Moldova 2010

Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus

Moldova 2010

Postby Vlad Cioflec » Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:08 am

Dear friends,

Just got back from my nature loving in laws, where i had as usual a blast looking for all sorts of critters. It`s kind of tough herping with a two month old daughter in the blazing summer sun, but i love a good challenge! ;)
L. agilis habitat.JPG
Roadcrusing is fun!

We visited most of the country, from the romanian border to the ukrainean one, from the many lakes down south to the huge forests up north.
L. viridis habitat.JPG
Fast Green Lizards here ...

Many species here.JPG
Good habitat


We saw many bugs while walking the baby:
Aranea diademata.JPG
Garden Spider

Argiope bruennichi.JPG
Wasp spider

Caterpilar.JPG
ID ?!

Damselflies.JPG
Damselflies

Sphinx Moth.JPG
Sphinx Moth

Water Scorpion.JPG
Alien looking Water Scorpion - Nepa cinerea


The evenings were usually spent birding. A few lifers were encountered, but only two were confident enough to be approached with a P&S:
Little Stint.JPG
Little Stint

Oystercatcher.JPG
Oystercatcher


Ok, enough small talk; i`ll move on to the herps now. ;)
Pel rid.JPG
Marsh Frog

Nat nat..JPG
Grass Snake ... record shot

Bom bom.JPG
Fire Belled Toad in situ - flipped

Hyl arb.JPG
Common Treefrog in a well

Lac agi.JPG
Sand Lizard - in situ

Buf vir.JPG
Green Toad


Now here is the cool thing about herping in Moldova, you never know when you will make a nice range extention for some critically endangered species. Last one was the Smooth Snake - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=46
This year was the Commonn Spadefoot`s time: :D
Pel-fus.JPG
Pelobates, Bufo and yours trully, in situ

Pel fus.JPG
Known range (black), and our newly discovered population


Can`t wait till next time; who knows what surprise Moldova will have for us. :D

Happy herping!
Vlad
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Vlad Cioflec
 
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Re: Moldova 2010

Postby Tom Hoogesteger » Thu Sep 02, 2010 4:24 pm

Congratulations on the great find, Vlad! :D

Is that another Pelobates fuscus under the first one? Were they trapped in a well?
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Re: Moldova 2010

Postby Vlad Cioflec » Fri Sep 03, 2010 8:59 am

Hi Tom,

I looked at all the pictures carefully, and there seems to be just one Spadefoot. Indeed, the toads were trapped in an underground structure, but not a well. I believe it to be some kind of big abandoned fuel deposit.
Anyway, all abandoned (farm) buildings make great wildlife spots. From owls in the roof to cool spiders and moths in the corners :) and who knows what kind of herps fallen in holes...
Can`t wait to check some more `traps` as the season ends. Fun for me finding herps late in the year, good for the animals that get rescued that might still have some chance to hibernate.

Cheers!
Vlad
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