This is a large den, as far as Western Diamondbacks go in central Arizona. It has about 40 individuals that I’ve counted so far. In the Spring, they are easier to see, since they spend more time staging to different areas of the den site and are generally more active. During ingress, even when conditions are near-perfect, they’re mostly stuffed into cracks and activity is limited to slowly revealing a coil or two to the sun. Regardless, it’s important to check on them during this time, as it helps confirm the actual sites and hierarchy of individuals that may be harder to understand when they are moving around all over the place.
