on a vast area. Indeed, from the side of the sea, in the so-called fore-delta, the depth does not exceed a meter, even tens of kilometers from the coast. Like many other birds, herons live in colonies, in which there are sometimes several thousand nests. Sometimes it seems that the old willows, chosen by herons, hung with dozens of nests, bend under their weight and are about to collapse into the water. And geese, ducks and geese prefer to build nests in reeds. The thickets of this plant here do not look like the scanty green strips that border the shores of the lakes of the middle zone. Thick, up to five centimeters, mighty stems reach a height of six meters! It is easy to get lost in the impassable reed jungle even for an experienced person. It is not for nothing that local fishermen, going to the support (as the reed thickets are called here), break the stems along the way or tie the tops on them, so that they can then find the way back using these identification marks. The inhabitants of the reeds in the foredelta feed on the rhizomes and leaves of the underwater grass Vallisneria. And when giant flocks of ducks return from the sea to their nests, they often close the horizon like a cloud. There are few animals in the delta. Unlike birds, it is more difficult for them to adapt to life in this kingdom of water and reeds. Wild boars and otters are the most common here, raccoon dog, beaver, mink and muskrat are found, and foxes, wolves, hare and field mice live on dry shores. Occasionally, the Caspian seal swims into large channels. But the flora of the Volga delta is no less interesting and diverse than the bird world. In addition to white water lilies, yellow egg-pods and the already mentioned reeds and cattails, there are rare, sometimes unique representatives of the green kingdom. Vast spaces are covered with light green thickets of water fern - salvinia. Everywhere there is an unusual-looking water chestnut - chilim. Its horned fruits are the favorite food of wild boars. Do not disdain them and geese. Yes, and a person collects chilim nuts in order to make grits from their core. It is not difficult to get chilim: it is enough to hang a long rag with a load from the boat, and the nuts themselves cling to the cloth with their horns. But the main treasure of the delta is, of course, the lotus. The mouth of the Volga is the northernmost place on Earth where this beautiful and rare flower can be found. Its huge (up to 80 centimeters in diameter) leaves lie on the surface of the water. They are covered with a wax coating, and drops, shining in the sun, roll over them like balls of mercury. The huge pink lotus flowers, the size of a soup bowl, live only three days, and every day their color changes: on the first day the petals are bright pink, almost purple, on the second they brighten, and on the third day they are already pinkish, almost white, and the whole flower becomes pale cream. The lotus shimmers in daylight with delicate shades of pink, constantly changing. Whether a cloud comes running, whether a breeze blows, whether the sun comes out - the flower takes on a new look. In Egypt, it was considered a sacred plant. The lotus was painted on sarcophagi, images of buds were beaten out on coins, and in temples the shape of a lotus flower was attached to the capitals of the columns. The ancient Egyptians used ripe lotus capsules for food. Yes, and Homer in the Odyssey sends his heroes to the country where the inhabitants eat this delicious dish: "... They gave them a lotus to taste. But as soon as everyone tasted the sweet-honey lotus, they instantly forgot everything and, having lost the desire to return back, suddenly wanted to stay in the country of the Lotus-eaters to collect a delicious lotus ..." In Asia, the fruit of this plant is boiled with sugar, resulting in a delicacy similar to candied fruits. It is also highly valued as an ornamental plant. It is not for nothing that in the East the lotus has long been revered as a treasure of the gardens of the padishahs. How this resident of the south got into the Volga waters is unknown. It is believed that it could have been brought here by Muslim pilgrims who went to worship in Mecca through Egypt. And the old Kalmyks tell a poetic legend about the appearance of a sacred flower on the banks of the Volga. A long time ago, the legend says, the surrounding places were the possession of the Nogai Khan. And the Khan had a beautiful daughter, Zeynab. And then a young brave warrior named Shakir served in the Hanok army. He once saw the Khan's daughter and immediately fell in love with her. But how to say this to the beautiful Zeynab? And will the khan's daughter even want to look at a simple warrior, let alone respond to his feelings? Shakir suffered for a long time, and then he decided to go to the priest-soothsayer and ask for advice. The priest was silent for a long time, closing his eyes, and thought about something, and then answered the young man: "Far, far, beyond the mountains, lies the wonderful country of India. And the great river Ganges flows in this country. The sacred lotus flower grows in the waters of the Ganges. Pass through the mountains and deserts, get to the Ganges, collect lotus seeds and bring them here. Throw them into the Volga, the lotus will bloom, and then Zeinab will love you: such magical power lies in this flower. "So be it!" the young man decided. "I will bring the lotus here and plant it in the Volga River!" “But remember,” the priest said in the end, “your wish will come true, but at the same time you will lose the most precious thing!” "What is the most precious thing for a warrior? A faithful horse and a sharp saber made of Damascus steel," thought Shakir. And the young warrior went on a long journey. A month and a year have passed since that day. Already the relatives stopped waiting for the young man: they thought he died on the way. But Shakir returned unharmed with priceless seeds, threw them into the Volga and went to the Khan's tent to see his beloved. He drove up and saw that people were coming out of the tent backwards. The warrior's heart trembled: he realized that someone had died. He began to ask questions and found out that the beautiful daughter of the khan had just died. And he understood what the old priest had warned him about. After all, there was no one more precious than Zeynab for Shakir. Death came to her at the moment when he threw lotus seeds into the Volga. In desperation, the young man threw his saber into the air and offered his chest to it. The blade plunged right into the heart, and the warrior in love lost his life. Zeynab and Shakira were buried on the same day. And when they lowered them into the grave, beautiful flowers suddenly rose above the water. Nobody could figure out where they came from. And then the priest was asked about this, and he told about Shakir's love for Zeynab, for the sake of which he brought a sacred flower from a distant Indian river ... " Of course, this is just a legend, but in the delicate colors of the lotus, in its amazing aroma, there really is some kind of extraordinary charm. In the countries of the East, many fairy tales and legends are dedicated to this wonderful flower. The story about the living nature of the Volga delta will, however, be incomplete if we do not mention the two most numerous of its inhabitants. The traveler encounters one of them immediately upon arrival here. These are mosquitoes. Myriads of these flying creatures are the main scourge of fishermen and everyone who enters the delta. It is estimated that in five minutes a person is attacked by up to a thousand of these bloodsuckers! Only a reliable mesh and chemical drugs help people endure round-the-clock attacks of winged parasites. Another characteristic inhabitant of these places is the lake frog. Innumerable hordes of these amphibians live on swampy islands and along the banks of channels, and every evening their discordant chorus is heard from the reeds. Scientists have tried to estimate the mass of tadpoles that are born here every year. The result was a monstrous figure - four million tons! But there are no poisonous snakes in the Volga delta - only the patterned snake has taken root in this wetland element. There are also turtles here. What attracts travelers from all over the country to this unusual region for Russia? Let's not talk about avid fishermen - everything is clear with them. But many people come here just to admire the flocks of herons and flamingos floating over the channels like white and pink clouds, to see the clumsy pelican, to hear the inviting call of swans over the river expanse and to follow the proud flight of the white-tailed eagle. And someone, perhaps, dreams of breathing in the air of the morning bay, fragrant with the aroma of a lotus, to see at least once in a lifetime one of the largest and most beautiful flowers in the world. The nature of the Volga delta is full of wonders and mysteries, amazing sounds and colors, birdsong and fresh wind... It is worth visiting this fabulous corner of Russia just because of this. Author: B.Wagner
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