Pic 01: From "Roger's Den," I place I first found back in 1998. I thought the den had died out, but was pleased to see this pairing on 24 March.
There's much more to report. In good time, it will be reported.
Best to all, roger
Pic 02 and 03: A female and male atrox from our den AD1. At the time these images were taken, the pair was roughly 3 meters apart. But by the end of the day (25 March 2012), the pair had gathered together under a thick clump of bursage. The male was chin rubbing on the females' flank. It was an impossible photo to take without disturbing the pair, so I stored that one in my memory.
Pic 04: Our most happening den on the plot this year was AD7. There were as many as six atrox visible in the crevice here this winter. On this day, we found an unknown female out. She tried to spook and go back in, but look who is blocking her! There were actually three females in this crevice, not to mention a plug of males jammed in this tight upper crevice.
Pic 05: Last year in April, a group of us found this den (AD8) active--5 males and a female. On 6 April, I saw only this pair.
Pic 06: The female under the rock in this image is CA87--an animal under watch for seven years now. The male is likely one that has dogged her since last October. He followed her into AD7 last fall, and is still with her on this day. I sometimes feel sorry for our girls--this is one big, bad, strong male. He will be hard for her to dodge.
Pic 07 and 08: A vigorous courtship event between female CA133 and an unknown male.
She fled from him three times, but each time he caught her. He was swirling all around her, but she would not yield. Like the girl in image 06, CA133 has been dogged by this male since 25 March. He was still bothering her the day after this image was taken.
There's much more to report. In good time, it will be reported.
Best to all, roger