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Our expedition team were escaping from the inclement weather to the southwest to Artashat area, near the Turkish border. In continuous rain, we took refuge in a shelter in the Khor Virap monastery where we even spent the night. Waking hours amazed us with a fantastic view of the near Mount Ararat in the morning sunlight. The landscape in the area along the Turkish border is rather varied, which corresponds well with the richness of the local fauna. Rocky hills and arid steppe, irrigated fields and extensive wetlands can all be found there. We found Macrovipera lebetina obtusa , Natrix natrix, Natrix tessellata, Eirenis punctatolineatus and Trachylepis aureus and the amphibians Pelophylax ridibundus and Hyla arborela, during our short exploration. Vicinity of the monastery is also an interesting ornithological site. We observed a large number of Merops apiaster, Coracias garrulus, Upupa epop a Cuculus canorus specimens here.

nice report, nice pictures. Trachylepis should be septemtaeniata

Thanks so much for the information.