Two general types of turtles live in the San Antonio River: spiny softshell turtles and slider turtles. There are probably more species of turtles along the river than I am aware of, but I know the majority of the softshell turtles are Guadalupe Spiny Softshells. I think I read somewhere that softshell turtles have the longest necks of all the turtles. The slider turtles are almost all, if not all, Red-eared Sliders.
On a sunny day, both types of turtles come out of the water, climbing up on the river bank and on rocks and even on top of each other to soak in the warmth of the sun. On other waterways, they will also be on logs, but given the lack of trees along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River at this early stage of the restoration process, there are no logs that have fallen in the river.
The following four photos were taken on my walk on Friday, March 15, 2013. The first three photos are Guadalupe Spiny Softshell Turtles and the fourth photo is a Red-eared Slider Turtle:
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