field notes
ukraine, 2015
The hostility from the neighbour Russia and the invasion in the nearby region weren't an obstacle for this trip. In fact, I was noticing signs of war neither in the capital — Kiev, nor in Kharkiv — a city that is around 40km away from the Russian border.
Late spring and early summer is the best time for going to Ukraine. The weather is usually good, it is warm but never hot and dry. The vegetation is green and many plants are blooming. Of course, it is also the best season for photography of amphibians, reptiles and birds in this region.
Unfortunately it is impossible to determine exactly when to go because it depends very much on weather in these months. The spring was quite warm this year. Therefore, grass and leaves on trees were already grown and became an obstacle for finding animals. Snakes and many amphibians had already finished breeding activities. Overall, I came there a little too late, but nevertheless it was a quite successful trip.
There were a few cold and rainy days at the beginning of my stay in Kharkiv, and I had to wait for the weather to improve. Also for this reason this report is going to be shorter than usually.
getting there and around
There are usually many inexpensive flights every day from many European and American airports to Kiev and even to some other Ukrainian cities. A return ticket shouldn't cost more than 350 euros. However, it is important to book early — at least 2 months in advance. This time I booked 3 months in advance a flight by KLM that had the best offer to Kiev.
As a result of a severe exchange rate drop prices in Ukraine were low for people who were coming with euros. Therefore also the train ticket from Kiev to Kharkiv in the 1 class was extremely cheap. The Ukrainian Railway Company had improved the trains and the service very much. This time even buying a ticket online was possible and worked very well. The website has also a version in English, and credit cards are accepted.
Also I didn't notice any problems being bearer of a German passport. When I needed to identify myself officials and all other people were very friendly to me, and I had absolutely no problems with getting around. Indeed Ukraine has improved itself a lot in the recent years, also partly due to the political change in 2013-2014, and was becoming more open and friendly for foreign travellers.
Russian is still most commonly spoken. Even in the capital city I rarely heard people speaking Ukrainian although almost nothing was written in this language. In the east of the country where I spent most of the time, you only occasionally would hear Ukrainian speakers. Therefore, if you speak Russian, you'll be fine. Anyway it is better than English since only some younger people may speak it. However, I also noticed that the interest in English had increased; In an underground train I saw even an old man reading an English textbook.
As I already wrote in my previous reports, there is no chance to rent a car in Ukraine. However, it could be possible to hire a driver with a car if you know someone with such contacts. Taxi drivers in Ukraine were charging 1/4 - 1/3 of the price per kilometer that we have in Germany, i.e. taxis were much cheaper but not really a cheap transportation outside the cities because drivers were requesting the double price. Busses and regional trains were extremely cheap although dirty and slow. For a return ticket to travel at a distance of about 30km by a train I paid less than 0,50€.
photography experience
As during my trips to this region in the last 3 years, amphibians and reptiles were my main subjects for wildlife photography also this time. There is nothing special in terms of diversity of reptiles and amphibians, just the species are different than near my home in Germany. Therefore I always enjoy herping when I come to Ukraine in spring.
I made 5 excursions in total. One was to photograph amphibians, 2 — for Steppe Runners (Eremias arguta), and another 2 were for photographing Nikolski Adders (Vipera berus nikolskii). However, I didn't make a single shot of a landscape. In that sense this trip was really unique. It was just too hot and sunny for landscape photography, and, in fact, I wasn't to any suitable place.
amphibians
As usually, when I come to this region in spring, I went on one day to “Olkhovaya Balka” (Elder Gorge). I described this place already in my previous field notes from Ukraine. It is a wet gorge inside a leaf forest, with a number of large ponds and temporary pools. All of them are habitats of several species of amphibians. Fire-bellied toads were still breeding and present even in smallest pools, thus, were very easy to photograph. Also edible frogs Pelophylax esculentus were very active and could be seen during courtship. Other tailless amphibians had already finished the breeding season. Newts were still in the water, but I hadn't bee planning to photograph them and had not necessary equipment with me.