frozen-fire Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 It's that time of year again. Female turtles will haul themselves out of the water and make a sometimes long and dangerous journey to find suitable nesting locations. Unfortunately with the increasing development of roads, lots of habitat is destroyed in the process. Lots of turtles will seek warmer sandy areas to deposit eggs. Because roads are often situated higher and shoulders are composed of gravel and sand, they will heat up faster with more sunlight hitting them directly, making these locations favourable to the female turtles. I've already seen a few casualties. Please drive with caution as some will actually be on the road either crossing or in the process of laying eggs right on the edge between asphalt and the shoulder. They will come out usually during the evening and morning hours. These turtles that are at risk are the ones that do all the contribution to the population. Most common species to be seen in our area are the midland painted turtle, common snapping turtle, and the blanding's turtle. Here are some pics of some turtle sightings during my last shore fishing trip earlier this week before the cruddy weather hit us. This painted turtle had no where to deposit eggs, so just selected a grassy area right by a small road with cars zooming past. This male snapper was just cruising around looking for food while everyone was fishing.
Victor Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 Great pics frozen-fire. You seem to be a turtle expert, so what is the best bait for them? LOL just jk, good on you for posting this up!
frozen-fire Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Posted June 18, 2009 Victor, they are very opportunistic feeders, so any live bait or slow moving plastics will get munched on That snapper actually ate a small perch that was caught by my buddy! After the meal, it came up for air, looked at us, then returned to the murky depths!
[email protected] Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 Funny you posted this one about turtles. I was on the front lawn this morning and there was a big snapper walking across the grass. It appears that it was heading for an old pile of bark and scrap wood that I had piled up. Would she be laying her eggs in that? Mike
youngvedder Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 great pics! i dont know how many times ive pulled over to get these guys off the road safely.... cheers, Yv
frozen-fire Posted June 18, 2009 Author Report Posted June 18, 2009 Funny you posted this one about turtles. I was on the front lawn this morning and there was a big snapper walking across the grass. It appears that it was heading for an old pile of bark and scrap wood that I had piled up. Would she be laying her eggs in that? Mike Possible, but most likely not. She would want soil. They will walk through many types of terrain and will use their hind legs to "feel" for suitable spots with ideal temperatures.
camillj Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 Yep very true ... saw a monstor snapper crossing the 4th fairway at Blue Springs on friday .... just before I got a HOLE IN ONE on the 5th !
bbog Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 great pics! i dont know how many times ive pulled over to get these guys off the road safely.... cheers, Yv Just be aware that a large snapper can do a lot of damage, including remove several fingers if given the chance. The safest method to move a snapper is to grab it around the base of the tail and carry it (away from your body) and relocate as quickly as possible. Do not lift by any location on the shell since it will get you with the powerful jaws or sharp claws. You might be surprised how far they can extend their necks when they want to take a chunk out of you!
Whitespinnerbait Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 The other day ,,, Came across this female who just finished laying along the side of the road...
musky66 Posted June 18, 2009 Report Posted June 18, 2009 Saw one laying the other morning on the gravel shoulder of a park road in Newmarket, reports of another laying in playground sand.
frozen-fire Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Posted June 19, 2009 Hmm...seems like most of the ones spotted thus far are snapping turtles. No one has seen any other species?
bigugli Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 Hmm...seems like most of the ones spotted thus far are snapping turtles. No one has seen any other species? Saw this one sunning itself a couple of days back.
frozen-fire Posted June 19, 2009 Author Report Posted June 19, 2009 nice... a map turtle...not too common around here.
4thgen Posted June 19, 2009 Report Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) This snapper was laying eggs about 10 feet from my front door yesterday! The nest has since been covered with a wire cage to stop raccoons from getting at it. So far I've only found snappers this year, but last year I found a couple of maps and a Blanding's. Edited June 19, 2009 by 4thgen
ch312 Posted June 20, 2009 Report Posted June 20, 2009 mmmm....fried snapping turtle. you guys are making my mouth water
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