The Swan Islands (Sary-Bulat) are located off the northwestern shores of the plain Crimea, 3.5 km from the coast in the Karkinit Bay. The entire group of islands stretched along the coast of the bay for 8 km. The largest of the 6 islands is the fourth, its length is about 3.5 km, its width is up to 350 m. An extensive protected zone has been created around the islands on land and water.

Lebyazhy Islands is a nature reserve of international importance. The islands are composed of sand and shell deposits, so the area, configuration, and even the number of islands are constantly changing. They rise only 1-2 m above sea level. Shallow water, an abundance of plant and animal food in the water and on land, combined with a protected regime, attract a lot of birds, mainly waterfowl, to the islands. More than 230 species are found in the protected zone of the islands, about 25 species of birds nest.
The pride of the islands is the mute swan. It was hunted here at the end of the 19th century, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of this bird. After taking measures to protect the Swan Islands in our time, up to 6,000 swans gather here in the summer. At this time, birds cannot fly and the protected islands become their home. Floating flocks of graceful, snow-white birds with beautifully curved necks and bright red beaks are an unforgettable sight! Mute swans go south for wintering; they nest in the lower reaches of the Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, in the floodplains of the Kuban, in the Volga delta. In late autumn, northern whooper swans gather on the islands for wintering (they have a straighter neck and a yellow beak). So almost all year round on the protected islands you can meet handsome feathered ones.
Of the other birds on the Swan Islands, various species of ducks, waders, white and gray herons, gulls, and cormorants live. The most numerous is the gull-gull, which is of great benefit to agriculture. During the summer season, the gulls of the Swan Islands kill almost 2 million ground squirrels and up to 8 million mice, and the colony of these birds itself numbers up to 30 thousand individuals.