by Lowell Washburn Iowa turtles are on the move. It happens every summer as a variety of normally aquatic species such as snappers, painteds, and Blanding's turtles temporarily forsake the murky depths of local ponds and marshes to march overland across crop fields, parking lots, and roadways. Most are females in search of adequate nesting grounds. For turtles, that means sun drenched areas of coarse sand where females can dig holes and deposit their eggs.
Although the annual ritual is rarely observed by humans, there are exceptions. A classic example occurred earlier this week at Clear Lake when a 25-plus-pound female snapping turtle became a literal traffic stopper. Upon leaving the muddy environs of the lake's Miller's Bay Marsh, the huge stegosaurus-tailed reptile immediately began excavating a large nest crater along the shoulder of the busy residential South Shore Drive blacktop. As soon as the activity was complete the old Mossy Back began filling the hole with its clutch of white, ping-pong-ball-sized eggs.
"I first noticed the turtle yesterday afternoon, and I think she was already scouting a place to lay her eggs," said Frank Clark, a South Shore resident who lives directly across the road from Miller's Bay.
"I'm pretty sure it had to be the same turtle; not many snappers get to be that big anymore," Clark added.
As soon as the turtle reached the blacktop's shoulder, she began emitting a "huge quantity of fluid," said Clark. Before long, the hard packed gravel shoulder had become soft and muddy. The snapper then used the heavy claws of her rear feet to begin excavating the crater.
"It was just amazing to watch," said Clark. "As soon as the hole was finished, she began dropping eggs. She was laying them two at time about two or three minutes apart. The whole process was just fascinating."
Other Clear Lake residents agreed with Clark's assessment. Before long, the nesting turtle had attracted a significant crowd of interested passer-bys. And as the cell phone telegraph spread the word, more and more residents traveled to witness the event.
After filling the hole with more than a dozen huge eggs, the snapper surprised onlookers by "softening the earth" and then starting a second cavity just a foot or so farther down the road. After boring a full 10 inches into the packed hardpan, the reptile immediately began to fill its second nest ---- this time depositing more than 20 shiny eggs.
Masters of disaster, snapping turtles bite freely when threatened and are known to possess one of the vilest temperaments to be found anywhere in the outdoors. But in this particular case, the huge snapper's only interest was in accomplishing the task at hand. Oblivious to the growing crowd of wildlife watchers, she never emitted so much as a warning hiss ---- even when people moved uncomfortably close to obtain souvenir photos.
"I don't know exactly how many different people have been by to see this, but it's been a lot," said Clark. "I've seen a lot of sun [painted] turtles come out of the marsh to lay eggs, but this is the first time I've seen a snapping turtle come up here. It's unusual, and she's definitely a big one."
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This is an interesting video of a snapper laying eggs - though not the North Iowa snapper from this blog post.
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