BREAKFAST WITH YAKSAfter a flight of almost ten hours with the Mongolian airline MIAT and a stopover in Moscow, we finally arrive in the capital Ulaanbaatar and are warmly welcomed by Prof. Dr. Lkhagvasuren and his brother Davka. One of the two Russian-robust minibuses (UAV) is already waiting outside, which will take us safely through the wonderful Mongolian country for the next three weeks. "We", that is Hermann, Margit, Rico and I (Katrin), have the wonderful opportunity to experience the Summer School together this year. It is the first time that German students are taking part; for Hermann and Margit, as experienced visiting professors at the National University of Mongolia and good friends of their Mongolian colleagues, it is almost a tradition to hold the Summer School for Mongolian students. In close cooperation with Prof. Lkhagvasuren, field research will be carried out at various locations over the next three weeks to study the small mammal fauna of Mongolia. An important focus will be on catching, preparing and identifying small mammals, and we will initially be accommodated in the International Student Dormitory. This is not far from the National University and you can reach the most important points quickly and easily on foot. As Rico and I want to spend more than four weeks in Mongolia to collect data on the house mouse population for our Master's thesis, we have to pay a short visit to the immigration office and spend the next three days preparing for the excursion that will take us to the north of the country and exploring the capital. Hermann and Margit still have a few appointments to attend, such as a visit to the ambassador and the Ministry of Culture. One day before departure, we meet the Mongolian students: Maggy, Choi and Tseenee. We all lend a hand when it comes to gathering the equipment for the expedition. Who would have thought that such a project, three weeks of pure camping plus real fieldwork, would require so much preparation and organizational talent... Thank goodness we have Margit with us, who always keeps track of everything! On the morning of 31.07.2016, after loading the two Furgons with our equipment, our tour finally starts with the destination for the first camp at Khuvsgul Nuur. Shortly after leaving the city of two million inhabitants, the impressively mountainous steppe landscape, whose face was previously largely hidden by city life and many new high-rise buildings, becomes more and more apparent.37° C, all the windows are wide open and the wind is blowing around our ears. We stop every now and then to observe and identify birds. A very common and always beautiful bird of prey is the black kite (Milvus migrans), which is still relatively common here in eastern Germany. During a short break at a lake, we can even see two adult steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis) on the other side of the riverbank, and in the evening we reach Khongor and set up camp for the first night on the Khara River. Here, too, we are able to observe a few birds, especially the tern parents (Sterna hirundo) make it unmistakably clear to us that we should keep an appropriate distance. There are also sandpipers and, a little further away, whooping cranes (Antropoides virgo). At our camp, Rico finds a sand beetle (Cicindelidae), which I would have liked to photograph. However, it didn't care much for photoshooting and flew away in an impressive high arc, and I will probably remember the nights in the tent in this faraway land for a long time to come. Horses graze right next to me, each individual chewing rhythm and their frequent nostrils can be heard. I listen to these new, unfamiliar noises more than I think about sleeping...We get up early because the journey to Ikh Uul, today's destination, is going to be a long one. I notice that the further we get away from the city, the less garbage there is lying around. I find it hard to imagine that there is a cleaner country than Mongolia... at least a country so rich in tradition and unspoiled by nature is unlikely to exist a second time, even if I am well aware that the term "unspoiled" is rather relative due to the livestock farming. Nonetheless, I am delighted to see so many free animals and the intense summer heat accompanies us all the way to Khuvsgul Nuur. On the last stage, we have to leave the tarmac road and take the bumpy track, which makes the adventurer's heart beat faster. The views are breathtaking; once again we can see steppe eagles, black vultures (Aegypius monarchus) and an incredible number of ground squirrels (long-tailed ground squirrel or, in scientific terms, Spermophilus undulatus). The rivers are crystal clear and we make a short stop to refresh ourselves, then we continue along the dusty road until we finally arrive at our destination. We are far away from any crowds; our nearest neighbors live at least 200 m away from the place where we set up camp. They still lead the traditional nomadic way of life in their white ger, herding goats and sheep and their good-natured yaks, but they too already have a solar panel for electricity and a satellite dish for TV, a proud moped and even a small truck in the garden, which is constantly being tinkered with. Apart from that, not a soul for miles around; only a ger and a few tents of tourists can be seen in the distance, who obviously wanted to retreat here for their vacation. So the next morning we lay out the first traplines on the mountainside. We are first introduced to the Sherman traps that we use for mice and other small mammals, how best to lay them out and that you should always carry out a brief habitat description. In our case, the first trapline is a wet meadow in the transition to a larch forest. We estimate the respective degrees of cover of the moss, herb, shrub and tree layer and also - very importantly - record the coordinates and altitude above sea level with a GPS device. The traps are filled with yellow rice, buckwheat and chocolate and each trap location is marked with a red flag to make it easier to find the traps when they are checked. We set out trapline 2 further up the mountainside in the damp larch forest with Salix. We have high hopes for this location, especially as far as voles are concerned. But we also want to catch whistling hares and for this we place slightly larger Sherman traps in front of colony entrances, which we find in areas with much less vegetation. We also have funnel traps, which we bury in the ground, and the smaller Sheffel traps. We also set these up in the valley in meadow areas, some of which are quite damp.We keep a few Sherman traps for house mice. After we have made ourselves and our plans known to the neighboring family, they kindly and helpfully, and perhaps a little amused, allow us to set the traps in their ger and garden. The days at Khuvsgul Nuur fly by as we have a lot to prepare. The location lives up to our expectations. After the first night of trapping, we already have 28 animals in the traps. These included an adult whistling hare (Ochotona presumably alpina) and three vole species (Microtus oeconomus, Microtus mongolicus and Myodes rutilus), all of which had to be euthanized as quickly as possible by chloroform fumigation and then dissected. Only the house mice seem to have moved out. The traps on the ger remain empty and on the morning of the third day of trapping we can actually see a whistling hare chewing and warming itself in the sun. When we check the traps later, a juvenile belonging to the same colony as the one caught in the morning is sitting in one of the traps. We release it again, as it is still too small for any meaningful characteristics, and in addition to active small mammal spotting, there is always time for some healthy birdwatching in between. In the distance, Bar-headed Geese (Anser 9 indicus), Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides), Ruddy Shelducks (Tadorna ferruginea), Tufted Ducks (Aythya ferina) and Black-throated Grebes (Gavia arctica) swim about. The European nuthatch (Sitta europaea) was sighted in the forest and the isabelline wheatear (Oenenthe isabellina) at the camp. In addition, the alpine crow (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) performs several spectacular somersaults with its beautiful sound, the likes of which I have never seen before, and the neighboring family presents us with fresh bread, yak butter and milk, cream and cheese. They are loving people, as you can see from the way both mother and father treat their children and grandchildren. We drink the famous suutei tsai (lightly salted milk tea) in their ger and are served aaruul (dried curd cheese). The five small children play the Mongolian dice game shagai with the four sheep's knuckles on the floor. They have plenty of them. But now it's time to say goodbye, because more great locations await us. I will always remember this warm family. The grandfather sitting proudly on his horse, the grandmother with the many children in the ger; their faces friendly and content, marked by the Mongolian sun and life as a nomadic family. We leave the beautiful Khuvsgul Nuur and drive back along the dusty Hoplerweg. We haven't gone far yet and I see a little surprise hopping away in the bushes: a polar hare (Lepus timidus) in its summer coat. And although there is very little traffic here, which can't drive very fast because of the roads, we find a roadkill Siberian jerboa (Allactaga sibirica) on the same riverbank where we refreshed ourselves a few days ago. We take it with us and prepare it at the next camp.RAIN, RAIN AND MORE RAINMaggy, who speaks really good English, teaches us a few Mongolian words during the long car rides. In return, she learns the words in German. She is very interested in everything and we understand each other straight away. We have to make another stopover and only make it to Harangok the following day. We set up camp in a valley with lots of desert elms. Horses graze nearby and a short walk up the stone slope brings us to a wooden ovoo. Normally you are more likely to see stone ovoo, but here in the north the wooden ovoo is quite common. The next stage was supposed to be a short one. However, as this is Lkhagva's first time in this area, we drive longer than planned on the sandy gravel roads between the mountain and the valley. It is very warm again today. The wonderful view makes up for any exertion, and after scouting out the right spot for our Camp 2, we set up camp not far from the Harlag gol river. Here, too, there is only one family living in their wooden house, the only neighbors for miles around. Their youngest son is sent ahead on his moped and his father's boots, which are far too big, to find out who we are and what we are doing. That evening, he comes by a second time and brings us milk and butter. Here, too, we get started straight away, set up the preparation tent and lay out the traplines. We again find many good spots on the riverbank and a little further away in the larch and birch forest. We are also allowed to set traps in and around the family home. Everything looks very promising...but we are surprised. With rain; lots of rain that doesn't want to stop. After the heat, now the damp cooling and we caught very little. Not a single mouse ran into the traps at the traplines, only three hamsters (Striped dwarf hamster and Cricetulus barabensis) were caught on two days by the neighboring family. We don't stay at this place for long. As the weather forecast does not promise any improvement, we dismantle our camp on the third day. The family invites us to dinner. We are served suutei tsai, boiled sheep meat, followed by soup with meat and noodles. They also give us their aaruul, cream, milk and a wonderful loaf of bread for our next trip. As always, the farewell is warm; we can still see a black stork (Ciconia nigra) in the distance.AMARBAYASGALANT MONASTERYWe only make it as far as Chutag Undur, a small village at the end of the sandy road, as the days of rain have turned the sandy bumpy roads into muddy tracks. On the way, one or two people who get stuck have to be rescued by our 4-wheel drive. We help each other if we can. It's another long day of driving, but as always, the beautiful views make up for the effort in the minibus, no matter where we go.It is already August 11th and a special weekend is coming up for the Mongolians. The monastery grounds of Amarbayasgalant are very good, with tents and gers set up everywhere. We spend the night here, Davka and Hata - our two drivers - have friends here who we visit and who have slaughtered a sheep for us. We have khorkhog for the first time. Khorkhog is meat cooked on hot stones and smoked with a few vegetables. It tastes really good when well salted.But what kind of biologists would we be if we didn't have something to examine and prepare now. On the way, Lkhagva finds a steppe iltis (Mustela eversmanni) that had been run over by a car on the side of the road. Of course we took it with us. Margit shows us how she prepares it. As predators can be major carriers of disease, she handles the animal very carefully. In contrast to small mammals, the steppe ilti skin is not stuffed with absorbent cotton for preservation, but is first preserved with salt. The rest has to be done later.We spend a lovely evening listening to Mongolian and German folk songs, which Margit accompanies with her violin. The night is getting cold, you can tell. I can't stand it for long; I crawl into my sleeping bag in the tent next to the sheep. Hermann reports an icy 4° C in the morning. Washing at the river is a short affair. We don't miss the chance and pay a short visit to the monastery. This is the first time Rico and I have visited a Buddhist monastery. It is full of people listening to prayers, meditating and making offerings.THE BIG SURPRISEWe don't drive that long today. Our destination for Camp 3 is Ar Toilbo. During a short break, we meet two riders collecting blueberries in the forest. They join us briefly and are offered airag (fermented mare's milk), which we had previously bought on a small farm. They chat with our Mongolian friends, which is the usual thing to do when you meet someone on the road. We set up our new camp by a small stream. We have to be very close to the spring because the water is freezing cold. As soon as we arrive, we lay out the traplines in the larch forest with secondary birch. Once again, we are optimistic that we will go home with a good catch. And indeed, we definitely make good catches. In this part of the forest, we detect not only the vole species Myodes rutilus but also the wood vole Apodemus peninsulae. We had never caught the latter before, but we catch them quite frequently here. But what is even more pleasing is that we caught a water shrew (Neomys fodiens) in one of our funnel traps by the stream after the very first night of trapping. But that was not to be the end of it. The next four nights we caught three more water shrews using the Sherman and Sheffle traps, which we had also set up along the stream and equipped with meat bait. This is a really good result.Normally, water shrews are extremely sensitive to stress and are often found dead in the trap, which was the case with two of them. The other two are still alive at the trap control and Lkhagva takes the unique opportunity to take photos of a live water shrew in its natural habitat for his new book. Lkhagva also makes an unusual discovery. The large and not very aerodynamic-looking water vole Microtus oeconomus is apparently very good at swimming, at least it attempts a creative self-rescue by jumping into the stream. And anyway, it seems that M. oeconomus is only found near the stream, because we don't find them anywhere else, but there are a lot of droppings on the bank, which are probably from this species. we decide to stay here longer than planned, as we make good catches and this is really a very nice spot. On the penultimate day before we leave, we visit the neighboring family, who can't even be seen from our camp. Of course, they saw us coming when we arrived and after a few days had us bring them milk and butter. That's how it is among the Mongols: White things are always given, because white things are always available. Of course, this refers to all the dairy products that are brought to travelers. The family lives in a ger and consists of the young parents and three children. During our visit, we meet one of the blueberry pickers again. This time he is there with his young son. As always, we are served suutei tsai and the typical Mongolian pastries and aaruul. They also give us a bottle of home-distilled Nermel-Arkhi made from cow's milk. And before we say goodbye, Toeh, the younger son, even lets me ride his horse. Every time we visit the local families, we also bring small gifts and they are always happy to receive them. We usually bring a few sweets for the children, tobacco and cigarillos for the man of the house and a nice cream for the woman. We also leave them the information booklet, translated into Mongolian, about the years of joint work between the Senckenberg Society and the National University of Mongolia, so that they can read again later about what research is being done and why.we are reluctant to leave this beautiful camp, but one last stop in Tunchel (Camp 4) still awaits us. When packing up and tidying up the tents on the morning of August 17, we had another surprise. A poisonous one! A Halys otter (Gloydius halys) was warming itself in the morning sun in my rucksack on the carrying straps. Luckily we notice it in time. It's quite hidden and it was only because of a movement on its part that I saw it at all.DEPARTUREWe continue our journey, soon leaving the Amarbayasgalant Monastery behind us and driving all day again through the Mongolian steppe on bumpy tracks. In the evening we camp for the night in Zuun Charaa. It is much drier here and not so cold. The incredible expanses that can be seen in the steppe never cease to amaze me. They are breathtaking moments. All the photos I took on the tour can't begin to capture this...Before we set off the next morning after breakfast, Rico spots a young Eremias argus (Mongol. Racerunner). It's always nice to discover a little visitor. My list of birds is growing, the list of small mammals is growing anyway and now slowly the list of reptiles is growing too. Hermann and Margit know the woman who manages it and it is also a good research site for Lkhagva. We are not far from the capital Ulaanbaatar and Lkhagva's biology students come here every year for an internship. Here we finally meet Martin, a forester who trains Mongolian foresters for the GIZ. He offers to take me and Rico with him when he is in the country for a few days. He is just about to leave when we arrive and drives back to Ulaanbaatar. We exchange numbers and stay in touch.Tunchel is a really pretty little town. The GIZ camp is a little way away from it. Our drivers want to make khorkhog for the farewell dinner and we have to get a sheep for it. I'm allowed to come along and choose one. We are on the road for at least two hours and ask residents for a sheep, but no one has one or can give one, so in the end we drive back to the nearest supermarket in town and buy three frozen legs and ribs; that's enough. I have to admit that I'm perhaps a little bit glad that I didn't have to choose a sheep...Of course, we didn't just come here to eat khorkhog. As usual, we record the small mammal fauna and set out the traps in forest areas and on the riverbank, resulting in eight Apodemus peninsulae and one Neomys fodiens. As we students are getting better and better at dissecting, the bellows are also looking better and better. At the end, the traditional Miss Bellows competition takes place, in which Tseenee deservedly wins. She receives a taxidermy set as a prize. Our last evening together with Khorkhog, singing and violin. It is a nice farewell, even if it is not an easy one. It was a wonderfully instructive three weeks in the north of Mongolia and I am grateful to have been there. Part 2 will follow shortly...