Why Did the Snapper Cross the Road?

… to get back to the lake!

This beauty was crossing Parker Road in Sutton this afternoon headed down the bank to the area just after the dam between Manchaug and Stevens Ponds. I suspect this is a female who has laid her eggs in the lawn of the first home on the left as you are heading to the village of Manchaug. The previous owner was a friend who would call us each year to watch the young snappers emerge from the sand at the edge of the lawn and run down her driveway heading for water.

If you read your latest issue of Massachusetts Wildlife you would know that “snappers rarely leave the water except to lay their eggs or to move between wetlands.” The article reports the findings of a recent study conducted in Grafton, Massachusetts on turtle road mortality.

Click the title of this post to be linked to www.masswildlife.org. It is a great publication – beautiful photographs and interesting articles – also one of the editors is a regular here at Manchaug Pond. My husband met him one sunny winter day ice fishing.