May 6 & May 7. Although I saw my first timber rattlesnake of the year during the warm spell a month ago, the inclement of second half of April kept them at home and subterranean.The warmth of the past two days have brought the troops to the surface, more than 100 each day. There has been very little movement away from the den. In fact, several emerged as I stood watching. Leaves are still quite small, but by next week I imagine much of the big den ought to be shaded over and the snake dispersing.
Additional stuff: 3 adult black rat snakes, one garter snake, 2 adult skinks. Dutchman's breeches & bloodroot are dying back. Columbine and rock saxifrage are blooming. The the waterfall is full as I've ever seen it. I don't usually pick up the peregrines until I'm farther down the cliffs, so I never heard them; but I did hear & see ravens, wood ducks, great blue herons, and a kingfisher; lots of singing blue-headed vireos and black and white warblers (which means I haven't gone deaf over the winter). No butterflies, yet. (The site usually has mourning cloak and red admirals by now.) Chubby queen bumblebees are out gathering pollen.
Although 75%+ of the TR were adults, I did have a couple of yearlings (born last fall)—one wedged into a traditional caprock crevice—and a few snakes I guessed were 2-year olds.
All the rain the past week made the talus loose and difficult (dangerous) to walk across.