My parents are ornithologists

Not far from the town of Karasuk, next to a biological station in the Novosibirsk region, lies a colony of black-headed gulls. Ornithologist Alexey Druzyaka comes here with volunteers every year to conduct research. The colony is hidden in the thickets of the Karasuk River delta—only ornithologists know the route across the water to reach it. They measure nests and map their locations, ring and measure the chicks. This brief period, when the chicks have just hatched but have not yet fledged, lasts from May to June. For some time now, Alexey has been assisted by his wife, biologist Olga, and their young son, Valery. The boy is delighted to experience nature at its very heart. The gull colony is like a nursery, where the child and the chicks share the same childhood. When you're there among the birds, you begin to feel the breath of the wind, you merge with the cries of the gulls—this is the true mystery of life.