By Sherry F. Pruitt

A wildlife ecology professor at Arkansas State University took a class of students during spring break on what he called an economy trip for nine days to South Texas.

Dr. Jim Bednarz wanted his students to see firsthand some of the mammals and plants native to that part of the country, but only limited funds for a trip were available.

So, the nine students enrolled in the field ecology class boarded an ASU mini-bus in mid-March for an 18-hour trip to South Texas. The trip cost students about $50 each, plus meals.

Their first stop was the Elephant Wildlife Management Area in South Alpine. They spent two days in the Big Ben area looking for birds, mammals and reptiles. Some plant taxonomy class members collected plants.

"It was the first time in my life that students were looking at birds … at 6:30 a.m.," Bednarz said. "I wanted them to have an experience with western ecology wildlife."

The first critters they got excited about were the roadrunners, he said, but the feature creature at the management area was the desert big-horned sheep.

The group spent a good part of the day absorbing information from a biologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife, he added.

They also saw some prong-horned sheep, mule deer, jack rabbits and wild javelina (which look like a pig). The javelina is a hunted animal in Texas.

The students climbed the Chisos Mountains, and some made it to the top.

The highlight for students interested in plants was the big, blue bonnet, Bednarz said. They also were introduced to typical desert plants, such as century and yuca plants, prickly pear and cholla cacti.

"We took an ecological observational approach," the professor said.

However, student Ken Gillespie of Hendersonville, Tenn., the herpetologist for the group, had a permit to collect amphibians.

Each student had a special topic of focus, including the green kingfisher, white-tailed kite and the javelina.

Students looked for a diamond-backed rattlesnake, but were not fortunate enough to see one.

The group made several stops near McAllen, close to the United States-Mexico boarder.

The group visited nature centers and private bird sanctuaries, where the group saw 226 species of birds, which is "quite an exposure to diversity," Bednarz said. The Texas gekko was one amphibian the students saw there.

One of the most fascinating creatures the group saw was an osprey on a rocky outcrop of the Rio Grande River in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.

"It hovered 40 feet above us and dove down and splashed in the water, totally under, really close to the class. Then it flew up with a swordfish. It flew to Mexico and ate it in front of us," Bednarz said.

"We were out in nature, and we were seeing animals we don't ordinarily see in Arkansas," Gillespie said.

Troy Bader of Campbell, Mo., said the trip was valuable because ASU students were able to "see the diversity of new habitat that's different from here in Arkansas."

By having knowledge of "diversity and habitat, they're better trained ecologists and wildlife biologists," Bednarz said about his students.

sherry@jonesborosun.com