In the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic sea is the state reserve "Birch island". This is a wetland created in 1994 and is of international importance. It is located at a distance of 2 km South-West of the town of Primorsk in the Leningrad region. Access to the reserve is possible, going from St. Petersburg to the town of Primorsk, then South-West through the Strait berkesan 2 km. the Sanctuary covers an area of 55295 hectares on land and 47020 ha in the Gulf of Finland.

The purpose of the creation of this reserve was to improve habitat conditions riparian and aquatic birds in all periods of their biological cycle. Equally important is the preservation of the natural hydrological regime and significant diversity of ecosystems, including protection of rare species of birds and animals, maintaining the optimal environment aquatic and riparian vegetation necessary for their food and protection.

The area is perfect for family vacations, eco-tourism, recreational, sports and exclusive fishing.

The territory includes a large number of various sizes of Islands, the largest of them: North Birch Big Birch, Western Birch, Small Birch, South and West of the Caspian.

Forest vegetation dominates the vegetation of the archipelago. The most common on all the Islands of the archipelago type of coniferous forests – pine forests. The Northern Birch island widespread spruce forests. The vegetation of the Islands play an important role in the birch forests that replace the coniferous forests after felling, fires, and are the main type of communities overgrown farmland. Small arrays and very rare aspen. Mainly confined to the coasts Alder forests are a major element of the vegetation cover of the Islands. Absolutely unique deciduous forests of Small Birch island, among them there are some very old oaks. This is a typical deciduous forests of oak, ash, maple, Linden, herbal cover many forest plants (Corydalis is a dense, prelesnik years, perlovich motley).

The archipelago consists of different types of wetlands: fen mires, bog. In Botanical relation on Big Birch and Western the Birch Islands most interesting pine-sphagnum bogs. There besides the usual marsh plants there are some species rare for the Leningrad region: ocherednik brown, plaunch flooded, bolotnitsa hair grass, sundew intermediate.

Different species of fish live and spawn around Birch Islands: smelt, perch, Baltic herring, bream, perch. There are also small but rare and valuable species of fish: whitefish, vendace, slingshot.

Areas that contain large Parking waterfowl, are shallow water, bays and Straits between the Islands formed during spring migration. Especially numerous Parking river ducks (Mallard, shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, trescone, shilochvost, Teal-Teal), goose (black and whiskered), swans (tundra and whooper Swan), nyrkova ducks (scoter, common scoter, long-tailed duck, tufted duck, Goldeneye, mergansers (red and big).

Its favorite nesting sites of waterfowl are smaller Islands. They formed a mixed colony of terns, gulls, with numerous nests of ducks inside. On the Small Islands of Birch, Rondo, Big Shoal, Lud and numerous small islets and is known for such settlements.

Breeding ringed seals of the Baltic serves the southern and Western waters. From year to year depending on the edge of the edge of the ice changes the area in which the seals breed, but usually it is 6 to 10 miles South of the Big Birch island.