The elusive Spring Runners were out today! Decked in blue with small flashes of yellow (often called "maize"), they were spotted, briefly, resting at the top of a hill. This pack of males, numbering at about a dozen, had apparently finished their Hunka Hunka Burning Love dances, and were resting — deciding whether to dance again, or go home as no females had been seen and the sun was waning. Note that no Hunka Hunka Burning Love songs have been recorded, although there are numerous rumors about them, ranging from off-tune humming to staccato yelps.

The Spring Runners dance, as has been recorded in several different sources (see Nasser, et al., 1999), is a simple — but intense — sprint up a hill in the vicinity of Spring Runners females. This particular hill is one of the highest in Southeastern Michigan, so should be a popular mating spot. Unfortunately for these males, the females have not been seen this early in the season.

Here we see a particularly brilliant display (note the bare legs!) from a pale-skinned male:

Surprisingly, this flashy male left the hill soon after this photo was taken, with most of the rest of the herd. Instead, a dark-skinned male, fully-clothed and wearing a hat, stayed the longest, dancing up the hill well into the twilight.