Ptichy Island (Shantar Islands)
 The Shantar Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk | |
  Ptichy Island (Russia) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sea of Okhotsk |
| Coordinates | 54°35′59″N 137°04′47″E / 54.59972°N 137.07972°E |
| Archipelago | Shantar Islands |
| Length | 1.6 km (0.99 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 290 m (950 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Federal Subject | Khabarovsk Krai |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Ptichy Island (Russian: Остров Птичий, Ostrov Ptichy, meaning Bird Island) is a small island in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Geography
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (2014). Sailing Directions (Enroute): East Coast of Russia. U.S. Government, Springfield, Virginia.
- ^ 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.
- ^ William C. Nye, of San Francisco, August 31, 1862, Bancroft Library (BL).
- ^ Williams, H. (1964). One whaling family. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
- ^ Charles W. Morgan, of New Bedford, September 5, 1866, GBWL.
- ^ William C. Nye, of San Francisco, August 8, August 30, 1862, BL.
- ^ Bart Gosnold, of New Bedford, September 14, 1863, GBWL.
- ^ Endeavor, of New Bedford, August 27, 1859, NWC.
- ^ Antelope, of Newport, August 22, 1858, Nantucket Historical Association.
- ^ 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.
