"Korchuvatnyk" is a local nature reserve in Bucha Raion, near the village of Horbovychi in the Dmytrivka hromada, 20 km west of Kyiv. It is a forested gully among fields with an area of 41 hectares. The border of two natural zones runs here: to the north are the forests of Kyiv Polissia, and to the south is the forest-steppe, with features of both visible in the reserve. It is also home to a colony of badgers—an animal listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine.
A Gully Among Fields
The tract was declared a nature conservation area on March 10, 1994, by a decision of the Kyiv Oblast Council. It belongs to the Prymiskyi Forestry of the Kyiv Forestry Enterprise. This is a ravine-gully system with a waterlogged bottom that widens toward Horbovychi. Agricultural lands surround it, making the forest in the gully a true island of wildlife.
From Alder Forest to Linden Forest
Closer to Horbovychi, the bottom of the gully is swampy and overgrown with alder. Tall forbs grow here: narrowleaf and broadleaf cattail, various sedges, and reed. Plants of damp forests are encountered—alternate-leaved golden saxifrage, buckler fern, and ground elder. The main forest grows on the slopes: linden, hornbeam, and aspen, with occasional birch, elm, Norway maple, and ash. In spring, soft lungwort blooms under the trees. Phrygian knapweed, bracken, dyer's greenweed, St. John's wort, and crown vetch grow at the forest edges, and among the medicinal herbs are yarrow, chicory, and agrimony.
Who Lives Here
The main pride of the reserve is the badger settlement: seven simple burrows and two complex ones with multiple entrances. The badger is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, and its burrows in the forest on the edge of a large city are a real rarity. Researchers have found traces of roe deer, European hare, wild boar, and mole here. Among birds, the Eurasian nuthatch, Eurasian blue tit, great tit, as well as the common raven and common buzzard can be found.
How to Get There
Horbovychi is a small village 20 km west of Kyiv, not far from Shpytky and Dmytrivka. It is most convenient to get there by car: from Kyiv via Bilohorodka or Sviatopetrivske. The reserve is a gully next to the village.
Badger burrows must not be dug up or disturbed, and dogs in the forest should be kept on a leash. It is best to come in spring when the lungwort is blooming, or in May and June. The trip can easily be combined with the ancient settlement of Bilhorod in Bilohorodka. More about the region can be found in the article about Kyiv Polissia.
