Vylkove, October 2013. Congress of the Ukrainian Herpetological Society

The next congress of the Ukrainian Herpetological Society was held this year in Vylkove, in the very southwestern corner of Ukraine. The common epithet for Vylkove is «Ukrainian Venice.» Honestly, it doesn’t quite live up to Venice, but this small town in the Danube delta certainly has its own face, unlike any other. The journey from Kharkiv to Vylkove is quite long (one of its intermediate stages, a walk around Odessa, is shown here), but here we are at last, in the Danube delta [IMG_1] The main Bilhorodsky canal in Vylkove [IMG_2] This is what the small lanes look like. Once, boats used to sail along these canals. Now they have stopped cleaning them, and a boat can no longer pass through [IMG_3] Couples during a tour of Vylkove... Really, do they look alike? You wouldn’t say that one is from Donetsk and the other from Yekaterinburg... [IMG_4] [IMG_5] [IMG_6] And this is our base, «Pelikan.» It stands on the bank of the Ochakovskyi arm of the Danube. It is all crisscrossed with canals and ponds. And in this photo the color of the water in the Danube is well captured. It is exactly like this... [IMG_7] And this is no longer a river, but an artificial backwater [IMG_8] I lived four to a three-person cabin with three beauties, whom the Russians for some reason called «Shabanov’s girls» (it seems to be somehow connected with Turgenev’s girls) [IMG_9] A scene from home life. The three of them lived on this bed, and I had a separate place to the left, behind the nightstand [IMG_10] Galya had equipped herself well for catching amphibians. She came to us to take for measurements what we had caught [IMG_11] The presentations took place in a small room where the lights sometimes went out. Nevertheless, above all thanks to the Russian participants in the conference, the level of the audience was very high [IMG_12] And here we are leaving on an excursion. The president of the society and his faithful squire are sitting on the bank... [IMG_13] ...and Alexander Ivanovich sees us off from the pier [IMG_14] When telling about the history of the study of green frogs in the Kharkiv region, I always mention the «famous Tambov batrachologist L.,» who made an invaluable contribution to it... G.A. described the practically pure E-type population system at Iskovy Pond and caught the first triploid there [IMG_15] Dnipropetrovsk, Melitopol, Melitopol, Chernihiv [IMG_16] Still young... [IMG_17] A couple more portraits. E.R. ... [IMG_18] ... and A.Ya. [IMG_19] People live on the islands. More often — temporarily, far less often — permanently [IMG_20] Of course, during high water everything is swept by waves [IMG_21] Somewhere there is even electricity generated by windmills [IMG_22] [IMG_23] Mostly Lipovans, Old Believers, lived in this area. On some small islands there are even religious objects [IMG_24] If only one could buy it! It’s just too far to travel from Kharkiv... [IMG_25] These herds lead a semi-wild existence. Calves are brought here and then the grown cows and bulls are slaughtered [IMG_26] Cormorants [IMG_27] Brother... [IMG_28] ...and sister [IMG_29] Looking at Tom, I envy both his travels and his cap... [IMG_30] The organizers pass by with glasses and drinks... [IMG_31] ...which lend the trip a special character [IMG_32] Waves... [IMG_33] The president of the Russian Herpetological Society named after A.M. Nikolsky... (that came out solemnly?) ...and simply a good person [IMG_34] [IMG_35] Where vessels sail, there are few birds. But behind such «enclosures» of reeds, like here — simply wonders! [IMG_36] Huge flocks of ducks [IMG_37] Swan [IMG_38] Great egret [IMG_39] Pelicans and cormorants [IMG_40] Cormorants and gulls [IMG_41] Many swans... [IMG_42] ...and again many ducks [IMG_43] Grebe [IMG_44] This is our vessel. We pulled up to the «0 kilometer» mark, from which the length of the Danube is measured in the direction toward its sources [IMG_45] A snag on the bank [IMG_46] Vegetation is gradually capturing and consolidating the sandy beach deposited by the Danube [IMG_47] V.K. is testing: is the water salty? Slightly brackish! [IMG_48] A little tail... [IMG_49] ...and pensive solitude [IMG_50] Rapana egg cases [IMG_51] The entire bank is strewn with them [IMG_52] This is where I went for a swim. Not alone — with four girls (the same ones: «Dnipropetrovsk, Melitopol, Melitopol, Chernihiv»). But for some reason the main anger of the tour guide (who had to be calmed down with vodka) fell on me [IMG_53] Then we took photographs by the commemorative sign [IMG_54] [IMG_55] My camera (it’s hanging on my hand, and I’m taking this shot with my phone) never got its turn: my colleagues scattered [IMG_56] Do you know what this is? A bottle of water lying on the bench of our vessel. The engine is running, and a ripple stands on the water’s surface [IMG_57] Intelligence cannot be hidden [IMG_58] Dear Ella Moiseyevna! Forgive me for not heeding your request and not removing this photograph. I remember that you did not like it, but I think you are wrong in your assessment of it. For me, and for my other colleagues who love and respect you but see you less often than they would like, this photograph is a way to look into your eyes. Please don’t be sad! [IMG_59] They understand each other quite well [IMG_60] Learn how to hold a glass properly! [IMG_61] On the island where the estate-museum is located [IMG_62] Our guide shows the hooks that were used to catch beluga sturgeon [IMG_63] Showing off... And a few more paired portraits: [IMG_64] [IMG_65] [IMG_66] And finally: [IMG_67] The defensive posture of the fire-bellied toad [IMG_68] The Danube in the morning mist