 
Already in 2007 three members of our group went on a trip to Georgia. We have always wished to come back and travel through this fantastic countryside since. This time also Armenia was on our plan but therefore we had to cancel Western Georgia. Contrary to 2007 we completely managed the trip ourselves without a local driver. It turned out to be the right choice in terms of independency. Also the accommodation situation in both countries had improved and we hardly had any problems to find a room for the night. Concerning Georgia we already had quite a lot of experience, but we also received help for some spots from David Tarkhnishvili, which was highly appreciated! Armenia was new to us, but of course we received excellent information by the Armenian – Italian coproduction book of the Armenian Herpetofauna. After getting in touch with the Klooiplek group from Holland we decided to contact Marine Arakelyan from Yerevan. This was a lucky strike, because Marine supported us really a lot in several matters like organizing permits for sanctuaries, showed us fantastic spots and habitats and organized lodging, food and an interesting spa. She is a kind pleasant and hospital lady, to whom we are indeed very thankful for.
Our journey took place exactly one year and one month later than out trip to Oman. We were a little bit concerned, that I might be too late but at the end it turned out to be the perfect time. Spring was very rainy and the steppe was highly vegetated and still blooming.
route through the Caucasus
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Day 1 – 28th of May: Tbilisi - David Gareja
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After our disaster with the Georgian airline in 2007, which cancelled our flight, decided to take the longer Turkish Airways flight via Istanbul and so we arrived in Tbilisi at about 10.00 p.m. The first night we booked a hostel near down town. The access to the hostel and our rooms was not in accordance to our engineering standards (no light, skew stair) and before we fell asleep we heard some green toads calling in the backyard in a pond of a leaking water pipe. We agreed to take over the car early in the morning but the agent called us, that there is a problem with the car, which they have to fix first. We decided to have breakfast and do a sightseeing tour in the city center. The touristic area of the town has been restored and the city center shows a nice combination of beautiful old and architectural modern buildings. It is really worth visiting. Next to the public baths in the Abanotubani district we entered a valley and found several Darevskia portschinskii on the steep rocks near the stream and a water fall. About half past ten we received our Nissan Pathfinder and we started driving southwards. The car was quite old and we had to refill some oil in a regular interval but except of one tire damage everything went well.
Our first stop was a well-known canal between Rustawi and Gardabani, where we found Xerotyphlops vermicularis, Natrix tessellata, Lacerta strigata, Mauremys caspica, Pelophylax bedriagae and a dead Dolichophis schmidti. Compared to 2007 no Emys was spotted this time. Further south-east the steppe begins and the fauna changes completely: Bufotes variabilis, Pseudopus apodus, Paralaudakia caucasia, Eirenis modestus, Eirenis collaris and Testudo graeca are typical species for steppe habitats. We decided to take a less frequently used road through the steppe and stopped at a stone cairn to check it. It was quite cloudy and humid and beside the stones a big Macrovipera lebetina was foraging. Some astonished Azeri watched us handling the snake and immediately approached. A bit up the hill a beautifully colored female Malpolon insignitus was observed, also active during this tempered afternoon. Nearby some Lacerta media and Eirenis modestus and Eirenis collaris were found.
After this great start we drove to the Gareja valley, which glowed in fantastic colors. The main monastery had its open house and we could enter everywhere, which was awesome. Also the avifauna is worth mentioning with several buntings, shrikes, rose starlings, many raptors etc.
The sun went down and we made our way back via the eastern route along the Lori River. Unluckily we took a very bad secondary road but on the way we heard and observed Hyla orientalis and P. bedriagae. A very successful and interesting first day with already 17 observed species!
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 The route of the first day - Die Route des ersten Tages - Tbilissi - Davit Gareji
 Courtyard of our accommodation in Tbilissi - Innenhof unserer Unterkunft in Tiflis
 The city center is restored and very attractive - Das Stadtzentrum wurde renoviert und ist nun sehr reizvoll
 Historic center with castle - Altstadt mit Burg
 Abanotubani - Persian bath quarter - Der Stadtteil mit den persischen Bädern
 A small valley with a waterfall and our first Darevskia species - Ein kleines Tal mit Wasserfall und unserer ersten Darevskia Art
 Plugged rocks - dicht verbaute Felsen
 Darevskia portschinskii - female - Weibchen
 Darevskia portschinskii - male - Männchen
 Mauremys caspica - Caspian turtle along a canal near Gardabani - Kaspische Bachschildkröte an einem Graben nahe Gardabani
 Pelophylax bedriagae - water frogs are very common everywhere along water courses - Wasserfrösche sind überall häufig entlang von Wasserläufen
 Defence tower near a river - Wehrturm am Fluß - Bufotes variabilis, Pelophylax bedriagae, Natrix tessellata, Xerotyphlops vermicularis, Lacerta strigata, Mauremys caspica
 Natrix tessellata - occurred in high numbers - kommt in hohen Dichten vor
 Xerotyphlops vermicularis - Portrait
 Xerotyphlops vermicularis - found under stones, as always - wie immer unter Steinen gefunden
 Natrix tessellata - Portrait
 Lacerta strigata - the most common lizard during our trip - die häufigste Eidechse während unserer Reise
 European roller - Blauracke
 Rosy starlings are always in swarms - Rosenstare kommen immer in Schwärmen vor
 Woodchat shrike - Rotkopfwürger
 Sheep flock in the southern steppe - Schafherde in der südlichen Steppe
 Landscape south of Gardabani - Landschaft südlich von Gardabai - Bufotes variabilis, Pseudopus apodus, Paralaudakia caucasia, Eirenis modestus, Eirenis collaris, Testudo graeca
 Isabelline wheatear - Isabellensteinschmätzer
 Near ruins it is always promising, in the back the industry of Rustawi - in der Nähe alter Gebäude ist die Suche oft erfolgversprechend, im Hintergrund die Industriestadt Rustawi
 Short grass steppe near Davit Gareji - kurzrasige Steppe in der Nähe von Davit Gareji
 Bee eater - Bienenfresser
 One of the northern monasteries in the Gareji valley - eines der nördlichen Klöster im Gareji Tal - Pseudopus apodus, Testudo graeca, Macrovipera lebetina
 Calandra lark - Kalanderlerche
 Macrovipera lebetina - in situ
 Macrovipera lebetina - well camouflaged on clay underground - gut getarnt auf Lehmuntergrund
 Macrovipera lebetina - Portrait
 Steppe ridge - Grat in der Steppe - Lacerta media, Malpolon insignitus, Testudo graeca
 Lacerta media - juvenile - Jungtier
 Malpolon insignitus - female, found in a bush - Weibchen, wurde in einem Busch gefunden
 Malpolon insignitus - Portrait
 Many ticks on a Testudo carapax - viele Zecken auf einem Schildkrötenpanzer
 The ridge is the border to Azerbaijan - der Grat ist die Grenze zu Aserbaidschan
 Badlands just in front of Davit Gareji monastery - Felsabhänge vor dem Kloster Davit Gereji
 Davit Gareji monastery - Kloster Davit Gareji
 Many ponds in the steppe are evidence for high precipitation in winter and early spring - Viele Gewässer zeugen von viel Niederschlag während des Winters und des Frühjahres
 Traditional cattle breeding - traditionelle Viehzucht
 Corn bunting, very common - Grauammer, sehr häufig
 Udabno - the most lonely village on earth - die einsamste Ortschaft der Welt
 Woodchat shrike - Rotkopfwürger
 Sundown after a successful first day - Sonnenuntergang nach einem erfolgreichen ersten Tag
 Hyla orientalis schelkownikowi
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Day 2 – 29th of May: Kojori – Stepanawan
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Early in the morning we left our flat and drove to the location, where W. Bischoff discovered Darevskia dahli near a stream below the village of Kojori. When we arrived, it was a bit too early and still too cold. After a while the first Darevskia dahli and Darevskia portschinkskii came out. They live on a sloping rock plate, whereas Lacerta strigata inhabits the bushes aside. In the torrent we found Rana macrocnemis and in some ponds Pelophylax bedriagae. After a while we took a path down the mountain towards the Kumisi Lake and checked some rock slopes with Eirenis modestus (one was bright grey), Paralaudakia, Pseudopus, Testudo and Lacerta media. Because of the wet spring our search along the slopes near the Kumisi Lake was not productive at all, whereas in 2007 it was one of the best spots!
After the repair of our flat tire and the record of a big dead Elaphe sauromates on the road we started our way to the border of Armenia. The main road from Bolnisi to the Gogavan border was one of the worst roads we traveled (so far). Anyway, the landscape in this area on Georgian side is fantastic; a very natural woodland. We saw our first wildcat ever but couldn’t get a picture. We checked several rocks along the road and found strong populations of (parthenogenetic) Darevskia dahli, while Darevskia portschunskii nigrita was much rarer.
The crossing of the border was a kind of a procedure and lasted about one hour. Although the car hiring company prepared all required papers we had to fill out additional documents. Entering Armenia the landscape changed drastically from woodland to moist highland steppe. We met with Marine Arakelyan and her student Rasmik in the village of Tashir, where we changed some money and completed a mandatory car insurance for Armenia. We checked out some habitats in Stepanavan but it was already too late and so we went for a very nice Armenian dinner. Afterwards we had some problems to find an accommodation, because the planned one was already fully booked and so we took an old soviet hotel hosted by a severe and bearded Russian landlady.
Images to this section
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 The route of the second day - Die Route des zweiten Tages - Kojori - Stepanavan
 Leaving Tbilissi - wir verlassen Tiflis
 Kojori stream - Kojori Bach - Rana macrocnemys, Lacerta strigata, Darevskia portschinskii, Darevskia dahli
 Darevskia portschinskii - male - Männchen
 Darevskia dahli - parthenogenetic species - parthenogenetische Art
 Darevskia dahli - Portrait
 Rana macrocnemis macrocnemis
 Darevskia portschinskii - femoral pores - Femoralporen
 Drevskia portschinskii portschinskii
 Red backed shrike - Neuntöter
 Hills north of Kumisi - Hügel nördlich von Kumisi - Eirenis modestus, Paralaudakia caucasia, Lacerta media, Pseudopus apodus, Testudo graeca
 Eirenis modestus - grey colored - grau gefärbt
 Eirenis modestus - typically colored juvenile - typisch gezeichnetes Jungtier
 dangerous beast! - gefährliche Bestie!
 Buzzard swallowing an Eirenis modestus - Bussard frisst Eirenis modestus
 Lacerta media - inhabits drier habitats than L. strigata - besiedelt trockenere Habitate als L. strigata
 Lacerta media media - male - Männchen
 Laudakia caucasia - female, posing on a rock in front of its shelter - Weibchen, posiert auf einem Stein vor ihrem Versteck
 Lesser grey shrike - Schwarzstirnwürger
 Elaphe sauromates - second one dead on the road - zweites überfahrenes Exemplar
 Franz' method to open a beer - Franz' Art ein Bier zu öffnen
 Main road to Armenia, many more sheep than cars - Hauptstraße nach Armenien, viel mehr Schafe als Autos
 Aggregation of Darevskia dahli - Ansammlung von Darevskia dahli
 Darevskia dahli - feeding - fressend
 Darevskia portschinskii nigrita - female - Weibchen
 Darevskia portschinskii nigrita - male - Männchen
 Main road between Armenia and Georgia - Hauptstrasse zwischen Armenien und Georgien
 House near the border - Haus nahe der Grenze
 Armenian village - armenische Ortschaft
 Yellow wagtail - Schafstelze
 Marsh harrier - Rohrweihe
 In Tashir we changed some money and concluded a car insurance contract - In Tashir wechselten wir Geld und schlossen eine Versicherung für das Auto ab
 River near Stepanavan with high water level - Fluß nahe Stepanavan mit Hochwasser
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Day 3 – 30th of May: Spitak – Dilijan
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After a nice breakfast we started our observation tour for Darevskia. Rasmik was working on (parthenogenetic) Darevskia rostombekovi, which is by far the rarest of all Darevskias because of a very low reproduction rate and its low assertiveness compared to other congeners. Our first spot was a stone pit near Spitak, where Marine knew a small population of Darevskia rostombekovi. She was very happy to find out, that they were still there. We found about five individuals and some (parthenogenetic) Darevskia unisexualis. Nearby also Lacerta strigata, Coronella austriaca and Natrix tessellata were present. Thomas spotted one Ablepharus bivittatus but couldn’t guide it towards the wet meadow.
Afterwards we drove up the mountains to find some other species. The first place was a habitat of Lacerta agilis brevicaudata, Lacerta strigata and Darevskia armeniaca, another parthenogenetic species. The second spot was inhabited by Darevskia dahli, Darevskia unisexualis, Darevskia rostombekovi, Lacerta strigata and one more lizard species, which was believed to be extinct or at least extremely rare in Armenia. The dwarf lizard Parvilacerta parva had been recorded the last time about 10 years ago by Marine near Mets Parni, some km west of Spitak. It was only one individual and it was the only one Marine had ever seen. Christoph found a female Parvilacerta parva and made Marine very happy with this record. After a while Thomas discovered also a male. They were found in eroded meadow habitats which we know from Turkey to be quite typical for this species.
After this success we drove to the Dilijan national park, a well-known spot for Ablepharus bivittatus, but it was already too late to find this species. The habitats consist of woodland with some smaller meadows and also rocks and some historic buildings, where we found Darevskia armeniaca, three Coronellas and we heard Hyla orientalis. For the night we drove quite a long way to Hankavan, which is a valley farther south. It was a quite new highly comfortable and modern accommodation, where we had dinner and afterwards we enjoyed “Armenian style wellness” which was recommended by Marine.
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 Spitak - Dilijan - Route Day 3 - Reiseroute Tag 3 - Spitak - Dilijan
 Soviet style hotel with bedraggled sport facilities - Sowjetisches Hotel mit heruntergekommenen Sportanlagen
 Colorful rooms - farbenfrohe Räume
 Diverse habitat with a quarry, stream, meadows and rocks - vielseitiges Habitat mit Steinbruch, Bach, Wiesen und Felsen - Pelophylax bedriagae, Ablepharus bivittatus, Darevskia unisexualis, Darevskia rostombekovi, Lacerta strigata, Coronella austriaca, Natrix tessellata, Paralaudakia caucasia
 Natrix tessellata - first record of the day in a quarry - erster Fund des Tages in einem Steinbruch
 Paralaudakia caucasia - omnipresent
 Paralaudakia caucasia - males and females often live together in couples - Männchen und Weibchen leben oft als Paar zusammen
 Wheatear - Steinschmätzer
 Lacerta strigata - very common in northern Armenia - sehr häufig in Nordarmenien
 Darevskia unisexualis - parthenogenetic species - parthenogenetische Art
 Darevskia unisexualis - Portrait
 Coronella austriaca - a steady attenant of the genus Darevskia - ein ständiger Begleiter der Gattung Darevskia
 Armenian highland steppe - armenische Hochlandsteppe
 Typical Northern Armenian village - typische Nordarmenische Ortschaft
 Habitat in the Armenian highlangs steppe with a torrent, basalt rocks and meadows - Habitat in der armenischen Hochlandsteppe mit einem Wildbach, Basaltfelsen und Wiesen - Lacerta agilis, Lacerta strigata, Darevskia armeniaca
 Traditional farming all over the country - Traditionelle Viehhaltung im ganzen Land
 Diverse mountain habitat - nischenreiche Gebirgslandschaft
 Lacerta agilis brevicaudata
 Lacerta agilis - Sand lizard live in syntopy with Caspian Green lizards - Zauneidechsen leben hier gemeinsam mit Streifensmaragdeidechen
 Darevskia armeniaca - parthenogenetic species - parthenogenetische Art
 Lacerta strigata - Caspian Green lizard - Streifensmaragdeidechse
 Crag martin - Felsenschwalbe
 Darevskia dahli - from a cemetry - beobachtet auf einem Friedhof
 Darevskia rostombekovi - parthenogenetic species - parthenogenetische Art
 Darevskia rostombekovi - is highly endangered, because of its low reproduction rate and fierce competition by its congeners - ist stark gefährdet auf Grund ihrer geringen Reproduktionsrate und ihrer Konkurrenzschwäche
 Darevskia dahli - at this location we observed 5 lizard species - an dieser Stelle beobachteten wir 5 Eidechsenarten
 Darevskia dahli - all 5 parthenogenetic species occur together at the same place or at least very near to each other - alle 5 parthenogenetische Arten kommen gemeinsam oder in geringer Distanz voneinander vor
 Habitat north of Spitak in about 1.850 m elevation - Habitat nördlich von Spitak in etwa 1.850 m Seehöhe
 Marine and Rasmik working on Darevskia rostombekovi - Marine und Rasmik arbeiten mit Darevskia rostombekovi
 Darevskia unisexualis - the blue spot and the pattern are typical for this easily distiguishable species - der blaue Fleck und das Muster sind typisch für diese leicht zu identifizierende Art
 Darevskia rostombekovi - dark metallic gloss is typical for this species - dunkler metallischer Glanz kennzeichnet diese Art
 Marine can't believe, what she is holding in her hands - Marine kann nicht glauben, was sie in ihren Händen hält
 Parvilacerta parva - female dwarf lizard, this species was observed for the last time in Armenia about 10 years ago - Weibchen, diese Art wurde in Armenien vor etwa 10 Jahren das letzte mal beobachtet
 Parvilacerta parva - male, the rediscovery of this species made us all very happy - Männchen, die Wiederentdeckung dieser Art machte uns alle sehr glücklich
 Habitat north of Spitak - Habitat nördlich von Spitak - D. rostombekovi, D. dahli, D. unisexualis, L. strigata, P. parva
 Coffee break in the Dilijan national park - Kaffeepause im Dilijan Nationalpark
 Historic temple in the Dilijan NP - Historischer tempel im Dilijan NP
 Coronella austriaca - in a meadow we found three individuals - auf einer Wiese fanden wir drei Exemplare
 The group is taking pictures of the smooth snakes - die Gruppe fotografiert die Schlingnattern
 Preparation for our thermal adventure - Vorbereitung für unser thermales Abenteuer
 Wellness, spa and recreation on its best! - Wellness, Therme und Entspnnung pur!
 Moisture proof electrical installation - Elektrische Feuchtrauminstallation
 Farnz can't get enough - Franz kriegt nicht genug
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Day 4 – 31st of May: Hankavan – Sevan Lake
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During the whole morning we searched at natural mountain meadows for Vipera eriwanensis. Unfortunately we couldn’t find this target species, although we (5 of us) spent several hours at the mountain. Only high numbers of Lacerta agilis and some Rana macrocnemis camerani were found. The habitat was excellent and Marine had regularly found 2-3 snakes in recent years with a larger student group. A pity…
We now decided to check out the last existing population of Eremias arguta transcaucasica near the Sevan Lake. Marine has taken several measures for the protection of this rare species and is now thinking about a captive breeding program. Immediately under the first stone Franz found two males and so we thought the species to be quite abundant, but it was not! In total we only saw about 5 individuals, one was a juvenile. In the same habitat Bufotes variabilis, Lacerta strigata and an astonishing Natrix natrix were found. We were very happy that this rare species still can be seen and we wish all the best for its survival. A short stop at Hayravank castle above the Sevan Lake brought a numerous population of the colorful Darevskia nairensis. Afterward we drove to Yerevan, where Marine recommended us to take a hostel near the center, which was a good and a reasonable choice for the next few days. At the evening we made a sightseeing tour in the center and we were impressed by the huge Ararat just behind the city on the other side of the border to Turkey.
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 Daily route of Day 4 - die Reiseroute des 4. Tages - Hankavan - Sevan - Yerevan
 Mountain meadow habitat - Gebirgswiesen - Rana macrocnemis camerani, Lacerta agilis brevicaudata, Vipera eriwanensis - which we didn't find - die wir nicht gefunden haben
 Lacerta agilis brevicaudata - males are much greener than the nominate form - Männchen sind viel grüner als jene der Nominatform
 Lacerta agilis - youngsters are very rich in contrast with stripes and dots - Jungtiere sind sehr kontrastreich mit Punkten und Streifen gezeichnet
 Rana macrocnemis camerani - with its typical dorsal stripe - mit seinem typischen Rückenstreifen
 Rana macrocnemis - Portrait
 The frogs were found directly along the stream - die Frösche wurden direkt am Bach gefunden
 Fantastic natural Alpine scenery - fantastische naturbelassene Gebirgslandschaft
 Perfect weather conditions but no trace of a snake - perfekte Wetterbedingungen, aber keine Spur einer Schlange
 Lacerta agilis - sand lizard with completely green back - Zauneidechse mit einfärbig grünem Rücken
 Lacerta agilis - basking on a rock, all pictures of the lizards were taken in situ - sonnt sich auf einem Felsen, alle Bilder dieser Eidechsen wurden in situ fotografiert
 Also no success in shrubby vegetation, so we gave up - auch kein Erfolg in den Büschen, daher gaben wir auf
 Graveyard near the Sevan lake - Friedhof nahe des Sevan Sees
 Dead volcano in front of the Sevan lake - erloschener Vulkan vor dem Sevan See
 Eremias arguta transcaucasica - only occurs here, after all other populations became extinct on the southern part of the lake - kommt nur noch hier vor, nachdem alle anderen Populationen am Südrand des Sevansees erloschen sind
 Eremias arguta - This population was founded by I. Darevsky, who translocated lizards from its former area to here because of massive construction activity in their former distribution area - Diese Population wurde von I. Darevsky begründet, der Eidechsen aus ihrem ursprünglichen Verbreitungsgebiet im Süden umgesiedelt hat, da dieses Gebiet durch Bautätigkeit zerstört wurde
 Eremias arguta - Transcaucasian steppe runner, on the verge of extinction, Marine is thinking about a captive breeding program - der Transkaukasischer Steppenrenner steht am Rande der Ausrottung, daher denkt Marine über ein Nachzuchtprogramm in Gefangenschaft nach
 Natrix natrix persa - a beautiful specimen - ein wunderschönes Exemplar
 Natrix natrix - grass snakes feed mainly on the numerous green toads in this area - Ringelnattern ernähren sich hier hauptsächlich von den zahlreichen Wechselkröten
 well deserved coffee break - eine wohlverdiente Kaffeepause
 Hayvarank castle - die Burg Hayvarank am Sevan See
 weasel looking for prey - Mauswiesel auf der Jagd
 weasel with captured vole - Mauswiesel mit erbeuteter Wühlmaus
 Rock nuthatch - Felsenkleiber
 The castle and the surrounding boulders are home of another Darevskia species - Die Burg und die Blöcke sind Lebensraum einer weiteren Darevskia Art
 Darevskia nairensis - a member of the D. raddei group - ein Mitglied der D. raddei Gruppe
 Darevskia nairensis - adults have nicely colored flanks - Adulte haben schön gezeichnete Flanken
 Darevskia nairensis - compared to D. raddei their color is more bluish than greenish - verglichen mit D. raddei ist die Färbung mehr bläulich als grünlich
 Sight seeing in the center of Yerevan - Sight Seeing im Zentrum von Yerevan
 The central plaza is very modern and endowed with high quality art - der Hauptplatz ist sehr modern gestaltet und mit qualitativ hochwertiger Kunst ausgestattet
 The Ararat mountains seem to be so near but the political distance is unfortunately far away - Die Ararat Berge scheinen so nahe zu sein und doch sind sie politisch sehr weit entfernt
 The situation in Yerevan was a positive surprise in terms of a modern and young ambitious city - Yerevan als junge moderne und aufstrebende Stadt war eine positive Überraschung für uns
 The youth hostel directly in the city center was a perfect starting point for both excursions and sight seeing - Die Jugendherberge direkt im Stadtzentrum war ein perfekter Ausgangspunkt für sowohl für Exkursionen als auch für Sight Seeing
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| Day 5 – 1st of May: Arailer – Aragats |
As Marine had to teach at the university, we decided to climb up some mountains for vipers. We left our car at the foothills of the Arailer Mountain and hiked from about 1600m up to about 2000m. The mountain is known to be the home of Vipera erwianensis and Montivipera raddei. On the way we saw Bufotes variabilis, Lacerta media, Darevskia nairensis and Ophisops elegans, which seemed to be much rarer than further south. Richard was our lucky hero, because when he stopped for taking a picture of a Lacerta media, he suddenly spotted a couple of Montivipera raddei lying on shrubs. Both snakes tried to escape but we could catch the female and after a while also the male came back and we could take pictures of both specimens. It was interesting to see the difference of the colors between the brown female and the black male. It was for sure one of the highlights of our trip. Unfortunately again we couldn’t find a single Vipera eriwanensis.
After this success we also drove up the highest mountain of Armenia, the volcano Aragats (elevation 4095m). First we visited the Amberd Castle, where Franz spotted a Zamenis hohenackeri, which unfortunately escaped. The road leads up to an elevation of 3200m where still a lot of snow was present. On about 2800 m we found mating Bufotes and Rana and freshly laid eggs of both species.
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 Day Nr. 5 - Tag 5 - Arailer - Aragats
 Arailer mountain - The target species were Vipera eriwanensis and Montivipera raddei - Die Zielarten dieses Tages waren Vipera eriwanensis und Montivipera raddei
 We hiked up from 1.700 m up to 2.000 m and found - Wir wanderten von 1.700 m auf über 2.000 m hinauf und fanden - Bufotes variabilis, Lacerta media, Ophisops elegans, Darevskia nairensis, Montivipera raddei
 Lacerta media - male - Männchen
 Darevskia nairensis - this species can tolerate also drier conditions - diese Art verträgt auch trockenere Bedingungen
 The Armenian viper can be found in the shrubs and in higher vegetation - die armenischen Bergvipern können in Büschen und höherer Vegetation gefunden werden
 Ararat - the holy mountain of Armenia - der heilige Berg der Armenier
 Lacerta media - juvenile - Jungtier
 Stonechat - Schwarzkehlchen
 Montivipera raddei - female - Weibchen
 We had to catch the vipers for the pictures, because it would be to risky losing them - Für die Fotos mussten wir die Schlangen fangen, da es zu gefährlich gewesen wäre, sie zu verlieren, wenn wir sie nur in situ fotografiert hätten
 Montivipera raddei - a very attractive snake - eine sehr hübsche Schlange
 Montivipera raddei - Portrait
 Montivipera raddei - male, length about 1 m or more - Männchen mit einem guten Meter Länge
 Montivipera raddei - one of the highlights on our tour - einer der Höhepunkte auf unserer Reise
 Montivipera raddei - the couple was basking together on a shrub, at the first attempt we could only catch the female and the male escaped, but it came back 3 times until we could also catch the him - das Paar sonnte sich auf einem Busch, beim ersten Versuch konnten wir nur das Weibchen fangen, aber das Männchen kam immer wieder zurück bis wir es schließlich auch fangen konnten
 Montivipera raddei - Portrait
 Lacerta media - female - Weibchen
 Our next target: Aragats volcanao - unser nächstes Ziel: der Aragats Vulkan
 Amberd castle on mount Aragats - Schloss Amberd am Aragats
 Lunch break - Mittagspause
 We drove up to 3.200 m - wir fuhren hinauf bis 3.200 m Seehöhe
 On this elevation there is a meteorological station and a hotel, but it was still closed - hier wird eine meteorologische Station betrieben und ein Hotel, das noch geschlossen hatte
 Alpine accentor - Alpenbraunelle
 Bufotes variabilis - Mating activity, beginning of June - Laichaktivität Anfang Juni
 Bufotes variabilis - male - Männchen
 Pond at 2.800 m - Teich auf 2.800 m - Bufotes variabilis, Rana macrocnemis
 Back in Yerevan, day of the child - Zurück in Jerevan, Tag des Kindes
 City center of Yerevan - das Stadtzentrum in Jerevan
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| Day 6 – 2nd of June: Goravan Sands – Khosrov Reserve |
Marine organized permits for us to enter the Goravan Sands Sanctuary, southeast of Yerevan. It is one of the last sandy habitats, which has not yet completely changed to agricultural use and therefore it is one of the last strongholds for many psammophile species. Our target species were Eremias strauchi, Eremias pleskei, Testudo graeca armeniaca and Phrynocephalus persicus horvathi (which unfortunately we couldn’t find).
After getting the permit we entered the area and were a bit surprised that some trucks and cars were driving around and that sand mining was performed at higher elevation. But still there were some nice habitats, but the sun didn’t come out and therefore we had to wait a bit until the lizards became active. First we observed several Eremias strauchi, a beautiful colored lizard, which is still quite abundant in southern Armenia. At about half past 10 also Eremias pleskei appeared on the surface. At the moment Goravan is the only left place for this species in Armenia, in all other previous known locations this species has become extinct. The failure for Phrynocephylus persicus horvathi was worrying, because four people were searching (Christoph was sick) for more than two hours without success. Even though the species is well camouflaged, we also found no tracks. Marine is now thinking about a captive breeding program for this species, which is only known from two more locations in Armenia. We also failed to find Testudo graeca armeniaca, contrary to Testudo graeca ibera. This taxon is very rare with low reproduction rates and it also needs urgent conservation measures. Our next stop was the southern part of the Khosrov reserve, entering from Urtsadzor.
The Khosrov reserve is the largest protected area in Armenia with rare species like leopards. Entering is only permitted with permission by the ministry in Yerevan and the local office, which Marine organized for us. She was a great help and a lovely and funny guide, which we really appreciated. It was shortly after midday when the guard opened the gate for us, and so we didn’t expect highlights during this time, because suddenly it became quite warm. A new species for us was Eirenis punctatolineatus, which is the most common snake in the reserve. We found several individuals, of which one was completely without a pattern. Darevskia raddei is the only Darevskia in Armenia, which occupies the dry and warm southern steppe mountains, but here it is mostly found in moist microhabitats. We observed a male, which was tightly focused on predating on the tail of a juvenile and finally the tail was swallowed. Franz found a big Eumeces schneideri, but it escaped before he could take a picture. Although in the reserve, several local people were arround and Marine was not surprised, when we found two killed Pseudopus near a picnic place. Other species were Xerotyphlops vermicularis, Lacerta media, Ophisops elegans, and two dead snakes on the road: Dolichophis schmidti and Malpolon insignitus, which a local woman proudly claimed to be its killer.
The acceptance for reptiles is still very low in Armenia. Marine once found a single Rhynchocalamus satunini in the reserve. Khosrov has a fantastic landscape and we should have spent much more time in this reserve, but it was absolutely not on our route, so we drove back to Yerevan to continue our tour in northwestern direction. For sure we must come back in this area, especially to visit Tatev monastery farther southeast.
Images to this section
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 Day 6 - Tag 6 - Gorovan Sands - Khosrov Reserve
 Marine organized permits for us for the Goravan Sands sanctuary, in the background the Ararat - Marine organisierte für uns die Berechtigungen, um das Goravan Sands Schutzgebiet betreten zu dürfen, im Hintergrund der Ararat
 Although protected, mining is still ongoing - Die Abbautätigkeit geht trotz Schutzstatus weiter
 Goravan Sands is the last stronghold for several reptiles and insects in Armenia - Goravan Sands ist der letzte Verbreitungspunkt für viele Reptilien und Insekten in Armenien
 The sandy patches are of enormous importance for psammophile species like Eremias pleskei and Phrynocephalus persicus horvathi - Die sandigen Bereich sind von enormer Bedeutung für psammophile Arten wie Eremias pleskei und Phrynocephalus persicus horvathi
 Eremias strauchi - male, this species occured prior to its congener - Männchen, diese Art tauchte früher auf als sein Verwandter
 Eremias strauchi - inhabits gravel plains as well as sandy substrates - besiedelt sowohl Schotterfelder als auch Sandlinsen
 Later during the morning, also Eremias pleskei came out, searching for disengaged sand patches - Später am Morgen kamen auch Eremias pleskei heraus und suchten sich unbesetzte Sandlinsen
 Eremias pleskei - critically endangered, occurs only in sandy habitats - vom Aussterben bedroht, besiedelt nur Sandflächen
 Spectacular different locusts occur in high numbers - bemerkenswerte verschiedene Heuschrecken kommen in hoher Zahl vor
 Only a stone's throw away - Ararat - nur einen Steinwurf entfernt
 Gate to the Khosrov Reserve, by far the largest protected area in Armenia - Schranken zum Khosrov Reserve, dem mit Abstand größten Schutzgebiet Armeniens
 Khosrov offers a high diversity of different landscapes - Khosrov beherbergt eine Vielzahl an verschiedenen Landschaftstypen
 Xerotyphlops vermicularis
 Habitat in Khosrov Reserve - Xerotyphlops vermicularis, Paralaudakia caucasia, Eumeces schneideri, Darevskia raddei, Eirenis punctatolineatus, Ophisops elegans, Pelophylax bedriagae, Pseudopus apodus, Dolichophis schmidti, Malpolon insignitus
 Though protected, land use is not completely forbidden - obwohl geschützt, ist doch nicht jegliche Nutzung untersagt
 Eirenis punctatolineatus - a new species for us, very common in Khosrov - eine neue Art für uns, sehr häufig in Khosrov
 Pseudopus apodus - Scheltopusik
 Eirenis punctatolineatus - completely patternless, a rare variant of this snake species - komplett zeichnungslos, eine seltene Morphe dieser Art
 Khosrov Reserve houses a high number of leopards and other big carnivores - Das Khosrov Reserve beherbergt eine hohe Anzahl an Leoparden und anderen großen Raubtieren
 Armenians fear snakes and slay reptiles at any occasion, also Glass lizards - Armenier fürchten Schlangen und erschlagen Reptilien bei jeder Gelegenheit, auch den Scheltopusik
 Along the river we recognised a high diversity of species - entlang des Flusses beobachteten wir eine hohe Anzahl an Arten
 Darevskia raddei - tolerates very dry and hot climate - toleriert ein sehr heißes und trockenes Klima
 Darevskia raddei - we observed an adult preying on a juveniles tail - wir beobachteten ein Adulttier, das den Schwanz eines Jungtiers abbiss und fraß
 Malpolon insignitus - male DOR - überfahrenes Männchen
 Yerevan is worth visiting, you can discover lots of secrets - Jerevan ist einen Besuch wert, kulturell kann man einiges entdecken
 If you are not able to walk up the stairs to the city hill, you can also use the escalator inside - Wenn man nicht die vielen Stiegen auf den Hügel im Zentrum hinaufsteigen kann, gibt es auch eine eingebaute Rolltreppe
 Modern art everywhere - moderne Kunst überall
 our last walk through the center - unser letzter Spaziergang durch das Zentrum
 High quality restaurants with German beer - Gut bürgerliche Gasthäuser mit deutschem Bier
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| Day 7 – 3rd of June: Armawir – Gjumri |
The two other occurrences of Phrynocephalus persicus horvathi are located near Armawir in southwest Armenia. We visited one hilly dry stony place, which is still untroubled by agriculture, but surrounded by intensive farming. This hill was probably one of the best locations during our trip, because we found five snake species within a short time. The second Macrovipera lebetina was found under a stone, while Christoph rescued a Natrix tessellata that was caught in an irrigation canal. The only observed lizard was Eremias strauchi. Two quite big Eryx jaculus and a very beautiful Hemorhois ravergieri were added to the list of records, while a quick Platyceps najadum escaped into a wheat field. After a short side trip to the Turkish border where the river Araz enters the country, we drove northwards to Gjumri. The number of white storks in this area is enormous. On one building 7 nests were counted.
After leaving the southern Araz plain the landscape immediately changed from a semi desert to a humid steppe. Wejust stopped once near an artificial lake on the Turkish border and only found Lacerta strigata, one of the most common lizards in the country. We arrived in Gjumri, the 2nd largest city in Armenia and checked in at the nice hotel Berlin, which cooperates with German health institutions.
Images to this section
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 Day 7 - Tag 7 - Yerevan - Armawir - Gjumri
 Republic square, History Museum
 Republic square, Marriot Hotel
 what's up? - Was ist los?
 100 years after the Armenian genocide people remember this cruel time - Der Genozid an dem armenischen Volk jährt sich zum 100 sten mal
 Nuclear power station Mezamor, built according to Chernobyl, in the middle of a seismic unstable region - Kernkraftwerk Mezamor in Chernobyl Bauweise, mitten in einem seismisch instabilen Gebiet
 Natural habitat near Armawir - natürliches Habitat nahe Armawir - Bufotes variabilis, Pelophylax bedriagae, Eremias strauchi, Natrix tessellata, Eryx jaculus, Platyceps najadum, Hemorhois ravergieri, Macrovipera lebetina
 Scorpion feeding on Eremias strauchi - Skorpion frisst Eremias strauchi
 Macrovipera lebetina obtusa - found under a stone - unter einem Stein gefunden
 Shelter of Macrovipera lebetina - Versteck der Levanteotter
 Natrix tessellata - this dice snake was rescued out of a canal - diese Würfelnatter wurde aus einem Bewässerungskanal gerettet
 Flat habitats without agricultural use became rare in the intensive used lowland of the Araz - Flache Habitate ohne landwirtschaftliche Nutzung sind selten geworden im dicht besiedelten Araz Tiefland
 Eremias strauchi - still distributed in southern Armenia - noch recht verbreitet in Südarmenien
 Fight between two Eremias strauchi males - Kampf zwischen zwei Eremias strauchi Männchen
 Eryx jaculus familiaris - male - Männchen
 Hemorhois ravergieri - always a highlight - immer ein Highlight
 Hemorhois ravergieri - was found under a big stone - wurde unter einem großen Stein gefunden
 Hemorhois ravergieri - Portrait
 Curious local - Neugieriger Einheimischer
 Eryx jaculus familiaris - female - Weibchen
 Eryx jaculus - The sand boa is a constant companion on our excursions - Sandboas sind treue Begleiter auf unseren Exkursionen
 Women at field work - Frauen bei der Feldarbeit
 Long legged buzzard - Adlerbussard
 The river Araz forms the Turkish border - Der Araz Fluss bildet die Grenze zur Türkei
 Finsch's Wheatear - Felsensteinschmätzer
 Small village in north western Armenia - Dorf in Norwestarmenien
 Maybe a young herpetologist is growing up - vielleicht wächst hier ein junger Herpetologe heran
 Lacerta strigata - male - Männchen
 Gjumri - center - Zentrum
 Townhall by day - Rathaus bei Tag
 Townhall after dinner and rain - Rathaus nach dem Abendessen und Regen
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Day 8 – 4th of June: Dschawacheti Highlands – Borjomi
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The next day was dedicated to explore the Dschawacheti highlands in Georgia. After one hour at the border we could finally enter Georgia. We wanted to visit the area near the border, where Vipera darevskii was found in Georgia, but unfortunately there was a storm blowing over the highland and it was clear, that we wouldn’t climb up to 2500m to search this species. So we limited our search to some stone heaps near the lake Madatapa, where we found many beautiful Darevskia valentini and Darevskia armeniaca, protected from the wind between the blocks. Darevskia valentini seems to be the most colorful Darevskia and beside Darevskia rudis the largest one. In this quite high habitat in 2200m Darevskia valentini was the dominant species, whereas Darevskia armeniaca was in the majority under 2000m elevation near the lake Khanjali, a location for Vipera eriwanensis, which we couldn’t find. Beside the lizards we saw Rana macrocnemis and Bufotes variabilis as well as Natrix natrix.
We drove down from the highland via Achalkalaki towards Khertvisi along the upper Kura river to the Borjomi canyon, where we stopped in front of the Kvabishkevi entrance into the National Park. Just before the sun went down we checked out the dry southern rock slopes for Darevskia rudis macromaculata, whereas Darevskia parvula adjarica was present in the moist glades of the forest. In the evening we tried to get a permit for the Borjomi-Kharaghauli National Park, but it was already closed. We checked in to a very modern and nice hotel where we stayed for the next days.
Images to this section
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 Day 8 - Tag 8 - Dschwacheti - Borjomi
 Road to the Georgian border - Straße zur georgischen Grenze
 Javakheti ridge, home of Vipera darevskii - Javakheti Berge, Heimat von Vipera darevskii
 Goose, possible lunch - Gans, potenzielles Mittagessen
 Armenian border - Armenische Grenze
 Georgian border - Georgische Grenze
 Lake Madatapa, Javakheti - Madatapa See, Dschawachetien
 Cattle breeding, dinner - Viehzucht, Abendessen
 Madatapa lake and mountain, the only known spot for Vipera darevskii in Georgia - Madatapa See und Berg, der einzige bekannte Fundort von Vipera darevskii in Georgien
 Boulders near Madatapa lake - Steinblöcke am Madatapa See - Darevskia valentini, Darevskia armeniaca, Natrix natrix
 Darevskia valentini - male - Männchen
 Darevskia valentini & Darevskia armeniaca - sometimes foult matings happen and triploid sterile male hybrids develop - manchmal kommt es zu Fehlpaarungen, wodurch männliche triploide sterile Hybriden entstehen
 Fault mating - Fehlpaarung
 Common rock thrush - Steinrötel
 Farms in the Djawacheti highlands - Bauernhöfe auf dem Djawacheti Hochland
 Some houses are insulated by soil, we wonder how the roof can stand the loads of the soil and the snow - Manche Häuser wurden mit Erde isoliert, wie können die Dächer die Auflast von dem Material und Schnee aushalten?
 Slope near the Khanjali lake, the only known spot for Vipera eriwanensis in Georgia - Hang nahe dem Khanjali See, dem einzigen bekannten Fundpunkt von Vipera eriwanensis in Georgien
 Rana macrocnemyx - which looks like a Pelophylax bedriagae - der wie ein Wasserfrosch aussieht
 Darevskia aremeniaca - much more common on lower elevation than D. valentini - viel häufiger als D. valentini in tieferen Lagen
 Khanjali lake - D. armeniaca, D. valentini, R. macrocnemis, B. variabilis
 Rana macrocnemis camerani
 Rana macrocnemis camerani
 Darevskia parvula adjarica
 Dry slope in the Kura valley - Trockener Hang im Kuratal - D. parvula adjarica, D. rudis macromaculata, L. media
 Darevskia rudis macromaculata
 Darevskia rudis macromaculata - in its typical habitat, rock cracks - in seinem Lebensraum, Felsspalten
 Along the dry cracks in the rocks we found many D. rudis macromaculata, while only few 100 m away in the moist valley we found D. rudis obscura, (sub)species? - Entlang der trockenen Felsspalten fanden wir viele D. rudis macromaculata, während im nahen feuchten Talboden D. rudis obscura vorkommt, (Unter)art?
 Darevskia rudis macromaculata
 Darevskia rudis - Portrait
 Jaunty children in Borjomi - unbeschwerte Kinder in Borjomi
 Road market sale - Straßenverkauf
 fresh fruits - frische Früchte
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| Day 9 – 5th of June: Kvabishkhevi – Nedzvi Reserve |
On the next day we entered the NP office on time, but we had to wait, because the manager was late. We used the time to inspect the exhibition. On a board where amphibians are listed we found the chapter about Mertensiella and a picture of Salamandra salamandra was placed instead. However, the Salamandra picture was stolen, it wastaken by Gerald and it was presented some years ago for an exhibition in Austria for another museum! We found some more mistakes and recommended a review of the shown text. At the end we received our permit for a small donation and we drove to the entrance of Kvabishkhevi and entered the National Park, where we already knew some good spots for Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana. First we discovered some Anguis colchica and after a short time Franz found a nice male horned viper in its typical habitat. After a while Thomas found a large pregnant female viper lying in the sun. Further up the valley Darevskia derjugini, Natrix natrix, Rana macrocnemis and Pelophylax bedriagae were seen. During lunch it started to rain, while we entered Banishkevi valley, so we had to stop and made a nip in our hotel.
In the evening we started our well planned night excursion into another reserve, east of Borjomi. It is the easternmost range for Mertensiella caucasica and also Pelodytes caucasicus is occurring there. The reserve is managed by the NP office in Borjomi, although they officially don’t belong together. When we entered the reserve it was still bright, but the officer was not in his hut. It was an endless walk up the mountain road and suddenly it became dark just when we received a point, where we had to cross the river. By chance the officer of the reserve was coming down and asked us for our permit. He believed we must be crazy but after a discussion (nobody understood each other), we could pass. By chance we saw that he had crossed the torrent by a tree trunk lying 2 m above the stream and it was rather an adventure to cross this torrent during darkness. Suddenly many amphibians occurred, because it still was the main breeding season for Bufo verrucosissimus, which was the most common species by far. But also many Rana macrocnemis, Bufotes variabilis, Hyla orientalis schelkownikowi and huge Pelophylax bedriagae were seen. In some ponds we found Ommatotriton ophryticus, but unfortunately we didn’t expect this species, so we couldn’t take good pictures without a cuvette. Once or twice we heard Pelodytes, but we didn’t find adult specimens, only tadpoles from the last year. We assume that Pelodytes starts its breeding when the main Bufo breeding has ended. Maybe this year the whole season was later than in other years. We saw two active Natrix at night, one predating for Pelodytes tadpoles, one for the newts.
After more than three hours walking we reached the dedicated area, supposedly a perfect spot for Mertensiella and it really looked perfect but there were no salamanders! It was an exciting but also exhausting night with perfect observations so far, but the highlights were missing. When we already went back and nobody expected a surprise suddenly Richard found an adult Mertensiella crossing the road just in front of him. Relieved and happy we came back to our car after 6 hours of intense mountain walking. We all slept well…
Images to this section
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 Day 9 - Kvabishkhevi - Nedzvi Reserve
 Salamandra starring as Mertensiella, picture by Gerald Ochsenhofer - Salamandra in der Rolle als Mertensiella, Foto von Gerald Ochsenhofer
 NP entrance of Kvabishkevi, well known to us - Eingang in den NP bei Kvabishkevi, ist uns gut bekannt
 Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana - male - Männchen
 Vipera ammodytes - Portrait
 Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana - according to Ursenbacher et. al 2007 it is a clear subspecies of ammodytes, no seperate species - Ursenbacher et al. 2007 folgend handelt es sich klar um eine Unterart von ammodytes
 Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana
 Habitat - V. ammodytes, A. colchica, D. derjugini, D. parvula
 Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana - female - Weibchen
 Vipera ammodytes transcaucasiana - Portrait
 Habitat - Vipera ammodytes
 Darevskia derjugini derjugini
 Rock in the Kvabishkevi valley - Felsen im Kvabishkevi Tal
 Darevskia rudis macromaculata
 Darevskia rudis macromaculata
 Habitat - D. rudis macromaculata
 Swallowtail - Schwalbenschwanz
 Swallowtail - Schwalbenschwanz
 The Green Monastery - das grüne Kloster - Chitakhevi
 Mertensiella searchers? - Mertensiella Sucher?
 Ommatotriton ophryticus - female - Weibchen
 Dangerous crossing of a torrent at night - gefährliches Überqueren eines Wildbaches bei Nacht
 Bufo verucosissimus - male - Männchen
 Hyla orientalis schelkownikowi
 Bufo verucosissimus - couple - Paar
 Natrix natrix - hunting during the night - in der Nacht auf der Jagd
 Ommatotriton ophryticus - male - Männchen
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| Day 10 – 6th of June: Banishkhevi – Gori – Stepanzminda |
After a short night we decided to make our way to the High Caucasus. But first again, we entered the Banishkevi valley for the still missing Darevskia mixta. Although Darevskia rudis obscura was there in higher numbers, we also found some Darevskia mixta not far from the entrance of the National Park. Coronella austriaca was again a companion of the lizards.
After this short stop we drove to Gori – home of Stalin – which is on the way to the High Caucasus and made a short sightseeing stop. The birthplace of the son of a shoemaker is now placed in an assembly hall and the surroundings are changed to a park, which is now the center of Gori. Several monuments show the local value of this cruel man, who was the only Grusinian, who ever ruled the Soviet empire.
On our way up we passed the old capital Mtskheta, where the military road towards Russia starts. This road is the most important transportation route in north – south direction and accordingly it is full of trucks from Russia, Iran and several other surrounding countries. On the way you can see some sights, as Chinti tower, Ananuri castle or the touristy village of Gudauri, which is famous for helicopter skiing, and therefore it looks like an alpine tourist village, abandoned during the summer time. During our journey the weather became worse and it started to rain. We made a big mistake not to check the weather forecast before we started and got punished for that. After crossing the Cross Pass we drove along the river Terek down to the city Stepanzminda, better known by the old and used name Kasbegi under the massive Kasbek, the third highest peak in Georgia with an elevation of 5047m. When we finally reached our hotel after a drive between many trucks and police controls it was pouring down and no one thought about searching for reptiles. We knew good spots for both vipers, Vipera dinniki and Vipera lotievi at the northern side of the Caucasus ridge, whereas the distribution in many areas south of the ridge is questionable. In the afternoon we drove up to the Trinity Church, which was embedded in clouds and also the peak of Kasbek was not visible. The road up to the church was like a streambed. Only during a short period in the night we could see the peak and afterwards it started to rain again. The weather forecast for the northern side of the ridge was rather bad and so we decided to drive back.
Images to this section
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 Day 10 - Tag 10 Banishkhevi - Gori - Stepanzminda
 Ruin in Banishkhevi, the valley of the lizards - Ruine in Banishkhevi, dem Tal der Eidechsen
 Darevskia rudis vs. Darevskia mixta
 Darevskia mixta - detail of head - Kopfdetail
 Darevskia mixta - lateral scales - Flankenbeschuppung
 Coronella austriaca - rich food source - reichhaltiges Futterangebot
 Josef Stalin - the Georgian who ruled the Russians - der Georgier, der die Russen regiert hat
 Stalins parental home, now a museum in the middle of the Gori central park - Stalins Vaterhaus ist jetzt ein Museum im Stadtpark von Gori
 Stalin's private train - Stalins Privatwaggon
 Georgian beer tastes well - Georgisches Bier schmeckt gut
 On the way to the high Caucasus - auf dem Weg in den großen Kaukasus
 Chapel near Gudauri - Kapelle in der Nähe von Gudauri
 Valley to be explored on our way back - dieses Tal wird auf dem Rückweg erforscht
 Ski resort Gudauri - Schigebiet Gudauri
 Sheep farming - Schafzucht
 Street sale - Straßenverkauf
 Weather becomes worse - Wetter wird schlechter
 North side of the Caucasus ridge - Nordseite des Kaukasushauptkammes
 Heavy rain at the arrival in Kasbegi - starker Regen bei unserer Ankunft in Kasbegi
 Bad road up to the trinity church - schlechte Straße hinauf zur Dreifaltigkeitskirche
 Trinity church - Dreifaltigkeitskirche
 Kasbek in clouds - Kasbek in den Wolken
 no chance for reptiles - keine Aussicht auf Reptilien
 During the night we caught a short view of the Kasbek - während der Nacht erhaschten wir einen kurzen Blick auf den Kasbek
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| Day 11 – 7th of June: – Southern High Caucasus |
The morning was still very rainy in Kasbegi but as soon as we reached the Cross Pass the sun came out and the weather changed completely. We entered the valley below Gudauri, which looked very promising, also for vipers. Darevskia caucasica populates talus in the valleys more than rocks. It is an attractive green lizard, which can look very variable and sometimes has a middle stripe. They occur only down to about Passanauri and lower altitudes are inhabited by other congeners. Other species in this highland valley were Anguis colchica and Rana macrocnemis. No vipers were found. In Ananuri Darevskia rudis chechenica is the dominating rock lizard, also a Coronella was present.
In the hilly Caucasus foreland we stopped once for Darevskia praticola, Darevskia derjugini orlowae and Lacerta agilis ioriensis, which we all found during our last trip there. This time we couldn’t find the latter species and it seemed that also the number of Darevskia praticola has decreased. Darevskia praticola inhabits the meadows, whereas Darevskia derjugini live on the edge of the forests. Last time we could make a very good picture of a corncrake, this time it was a wryneck, which crossed our way. After this detour we drove in eastern direction and took an old style accommodation in Sagaredscho as a basis for the exploration of the eastern steppe in the Kacheti region, where we started our tour.
Images to this section
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 Day 11 - Southern Caucasus slope & Caucasus outland - Tag 11 - Südlicher Kaukasusabhang & Kaukasusvorland
 Still bad weather and heavy traffic on the North side of the Caucasus military road - Noch immer schlechtes Wetter und Lastverkehr auf der nördlichen Seite der Kaukasusheeresstraße
 Slalom on the road - Slalom auf der Straße
 Miserable road quality - Miserable Straßenqualität
 At the ridge the weather suddenly changed - auf dem Kamm änderte sich plötzlich das Wetter
 Blue sky, snow capped mountains - blauer Himmel, schneebedeckte Gipfel
 Our next stop: Aragvi gorge - unser nächster Punkt - Aragvi Schlucht
 sounds familiar - klingt vertraut
 Upper Aragvi river - Oberlauf des Aragvi
 Stone avalanche - Geröllhalde - Darevskia caucasica, Anguis colchica, Rana macrocnemis
 searching for vipers was in vain - die Suche nach Vipern war umsonst
 Anguis colchica - with blue dots - mit blauen Punkten
 Good looking habitat - gut aussehender Lebensraum
 Darevskia rudis chechenica - Ananuri
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Common redstart - Gartenrotschwanz
 Darevskia rudis chechenica
 Coronella austriaca - what else?
 Strange monument - seltsames Denkmal
 Darevskia derjugini orlowae
 Darevskia derjugini orlowae
 Darevskia derjugini orlowae
 Darevskia derjugini orlowae
 Tbilissi North - Nordtiflis
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| Day 12 – 8th of June: – Eastern Kacheti Steppe – Alazani Lowland |
The famous Vashlovani NP was too far away so we confined our search to the area of Dedospliszkaro. Unfortunately the landscape is used for intensive farming and only around some hills natural habitats are left. We found the typical steppe reptiles like Lacerta strigata, Lacerta media, Eirenis modestus, Pseudopus apodus, Paralaudakia caucasia and Testudo graeca. The highlight was an adult Dolichophis schmidti, which was the first living specimen during this trip, while we had found several dead on the road up to now.
We made our way back down to the Alazani River, which forms the border to Azerbaijan. Near the river it was nearly impossible to search because of mosquitos. On our way we observed our first and only Emys orbicularis beside several Mauremys caspica. The road along the Alazani was more like a tractor track than a street and it lasted a long time to come back. From Sagaredscho we made our way down to David Gareja, which is by far our favorite steppe area. At the Lori River we observed Natrix tessellata, Pelophylax bedriagae, Bufotes variabilis and Lacerta strigata. Further south we stopped once more at an Acacia forest, where we had seen a dead Elaphe sauromates on the road on our first day. This time we found an Elaphe exhuvie, but again no living specimen. The main prey for this snake beside mice must be Lacerta strigata, which occurs in high numbers as well as birds, nesting in the trees. A dead golden jackal was lying on the road near Rustavi, where we came back at night for Hyla savignyi. The last days we slept in a motel on the main road to Armenia.
Images to this section
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 Day 12: Eastern Kacheti steppe - Alazani
 Old style hotel Kacheti - altmodisches Hotel in Kachetien
 Inside the hotel, the only one without Wifi - im Hotel, dem einzigen ohne Wlan
 Rose starlings - Rosenstare
 Eirenis modestus modestus
 Most of the Eirenis are found like this, but few are also active moving - Die meisten Eirenis werden so gefunden, manche sind aber auch unterwegs anzutreffen
 Eastern Kacheti steppe - Ostkachetische Steppenlandschaft
 Paralaudakia caucasia - Portrait
 Dolichophis schmidti - Portrait
 Alazani lowland, border to Azerbaijan - Alazani Tiefland, Grenze zu Aserbaidschan
 Irrigitation canal - Bewässerungskanal
 European roller - Blauracke
 Public transport - öffentliches Verkehrsmittel
 White wagtail - Bachstelze
 Udabno hostel was left alone - das Udabno Hostel war verlassen
 Back in our favourite steppe, Davit Gareji - zurück in unserer Lieblingssteppe, Davit Gareji
 Golden jackal, run over - Goldschakal, überfahren
 Dinner in a booth - Abendessen im Separee
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| Day 13 – 9th of June: – Southern Kacheti Steppe – Rustawi |
On our last full day we went back to the area of our first day, but not as far as David Gareja, but further North. We checked out so far unexplored valleys in our favorite steppe landscape, because some species were still missing. Beside the common species we found Eirenis collaris and then finally also some Eremias velox caucasia. One female was observed while coming out of its egg burrow. In a lake many Mauremys caspica with blue eyes were seen. During midday it got really hot and some tortoises used a dug shelter to protect themselves from the sun. The highlight of this last full day was the record of a Telescopus fallax iberus, found in a small ruinous herder hut under a stone. The hills near Rustawi weren’t that spectacular but we still made some interesting observations. Mostly Testudo including juveniles and Lacerta strigata were found and for the first time we saw a mating Scheltopusik couple. The last record of the day was a big Siberian Tarantula.
Images to this section
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 Day 13 - Tag 13 - Davit Gareji - Rustawi
 Whiskered tern in front of the industrial city of Rustawi - Weißbart-Seeschwalbe, im Hintergrund die Industrieanlagen von Rustawi
 High density of Mauremys caspica - Hohe Dichte an Mauremys caspica
 Honey buzzard - Wespenbussard
 The steppe is now drier than 10 days before - die Steppe ist jetzt trockener als vor 10 Tagen
 Galeodes - camel spider - Walzenspinne
 Eremias velox caucasia - female - Weibchen
 Diverse steppe habitat - vielfältiges Steppenhabitat
 Hummingbird moth - Taubenschwänzchen
 Herpers heaven - Ein Paradies für Herpetologen
 Eremias velox - male - Männchen
 Lake in the steppe - See in der Steppe
 Mauremys caspica - with blue iris - mit blauer Iris
 Climbing Agama - Kletternde Agame
 Testudo graeca - parking in the garage - parkt in der Garage
 Telescopus fallax (iberus)
 It is difficult, shooting good pictures of a nocturnal species during the day - es ist schwierig, gute Fotos einer nachtaktiven Art während des Tages zu machen
 where is it? - wo ist sie?
 Western yellow wagtail, propably subspecies lutea - Schafstelze, vermutlich Unterart lutea
 Pseudopus apodus - mating - Paarung
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| Day 14 – 10th of June: – Turtle Lake |
Our flight back home was in the late afternoon so we decided to drive to the Turtle Lake above Tbilisi for a relaxing finish of our trip. However, we hoped to find a living specimen of Zamenis hohenackeri, which we know in this area to occur. After a drink and breakfast at the lake bar we went for a walk above the lake and entered a confined area around an old tower, where a Dolichophis schmidti escaped. Suddenly Franz proclaimed to have found a Zamenis, which made us very happy on our last day. After the photo shooting we enjoyed a cool swim in the Turtle Lake before we went off to the airport.
Images to this section
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 Last day, Turtle lake, airport - Letzter Tag - Schildkrötensee. Flughafen
 Habitat above the turtle lake - Lebensraum oberhalb des Schildkrötensees
 Turtle lake, Tbilissi - Schildkrötensee, Tiflis
 Stadium - Stadion - Uefa Super Cup Final 2015
 Zamenis hohenackeri - Portrait
 Zamenis hohenackeri - Highlight of the last day - Höhepunkt des letzten Tages
 Second highlight of the day, swimming during the heat of the day - Zweites Highlight des Tages, ein Bad während der Mittagshitze
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It was an amazing trip. Of course we couldn’t find all desired species but in fact we really found a lot and traveled through these wonderful countries was without major problems to find accommodations or nice dishes and drinks. We also felt safe during our whole trip. Many thanks to Marine Arakelyan and her student Rasmik (Yerevan), who were fantastic guides in Armenia. Our thanks also goes to David Tarkhnisvili (Tbilissi) and Norbert Frotzler (Vienna) for good tips in Georgia.
What we missed: We searched for Vipera eriwanenis at four spots in vain. For Vipera dinniki and Vipera lotievi the weather was too bad along the Caucasus ridge, same for Vipera darevskii in the Low Caucasus. Adult Pelodytes caucasicus were another disappointment, although they should occur in high numbers at some visited spots. And finally Phrynocephalus persicus horvathi seems to be very rare in Armenia and we missed it too. Nevertheless the trip was a success for us and we are very happy about the results.
| Observed Species, approx. number |
| 1 |
Mertensiella caucasica |
1 |
| 2 |
Ommatotriton ophryticus |
10 |
| 3 |
Pelodytes caucasicus |
only larvae |
| 4 |
Bufotes variabilis |
30 |
| 5 |
Bufo verrucosissimus |
50 |
| 6 |
Hyla savignyi |
5 |
| 7 |
Hyla orientalis |
20 |
| 8 |
Pelophylax bedriagae |
100 |
| 9 |
Rana macrocnemis |
30 |
| 10 |
Testudo graeca |
20 |
| 11 |
Emys orbicularis |
1 |
| 12 |
Mauremys caspica |
40 |
| 13 |
Darevskia armeniaca |
15 |
| 14 |
Darevskia caucasica |
10 |
| 15 |
Darevskia dahli |
50 |
| 16 |
Darevskia derjugini |
10 |
| 17 |
Darevskia mixta |
5 |
| 18 |
Darevskia nairensis |
30 |
| 19 |
Darevskia parvula |
5 |
| 20 |
Darevskia portschinskii |
10 |
| 21 |
Darevskia praticola |
5 |
| 22 |
Darevskia raddei |
3 |
| 23 |
Darevskia rostombekovi |
20 |
| 24 |
Darevskia rudis |
40 |
| 25 |
Darevskia unisexualis |
3 |
| 26 |
Darevskia valentini |
20 |
| 27 |
Lacerta agilis |
30 |
| 28 |
Lacerta media |
30 |
| 29 |
Lacerta strigata |
50 |
| 30 |
Eremias arguta |
4 |
| 31 |
Eremias pleskei |
10 |
| 32 |
Eremias strauchi |
10 |
| 33 |
Eremias velox |
4 |
| 34 |
Eumeces schneideri |
1 |
| 35 |
Ablepharus bivittatus |
1 |
| 36 |
Ophisops elegans |
2 |
| 37 |
Parvilacerta parva |
2 |
| 38 |
Paralaudakia caucasia |
50 |
| 39 |
Anguis colchica |
5 |
| 40 |
Pseudopus apodus |
40 |
| 41 |
Xerotyphlops vermicularis |
5 |
| 42 |
Eryx jaculus |
2 |
| 43 |
Dolichophis schmidti |
5 |
| 44 |
Hemorrhois ravergieri |
1 |
| 45 |
Platyceps najadum |
1 |
| 46 |
Coronella austriaca |
8 |
| 47 |
Eirenis modestus |
10 |
| 48 |
Eirenis collaris |
3 |
| 49 |
Eirenis punctatolineatus |
5 |
| 50 |
Elaphe sauromates |
3 (d.o.r.) |
| 51 |
Zamenis hohenackeri |
2 |
| 52 |
Natrix natrix |
5 |
| 53 |
Natrix tessellata |
5 |
| 54 |
Malpolon insignitus |
2 |
| 55 |
Telescopus fallax |
1 |
| 56 |
Macrovipera lebetina |
2 |
| 57 |
Montivipera raddei |
2 |
| 58 |
Vipera ammodytes |
2 |
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