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00:00:01,066 --> 00:00:02,433
(Rudy) 
Hu 
rricane Hugo ravaged

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South Carolina in 1989, and 
Bu 
lls Island just off the coast

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was one of the most 
he 
avily damaged areas.

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Since Hugo, nature's healing 
pr 
ocess has been at work.

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00:00:13,633 --> 00:00:17,633
Join us as we revisit Bulls 
Is 
land next on "NatureScene."

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00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:22,466
A production of...

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"NatureScene" is made 
possible in part by a grant

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from Santee Cooper, where 
protection and improvement

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00:00:31,633 --> 00:00:33,666
of our environment are 
equal in importance

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00:00:33,666 --> 00:00:35,633
to providing 
electric energy.

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Additional funding 
is provided by

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the Corporation for 
Public Broadcasting,

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and by viewers 
like you,

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members of the ETV Endowment 
of South Carolina.

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♪

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Hello, and welcome to 
"NatureScene" at Bulls Island,

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just north of Charleston, 
South Carolina.

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This barrier island was 
ravaged by a hurricane

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00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,533
in September 
of 1989.

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I'm Jim Welch with naturalist 
Rudy Mancke, and we're back

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on the island to see how nature 
is beginning to heal itself.

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Yeah, and rebound 
a little bit.

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This will be very, very 
interesting, to take a look

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at how barrier islands 
act as barriers

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between the mainland and 
the storms that come in.

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Hurricane Hugo really 
changed this place,

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and yet now you 
see that nature

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is coming back 
slowly but surely.

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I like 
that.

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That's typical of 
barrier islands.

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This is not the first hurricane, 
and it won't be the last.

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Nature rebounds, 
and you don't have

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to look very far 
to see that, Jim.

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You've had a standing 
water impoundment here

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that slowly but surely, 
even without the storm,

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is beginning 
to fill in.

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(Jim) 
Cattails, of course,

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will come in 
without hurricanes.

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(Rudy) 
Stem underground

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and then sending 
up those leaves

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you see blowing in 
the breeze a little bit.

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It is an 
interesting day

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with a breeze blowing 
through the cattails.

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That's one of those 
changes that occurred.

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A lot of the standing water 
impoundments here were modified

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by vegetation 
falling in.

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00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:05,900
(Jim) 
Rudy, look, a typical animal

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here on the island, a 
small, or baby, alligator.

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00:03:08,166 --> 00:03:09,500
(Rudy) 
Young alligators.

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00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:12,333
That's one of those animals 
that rode out the storm well.

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Probably last 
year's young.

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Look at the markings, very, 
very clear on the back

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of those 
little animals.

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Feeding on any kind 
of animal in the water.

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They're good at recycling 
fish and small snakes

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or amphibians, whatever 
they can come up with.

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Look at him move 
through the water.

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(Jim) 
They'll stay close to the mother

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for a year -- maybe one, 
two or three years even.

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(Rudy) 
And go out on their own.

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Look at the way 
he's swimming.

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See the way the tail 
does all the pushing

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and legs come 
down by the side.

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That's an animal that's typical, 
and on a day that's warming up,

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you would expect them 
to be out sunning.

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(Jim) 
What are the trees

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coming in close up 
to the edge here?

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(Rudy) 
One of the odd ones

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to me is a 
non-native one.

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00:03:53,233 --> 00:03:56,900
After Hugo, it's beginning to 
move out into these open areas.

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Common name for that 
is popcorn tree

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because the fruit 
looks like popcorn,

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but another name is 
Chinese tallow tree.

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00:04:03,900 --> 00:04:05,566
(Jim) 
It's an exotic.

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(Rudy) 
Brought in and escaped.

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00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:09,633
I'm afraid sometimes when 
the canopy is knocked down

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00:04:09,633 --> 00:04:11,233
and the sunlight 
comes in,

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exotic species take over 
where native ones used to be.

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Listen to 
this bird.

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Look up there, perched, northern 
mockingbird up in the top.

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00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,300
I heard some sounds 
there behind us.

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See him sitting there, 
yelling his head off.

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(Jim) 
So many calls to listen to

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from the 
mocker.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah, mimicking other birds.

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[bird chirping]

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(Rudy) 
One other bird you would expect

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00:04:33,366 --> 00:04:35,866
-- it's the perfect place 
for it, marshes, or wherever

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-- red-winged 
blackbird's nest.

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There's a male 
higher up, calling,

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staking out a little 
bit of a territory.

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This is the time of year 
when nests are built --

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(Jim) 
Red patches on there.

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(Rudy) 
-- and females are attracted.

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Yeah, 
red epaulet.

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00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:50,966
Listen to 
that call.

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That's an interesting 
one and so typical.

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[bird chirping]

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(Rudy) 
In a place like this

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you look 
high and low.

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I see a lot of flowers now, 
fresh flowers they look like,

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on one of the 
blackberries.

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00:05:02,366 --> 00:05:05,166
Usually that low growing 
one is called dewberry.

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00:05:05,166 --> 00:05:07,966
A lot of nectar and pollen 
there, and look what's coming.

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(Jim) 
Three or four different...

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(Rudy) 
Insects galore.

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(Jim) 
One of the butterflies.

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(Rudy) 
American painted lady.

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You can see the eyespots 
under the hind wing there.

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00:05:17,833 --> 00:05:20,833
Long antennae, and she's 
just taking that proboscis,

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that tongue-like proboscis, and 
going from flower to flower,

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getting a little 
nectar here and there.

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That's energy for 
the little butterfly.

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One of the moths, eight-spotted 
forester moth coming in,

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the black with that yellow, 
and white spots on it.

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I see a pearl crescent over 
there on the other side.

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(Jim) 
Very tiny.

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(Rudy) 
Then bumblebees galore.

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You can 
expect that.

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The queen bumblebee's probably 
coming to collect pollen

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to eventually take back 
and feed the young.

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(Jim) 
All using the dewberry.

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(Rudy) 
A lot of activity,

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and again we talk 
about recycling.

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That's a good example 
of one thing changing

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into something 
else.

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Speaking of changes, 
turn around for a moment

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because when you turn around 
and look on the other side

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of this impoundment, I see 
a lot of green out there.

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It is nice and green in 
the spring of the year,

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but nothing like it 
was before the storm.

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You remember that there 
was a canopy there.

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Tall pine trees used 
to cover this place.

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Now they're gone, and 
that's changed everything

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that they used 
to shade out.

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We'll be able to see that 
clearly as we get started.

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♪

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(Jim) 
Five thousand acres

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on the island and 16 
miles of roads for walking

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and getting close to these 
damaged woods all around us.

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(Rudy) 
Yeah, they have been

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damaged and 
changed.

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Slowly, again, as we 
say, making a return.

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Sandy soils here now, 
typical of barrier islands,

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really material that used to be 
farther up in South Carolina

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that was washed 
and dumped here.

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00:06:50,633 --> 00:06:52,633
There's one 
of the plants

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that stabilizes 
those piles of sand.

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(Jim) 
Magnolia.

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(Rudy) 
Southern magnolia,

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00:06:57,366 --> 00:06:58,633
and look 
at it.

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That was a canopy tree, 
but it's standing alone now.

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Still alive, barely, at 
least one part of it's alive.

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You can see those 
large leaves.

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Sometimes that's called 
bull bay, that tree.

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Kind of interesting 
connection with this part

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00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:15,533
of the world and some 
of the names here.

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(Jim) 
Well, this was once

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00:07:17,266 --> 00:07:18,966
a magnificent 
maritime forest.

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That tree, though, is now 
becoming woodpecker --

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(Rudy) 
Work.

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00:07:21,966 --> 00:07:22,966
(Jim) 
-- work, yeah.

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(Rudy) 
Look at the woodpecker working,

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because there were 
beetles in there.

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That side of the 
tree was killed.

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00:07:28,266 --> 00:07:29,766
Beetle larvae 
got in there.

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00:07:29,766 --> 00:07:32,266
The woodpeckers came and began 
to peck, peck, peck away

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00:07:32,266 --> 00:07:34,533
and change beetle, which 
used to be magnolia tree,

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into 
woodpecker.

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Look right here, 
a red-bellied woodpecker.

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00:07:39,133 --> 00:07:40,300
(Jim) 
Oh, and look

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00:07:40,300 --> 00:07:42,300
at the blush of 
red on the belly.

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(Rudy) 
There's one of the few times

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00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:46,566
you've ever seen red on 
a red-bellied woodpecker.

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That is neat, 
up at the top.

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You see skeletons 
of trees out there.

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Great blue heron 
nest, look at this,

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00:07:52,566 --> 00:07:55,333
in one of those dead -- 
I guess that's a pine.

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00:07:55,333 --> 00:07:56,900
(Jim) 
Not much of a nest,

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00:07:56,900 --> 00:07:58,633
but that's 
what they do.

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00:07:58,633 --> 00:08:00,600
(Rudy) 
Look at that long-legged bird.

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00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,633
Gangly as it is, taking 
those pretty big sticks, see,

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00:08:03,633 --> 00:08:06,633
and balancing them up there, 
and now standing on the nest.

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00:08:06,633 --> 00:08:09,633
It is amazing when you see that, 
but, again, things get changed.

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Nature doesn't throw up 
her hands and walk away.

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00:08:12,566 --> 00:08:15,600
Things begin to come 
back, slowly but surely.

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Plants that are here -- 
look right over to the side.

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00:08:18,433 --> 00:08:21,033
Here's the state tree of 
South Carolina and Florida,

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00:08:21,033 --> 00:08:22,166
the palmetto.

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00:08:22,166 --> 00:08:25,566
Cabbage palmetto is a 
good common name for it.

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00:08:25,566 --> 00:08:28,233
One member of the palm 
family that puts up

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00:08:28,233 --> 00:08:29,966
fairly well 
with high wind.

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00:08:29,966 --> 00:08:31,633
(Jim) 
They may have withstood Hugo

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00:08:31,633 --> 00:08:33,633
better than the rest 
of the vegetation.

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00:08:33,633 --> 00:08:35,633
(Rudy) 
Yeah, and a few live oaks

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00:08:35,633 --> 00:08:37,633
out there that 
are surviving.

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00:08:37,633 --> 00:08:39,566
The biggest ones, 
many are gone.

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00:08:39,566 --> 00:08:41,566
I see some red bays 
down there too.

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00:08:41,566 --> 00:08:44,400
There's an understory tree 
you would expect to see here.

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00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,200
(Jim) 
Look, there's

201
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,800
the state of South Carolina's 
game bird, wild turkey.

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00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,466
(Rudy) 
Two of them, with beards.

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00:08:52,466 --> 00:08:55,133
Look at the beards on 
the front of those things.

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00:08:55,133 --> 00:08:57,133
Strolling away, they're 
kind of wary of us.

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00:08:57,133 --> 00:08:58,633
They love open 
areas like this.

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00:08:58,633 --> 00:09:02,166
I see a plant that's doing 
really nicely here too,

207
00:09:02,166 --> 00:09:04,166
that American holly 
with fruit on it.

208
00:09:04,166 --> 00:09:06,500
Again, used to be 
shaded a little bit more

209
00:09:06,500 --> 00:09:09,300
but seems to enjoy the sunlight 
once the canopy was opened.

210
00:09:09,300 --> 00:09:11,300
There's another 
turkey, bigger one.

211
00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:14,166
See him going into what looks 
like dog fennel down there?

212
00:09:14,166 --> 00:09:16,300
That is a big animal, 
really neat.

213
00:09:16,300 --> 00:09:19,800
And vines -- look around here, 
Jim, vines all over the place.

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00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,466
When these trees went down, 
that gave trellises almost

215
00:09:22,466 --> 00:09:23,800
for these 
vines.

216
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,466
They climb up on it, they get 
all the sunlight they ever need,

217
00:09:27,466 --> 00:09:29,633
and now they've 
begun to dominate.

218
00:09:29,633 --> 00:09:31,633
Great variety of 
viny species here.

219
00:09:31,633 --> 00:09:34,633
One of them has the state 
flower of South Carolina on it.

220
00:09:34,633 --> 00:09:35,966
(Jim) 
Yellow jessamine.

221
00:09:35,966 --> 00:09:37,633
(Rudy) 
Yellow jessamine,

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00:09:37,633 --> 00:09:39,566
I love 
that flower.

223
00:09:39,566 --> 00:09:41,800
Very, very beautiful 
flower used in perfumes,

224
00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,300
but that is a poisonous 
plant, not to the touch,

225
00:09:44,300 --> 00:09:46,600
but you wouldn't want 
to nibble on that.

226
00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,133
That's a species, now, 
that begins to dominate,

227
00:09:49,133 --> 00:09:52,133
coming out on plants that 
had fallen by the way.

228
00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:53,633
(Jim) 
April's a great time

229
00:09:53,633 --> 00:09:55,633
to visit 
Bulls Island.

230
00:09:55,633 --> 00:09:57,633
The flowers 
are in bloom.

231
00:09:57,633 --> 00:09:59,633
There's 
toadflax.

232
00:09:59,633 --> 00:10:01,966
(Rudy) 
Toadflax is a common one

233
00:10:01,966 --> 00:10:03,966
in open areas, 
isn't it?

234
00:10:03,966 --> 00:10:06,233
It's along the road here, 
but it's farther off

235
00:10:06,233 --> 00:10:08,366
the road because now 
the canopy is gone.

236
00:10:08,366 --> 00:10:10,966
Certain plants and animals 
gained a great deal from Hugo.

237
00:10:10,966 --> 00:10:12,633
Others lost 
a great deal,

238
00:10:12,633 --> 00:10:15,633
but it's great in the 
spring to see that renewal.

239
00:10:15,633 --> 00:10:17,566
♪

240
00:10:17,566 --> 00:10:19,233
(Rudy) 
Jim, you remember when

241
00:10:19,233 --> 00:10:22,566
we visited Bulls Island right 
before Hurricane Hugo had hit,

242
00:10:22,566 --> 00:10:24,566
before we even 
knew it was coming.

243
00:10:24,566 --> 00:10:27,666
This was a beautiful area 
with tall canopy, live oaks,

244
00:10:27,666 --> 00:10:34,800
palmettos, loblolly pines, 
shaded, so nice, so cool.

245
00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,800
Then Hugo came, and our visit 
right after Hurricane Hugo,

246
00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:40,633
the same place 
was wide open.

247
00:10:40,633 --> 00:10:41,966
Do you 
remember?

248
00:10:41,966 --> 00:10:43,933
(Jim) 
Totally devastated,

249
00:10:43,933 --> 00:10:46,366
stripped bare, big oaks, 
and palmettos, pines.

250
00:10:46,366 --> 00:10:48,333
(Rudy) 
Brown, very little green,

251
00:10:48,333 --> 00:10:51,300
sunlight coming in 
and very, very warm.

252
00:10:51,300 --> 00:10:56,733
No canopy basically left at 
all, and then right now you see

253
00:10:56,733 --> 00:10:59,766
basically the same thing, except 
you've got green coming back.

254
00:10:59,766 --> 00:11:01,100
(Jim) 
Wounds are healing

255
00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:02,500
very, 
very slowly.

256
00:11:02,500 --> 00:11:03,566
(Rudy) 
Slowly but surely.

257
00:11:03,566 --> 00:11:07,166
Big live oak there with 
the green coming on,

258
00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:09,700
still showing the effects 
of the storm, but you see

259
00:11:09,700 --> 00:11:12,500
lots of things coming up 
around, and I love that green.

260
00:11:12,500 --> 00:11:14,600
Right over here, 
this little low area,

261
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,700
see the little shell 
midden, basically, there.

262
00:11:16,700 --> 00:11:19,933
Piles of shells left by Native 
Americans that were living

263
00:11:19,933 --> 00:11:23,966
on this island and feeding 
on a lot of the soft animals

264
00:11:23,966 --> 00:11:25,700
that were 
in those shells.

265
00:11:25,700 --> 00:11:27,300
(Jim) 
Coming from New England,

266
00:11:27,300 --> 00:11:29,300
that's a good 
flower to see for me

267
00:11:29,300 --> 00:11:31,133
because it's one of 
my mother's favorites.

268
00:11:31,133 --> 00:11:32,633
One of the 
bluets.

269
00:11:32,633 --> 00:11:34,466
(Rudy) 
One of the bluets,

270
00:11:34,466 --> 00:11:37,300
but it's a bluet that's not 
blue in color; it's white.

271
00:11:37,300 --> 00:11:40,300
Trailing bluet is one of 
the common names for it

272
00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:42,433
because the leaves are 
close to the ground,

273
00:11:42,433 --> 00:11:45,266
and it is trailing, but I 
like to call it innocence.

274
00:11:45,266 --> 00:11:47,200
That's another 
common name,

275
00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:49,766
but four parts 
to the flower.

276
00:11:49,766 --> 00:11:52,100
That's a typical 
way to identify that

277
00:11:52,100 --> 00:11:54,233
and other members 
of the bluet family.

278
00:11:54,233 --> 00:11:56,433
Look right 
down here.

279
00:11:56,433 --> 00:11:59,166
Skipper, one of the largest 
skippers in the United States.

280
00:11:59,166 --> 00:12:02,066
Common name for that 
is the yucca skipper

281
00:12:02,066 --> 00:12:06,300
because the skipper lays eggs 
exclusively on yucca plants,

282
00:12:06,300 --> 00:12:09,300
which are scattered around on 
barrier islands and elsewhere.

283
00:12:09,300 --> 00:12:10,633
That's a 
large one.

284
00:12:10,633 --> 00:12:13,766
Look at the abdomen on that, 
really big, so that's a female,

285
00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:16,166
and I'm sure very soon 
she'll be laying eggs

286
00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:18,166
on the leaves of 
yucca down the way.

287
00:12:18,166 --> 00:12:20,166
That's one you 
don't see often,

288
00:12:20,166 --> 00:12:21,933
so it's interesting 
to find it here.

289
00:12:21,933 --> 00:12:23,933
I see a few plants 
coming in there

290
00:12:23,933 --> 00:12:27,600
that are typical of this area, 
and, again, new green on it.

291
00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:32,266
Aralia spinosa  is that one, 
the devil's walking stick.

292
00:12:32,266 --> 00:12:33,433
(Jim) 
A good name.

293
00:12:33,433 --> 00:12:35,633
That would cut your 
hand to grab ahold.

294
00:12:35,633 --> 00:12:37,200
(Rudy) 
It protects that plant,

295
00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,500
keeps animals from stealing a 
lot of food and water from it.

296
00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:42,500
Again, out here you're 
struggling to survive.

297
00:12:42,500 --> 00:12:44,033
You want to 
protect yourself.

298
00:12:44,033 --> 00:12:46,033
I see another one 
with stickers on it.

299
00:12:46,033 --> 00:12:48,366
Prickly ash is the 
common name for that one.

300
00:12:48,366 --> 00:12:51,633
Compound leaves and prickles 
on the leaves and on the stem.

301
00:12:51,633 --> 00:12:54,100
Toothache tree is another 
name for that one.

302
00:12:54,100 --> 00:12:57,700
It actually can deaden 
the pain of a toothache.

303
00:12:57,700 --> 00:13:00,100
Buckthorn, 
there's another one.

304
00:13:00,100 --> 00:13:04,166
Three little plants growing up 
here, not in the shade anymore,

305
00:13:04,166 --> 00:13:06,566
and yet they're still 
surviving in the open sunlight.

306
00:13:06,566 --> 00:13:08,233
(Jim) 
Totally different look

307
00:13:08,233 --> 00:13:10,800
from what it was five 
and a half years ago.

308
00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:12,600
(Rudy) 
Yeah, things are coming back.

309
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:14,466
Look right here 
in the shade.

310
00:13:14,466 --> 00:13:16,133
Eastern cottonmouth, 
look at him.

311
00:13:16,133 --> 00:13:16,800
(Jim) 
Wow!

312
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:17,966
That thick body.

313
00:13:17,966 --> 00:13:19,466
(Rudy) 
Look at the head too.

314
00:13:19,466 --> 00:13:20,466
(Jim) 
Yeah.

315
00:13:20,466 --> 00:13:21,466
(Rudy) 
Broad head,

316
00:13:21,466 --> 00:13:24,466
flat sides on it -- 
I mean the top is flat --

317
00:13:24,466 --> 00:13:26,466
and it drops right 
off on the sides.

318
00:13:26,466 --> 00:13:28,133
It's hard to 
see the eye,

319
00:13:28,133 --> 00:13:30,633
but there's the eye 
with an elliptical pupil.

320
00:13:30,633 --> 00:13:32,966
One of the pit vipers, 
the only poisonous snake

321
00:13:32,966 --> 00:13:35,300
you would expect to see 
out on Bulls Island.

322
00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:36,800
(Jim) 
No rattlesnakes on the island,

323
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,133
but there are cottonmouths 
as we evidence right here.

324
00:13:39,133 --> 00:13:40,300
(Rudy) 
Oh, yeah.

325
00:13:40,300 --> 00:13:42,633
Fairly common, they love 
a little extra water,

326
00:13:42,633 --> 00:13:44,466
especially close to 
those impoundments.

327
00:13:44,466 --> 00:13:47,133
That snake doesn't seem 
to be bothered by us,

328
00:13:47,133 --> 00:13:48,600
but it knows 
we're here.

329
00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:49,700
It's watching 
us carefully,

330
00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:51,600
and that pit's sensitive 
to temperature changes.

331
00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,633
That lets him 
know we're here.

332
00:13:53,633 --> 00:13:55,633
Look at the tongue 
flickering out.

333
00:13:55,633 --> 00:13:57,300
That picks up 
odor particles.

334
00:13:57,300 --> 00:14:00,266
That lets him know there's a 
human being in front of him,

335
00:14:00,266 --> 00:14:02,300
and notice he's 
not approaching us.

336
00:14:02,300 --> 00:14:05,466
He won't have anything to do 
with anything too big to eat.

337
00:14:05,466 --> 00:14:06,533
Oh, my goodness.

338
00:14:06,533 --> 00:14:07,866
(Jim) 
Osprey!

339
00:14:07,866 --> 00:14:09,166
(Rudy) 
Right here.

340
00:14:09,166 --> 00:14:11,166
Osprey nest in one 
of those dead trees.

341
00:14:11,166 --> 00:14:14,200
Canopy gone, leftover 
part of that tree there,

342
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:16,200
and the osprey 
has built a nest.

343
00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:17,533
Flying around, 
look at that.

344
00:14:17,533 --> 00:14:18,866
(Jim) 
Definitely osprey nest?

345
00:14:18,866 --> 00:14:20,000
(Rudy) 
Absolutely.

346
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,233
We see the bird 
flying toward the nest,

347
00:14:22,233 --> 00:14:24,900
and I love the way they 
play with the wind.

348
00:14:24,900 --> 00:14:27,066
They can actually 
hover over the nest.

349
00:14:27,066 --> 00:14:30,333
Wiggling the wings, 
dropping down on the nest.

350
00:14:30,333 --> 00:14:33,600
This time of the year there 
should be eggs in that nest,

351
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:39,033
usually two to four 
eggs for that bird.

352
00:14:39,033 --> 00:14:41,300
(Jim) 
The fish hawk it's called.

353
00:14:41,300 --> 00:14:43,233
(Rudy) 
Fish hawk is a good name.

354
00:14:43,233 --> 00:14:45,933
Did you know that species 
is found on every continent

355
00:14:45,933 --> 00:14:47,266
except 
Antarctica?

356
00:14:47,266 --> 00:14:48,600
The same 
species.

357
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,933
Hugo, when it came in, wiped 
out all of the osprey nests,

358
00:14:51,933 --> 00:14:54,633
but what happened 
the next year?

359
00:14:54,633 --> 00:14:57,633
They were all rebuilt, and 
now they're nesting up there.

360
00:14:57,633 --> 00:15:00,100
That is a 
spectacular bird.

361
00:15:00,100 --> 00:15:01,866
Oh, wow, 
what a flyer.

362
00:15:01,866 --> 00:15:03,466
(Jim) 
Remember a few days ago,

363
00:15:03,466 --> 00:15:05,866
the national symbol we 
saw close by, the eagle.

364
00:15:05,866 --> 00:15:07,633
(Rudy) 
Bald eagles are on this refuge.

365
00:15:07,633 --> 00:15:09,966
We found a nest just 
off the refuge site,

366
00:15:09,966 --> 00:15:12,133
and you remember 
the adults there.

367
00:15:12,133 --> 00:15:15,033
White head, white 
tail on that thing.

368
00:15:15,033 --> 00:15:18,033
Beautiful bird, wonderful bird 
coming in to feed the youngster,

369
00:15:18,033 --> 00:15:21,033
and then you remember we 
actually did get a chance

370
00:15:21,033 --> 00:15:24,033
to see the immature bird, 
much darker than the adults.

371
00:15:24,033 --> 00:15:26,266
See that immature bald 
eagle flapping his wings

372
00:15:26,266 --> 00:15:27,600
or moving 
his wings.

373
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:29,600
He's basically 
fledged now.

374
00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,600
He's left the nest, coming 
back every now and then,

375
00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,466
but really is able to go 
pretty much on his own.

376
00:15:35,466 --> 00:15:37,300
(Jim) 
A good chance to compare

377
00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:39,466
the markings from the 
osprey to the eagle.

378
00:15:39,466 --> 00:15:41,800
(Rudy) 
Yeah, both build a large nest.

379
00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,300
Both have a lot 
of white on them,

380
00:15:44,300 --> 00:15:47,133
but the osprey is whiter 
than that bald eagle was.

381
00:15:47,133 --> 00:15:49,966
That is a neat animal and, 
again, using this refuge.

382
00:15:49,966 --> 00:15:52,800
If it wasn't for the 
refuge, areas like this,

383
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,200
that animal 
would not survive.

384
00:15:55,200 --> 00:16:01,733
♪

385
00:16:01,733 --> 00:16:03,800
(Jim) 
Bulls Island became part

386
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:08,833
of Cape Romain National 
Wildlife Refuge in 1936,

387
00:16:08,833 --> 00:16:11,300
and the Civilian 
Conservation Corps came in,

388
00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:12,700
built impoundments, 
some roads,

389
00:16:12,700 --> 00:16:15,700
and added to the dike system 
throughout the island.

390
00:16:15,700 --> 00:16:17,700
(Rudy) 
The CCC did so much good work

391
00:16:17,700 --> 00:16:19,766
all over the 
United States,

392
00:16:19,766 --> 00:16:22,833
and these dikes and roads are 
wonderful because they give you

393
00:16:22,833 --> 00:16:25,833
a chance to see some of the 
variety of habitats here.

394
00:16:25,833 --> 00:16:28,200
The dike that 
we're on separating

395
00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,800
the good, old salt marsh over 
here from freshwater marsh.

396
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,133
Look at the salt marsh 
grasses out there.

397
00:16:33,133 --> 00:16:34,633
(Jim) 
Is that cord grass?

398
00:16:34,633 --> 00:16:35,966
(Rudy) 
Cord grass

399
00:16:35,966 --> 00:16:38,633
from here to eternity, 
just lots and lots of it

400
00:16:38,633 --> 00:16:40,566
going off 
in the distance.

401
00:16:40,566 --> 00:16:43,500
That little plant puts up with 
high salinity in the water.

402
00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:45,633
Many other plants could 
not survive out there,

403
00:16:45,633 --> 00:16:46,900
but that one 
dominates.

404
00:16:46,900 --> 00:16:48,233
(Jim) 
The dike separates it

405
00:16:48,233 --> 00:16:50,233
from over here, 
fresh water.

406
00:16:50,233 --> 00:16:51,900
(Rudy) 
The dike separates it

407
00:16:51,900 --> 00:16:53,633
from good, old 
fresh water,

408
00:16:53,633 --> 00:16:56,133
and you can see the difference 
here very, very clearly,

409
00:16:56,133 --> 00:16:58,900
with different plants on one 
side as opposed to the other.

410
00:16:58,900 --> 00:17:00,366
Remember when Hurricane 
Hugo came through?

411
00:17:00,366 --> 00:17:03,500
Not far down from us, there 
was a breach in this dike,

412
00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,166
and you can imagine 
then that salt water

413
00:17:06,166 --> 00:17:09,766
intruded on the fresh 
water and vice versa.

414
00:17:09,766 --> 00:17:11,900
Again, they have 
fixed that back.

415
00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:14,900
They've reclaimed this dike, 
and it took a while, I'm sure,

416
00:17:14,900 --> 00:17:17,700
for that fresh water to 
really lose that salinity,

417
00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:20,266
but look at it today 
and what it attracts.

418
00:17:20,266 --> 00:17:23,266
These freshwater impoundments 
are perfect places for birds.

419
00:17:23,266 --> 00:17:25,266
(Jim) 
Animals are coming back,

420
00:17:25,266 --> 00:17:27,300
and that little island 
attracted the yellowlegs.

421
00:17:27,300 --> 00:17:29,300
(Rudy) 
Yellowlegs all over the place.

422
00:17:29,300 --> 00:17:31,300
I guess it gives 
them a feeling

423
00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:33,500
that they're out of 
danger and the water.

424
00:17:33,500 --> 00:17:35,833
There are other shorebirds 
resting up there.

425
00:17:35,833 --> 00:17:37,633
You see the way 
sometimes they're up

426
00:17:37,633 --> 00:17:39,133
and sometimes they 
flatten down even.

427
00:17:39,133 --> 00:17:40,633
I see two 
neat birds.

428
00:17:40,633 --> 00:17:42,300
Look at the 
black-necked stilts,

429
00:17:42,300 --> 00:17:45,566
a couple of them in 
the distance over there.

430
00:17:45,566 --> 00:17:47,400
I always thought that's 
appropriately named

431
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,233
with the black on the neck and 
those long, stilt-like legs.

432
00:17:50,233 --> 00:17:52,233
(Jim) 
Like they're walking on stilts,

433
00:17:52,233 --> 00:17:53,033
you're 
right.

434
00:17:53,033 --> 00:17:55,033
(Rudy) 
With that pointy beak

435
00:17:55,033 --> 00:17:57,033
getting invertebrates 
out of the water.

436
00:17:57,033 --> 00:17:59,033
I see a couple 
of ducks too.

437
00:17:59,033 --> 00:18:01,133
Look at the pair 
of blue-winged teal.

438
00:18:01,133 --> 00:18:02,133
Isn't that 
nice?

439
00:18:02,133 --> 00:18:03,633
(Jim) 
Bright blue piece

440
00:18:03,633 --> 00:18:05,633
on the shoulder 
wing.

441
00:18:05,633 --> 00:18:07,300
(Rudy) 
That's right,

442
00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:09,800
and that little white, 
almost a crescent-moon look

443
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:11,633
on the face 
of the male.

444
00:18:11,633 --> 00:18:14,133
Male much more brightly marked 
than the female, of course,

445
00:18:14,133 --> 00:18:15,700
which is 
typical.

446
00:18:15,700 --> 00:18:16,866
There's an 
old cormorant.

447
00:18:16,866 --> 00:18:18,400
That's not very 
brightly marked.

448
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,466
Look at that dull-looking 
bird on the stick

449
00:18:21,466 --> 00:18:24,233
that's coming up out of 
that island out there.

450
00:18:24,233 --> 00:18:26,200
(Jim) 
One of the diving birds.

451
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:27,700
(Rudy) 
Almost like a torpedo

452
00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:30,700
in the water, just drying out 
or sunning and warming up.

453
00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:33,400
I see a little blue heron 
looking for a meal,

454
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:34,500
it looks 
like.

455
00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:37,100
Look at him moving, poised 
ready to grab something.

456
00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:40,766
They recycle a lot of fish 
in these impoundments.

457
00:18:40,766 --> 00:18:43,100
This is perfect for 
shorebirds, wading birds,

458
00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:45,633
and for ducks and lots 
and lots of others.

459
00:18:45,633 --> 00:18:47,233
(Jim) 
Great diversity.

460
00:18:47,233 --> 00:18:48,633
(Rudy) 
Look at the alligator.

461
00:18:48,633 --> 00:18:50,633
Look at the alligator 
sneaking in.

462
00:18:50,633 --> 00:18:53,300
Larger alligator than we 
looked at before sneaking in.

463
00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:54,300
(Jim) 
For a meal.

464
00:18:54,300 --> 00:18:55,400
(Rudy) 
Trying --

465
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:57,600
look how close he is to 
the black-necked stilts.

466
00:18:57,600 --> 00:18:58,600
(Jim) 
Yeah.

467
00:18:58,600 --> 00:18:59,866
(Rudy) 
The stilt is keeping

468
00:18:59,866 --> 00:19:00,966
an eye 
on him,

469
00:19:00,966 --> 00:19:03,800
and the alligator is 
keeping an eye on the stilt,

470
00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,633
and there must be 
enough distance

471
00:19:05,633 --> 00:19:07,500
because they're not 
grabbing each other.

472
00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:09,566
(Jim) 
Looks close to me, though.

473
00:19:09,566 --> 00:19:10,633
(Rudy) 
That's a predator-prey

474
00:19:10,633 --> 00:19:12,633
relationship kind 
of in the making.

475
00:19:12,633 --> 00:19:15,466
It hasn't really happened yet, 
but I'm sure the alligator

476
00:19:15,466 --> 00:19:16,800
has that 
in his mind.

477
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:18,600
Oh, that's neat, 
and those two, again,

478
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,766
share this impoundment and seem 
to survive very well together.

479
00:19:22,766 --> 00:19:24,766
Look in front 
of us right here.

480
00:19:24,766 --> 00:19:25,833
Look at 
the snake.

481
00:19:25,833 --> 00:19:27,300
(Jim) 
A huge snake!

482
00:19:27,300 --> 00:19:28,900
(Rudy) 
Wrinkled up in the road.

483
00:19:28,900 --> 00:19:30,566
(Jim) 
What kind of snake?

484
00:19:30,566 --> 00:19:31,766
(Rudy) 
Yellow rat snake.

485
00:19:31,766 --> 00:19:34,300
All the rat snakes, when 
they're tense or nervous,

486
00:19:34,300 --> 00:19:35,900
wrinkle their 
bodies like that.

487
00:19:35,900 --> 00:19:37,033
Do you 
see it?

488
00:19:37,033 --> 00:19:39,566
I see stripes on it, 
so another name is

489
00:19:39,566 --> 00:19:42,433
the four-lined rat snake, also 
known as the live oak snake,

490
00:19:42,433 --> 00:19:44,433
great climber in live 
oaks on barrier islands.

491
00:19:44,433 --> 00:19:45,566
(Jim) 
Frozen.

492
00:19:45,566 --> 00:19:46,900
(Rudy) 
Non-poisonous.

493
00:19:46,900 --> 00:19:48,300
(Jim) 
Almost frozen in place.

494
00:19:48,300 --> 00:19:49,233
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

495
00:19:49,233 --> 00:19:50,900
Oh, that's neat.

496
00:19:50,900 --> 00:19:52,566
It's interesting 
that you think about

497
00:19:52,566 --> 00:19:54,566
and see things 
like that right now.

498
00:19:54,566 --> 00:19:56,566
Remember that rookery 
not far from here

499
00:19:56,566 --> 00:19:58,366
that we took 
a look at?

500
00:19:58,366 --> 00:20:01,366
This is the time of year when 
great egrets are building nests,

501
00:20:01,366 --> 00:20:03,466
and those beautiful white 
birds are building again.

502
00:20:03,466 --> 00:20:06,933
Fairly flimsy nests up on trees 
that had been knocked down

503
00:20:06,933 --> 00:20:10,933
by the storm, taking advantage 
of nesting opportunities,

504
00:20:10,933 --> 00:20:12,933
trees that were knocked 
down in the water.

505
00:20:12,933 --> 00:20:14,566
Weren't those 
beautiful birds?

506
00:20:14,566 --> 00:20:15,966
(Jim) 
We need more refuges

507
00:20:15,966 --> 00:20:17,966
like Bulls Island to 
protect these habitats.

508
00:20:17,966 --> 00:20:19,300
(Rudy) 
Yeah.

509
00:20:19,300 --> 00:20:22,300
I love the one sitting down 
on the nest very carefully, and

510
00:20:22,300 --> 00:20:24,800
you can see all that breeding 
plumage on those egrets.

511
00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:26,333
That almost 
did them in.

512
00:20:26,333 --> 00:20:27,866
They were 
almost killed

513
00:20:27,866 --> 00:20:30,233
for those long breeding 
plumage feathers.

514
00:20:30,233 --> 00:20:32,633
Thank goodness 
we've protected them.

515
00:20:32,633 --> 00:20:35,633
[birds squawking]

516
00:20:35,633 --> 00:20:37,633
(Rudy) 
Then the black-crowned

517
00:20:37,633 --> 00:20:40,633
night herons, 
you remember them there?

518
00:20:40,633 --> 00:20:41,733
(Jim) 
A hunched-shouldered

519
00:20:41,733 --> 00:20:42,800
looking bird, 
yeah.

520
00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:44,033
(Rudy) 
Yeah, all humped,

521
00:20:44,033 --> 00:20:45,833
and they were probably 
nesting there too.

522
00:20:45,833 --> 00:20:47,833
I remember the group 
of them, that couple

523
00:20:47,833 --> 00:20:50,700
of black-crowned night herons 
and all of those great egrets

524
00:20:50,700 --> 00:20:52,533
sitting perched 
in that tree.

525
00:20:52,533 --> 00:20:54,633
This is a 
special place.

526
00:20:54,633 --> 00:21:02,366
[birds squawking]

527
00:21:02,366 --> 00:21:16,700
[waves breaking]

528
00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:18,700
(Jim) 
Bulls Island is between

529
00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:21,333
five and six miles long, 
and this section, Rudy,

530
00:21:21,333 --> 00:21:24,166
on the north end maybe 
hasn't changed much

531
00:21:24,166 --> 00:21:26,833
in the sense of the trees, 
dead trees, around us.

532
00:21:26,833 --> 00:21:28,833
(Rudy) 
The trees have been here

533
00:21:28,833 --> 00:21:31,433
a long time, but we 
walked out of a forest

534
00:21:31,433 --> 00:21:33,233
that was beaten 
to pieces by Hugo,

535
00:21:33,233 --> 00:21:35,633
and when you 
look back in here,

536
00:21:35,633 --> 00:21:37,633
you can see some 
of the damage,

537
00:21:37,633 --> 00:21:39,633
some of those 
trees standing up,

538
00:21:39,633 --> 00:21:41,633
live oaks that 
aren't alive anymore.

539
00:21:41,633 --> 00:21:43,633
Totally rearranged 
by that storm.

540
00:21:43,633 --> 00:21:46,633
The storm surge here was 21 
feet, coming up 21 feet with

541
00:21:46,633 --> 00:21:51,300
waves on the top and leveling 
that forest, except for what?

542
00:21:51,300 --> 00:21:52,300
(Jim) 
The palmettos.

543
00:21:52,300 --> 00:21:53,966
(Rudy) 
The palmettos, yeah.

544
00:21:53,966 --> 00:21:55,133
They're 
surviving.

545
00:21:55,133 --> 00:21:56,633
They bend a 
little bit better.

546
00:21:56,633 --> 00:21:59,633
Although you can see down 
the beach now, that erosion is

547
00:21:59,633 --> 00:22:03,233
slowly but surely wearing away 
the support for those trees,

548
00:22:03,233 --> 00:22:05,566
and eventually 
they topple down.

549
00:22:05,566 --> 00:22:07,633
If anyone wanted to 
know what a storm

550
00:22:07,633 --> 00:22:10,466
can do to a barrier 
island, a hurricane,

551
00:22:10,466 --> 00:22:12,633
this is the perfect 
place to see it.

552
00:22:12,633 --> 00:22:16,300
The scars still remain, and 
yet it's beginning to heal up,

553
00:22:16,300 --> 00:22:21,466
and still the Atlantic Ocean 
is coming in slowly but surely

554
00:22:21,466 --> 00:22:25,366
and rearranging the world, 
and that never changes.

555
00:22:25,366 --> 00:22:26,366
It continues.

556
00:22:26,366 --> 00:22:28,366
(Jim) 
I was going to say,

557
00:22:28,366 --> 00:22:32,433
25, perhaps 30, feet a year 
off the north end of this island

558
00:22:32,433 --> 00:22:33,600
because 
of erosion.

559
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,000
(Rudy) 
That erosive force

560
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,300
of the tides is amazing, 
and it's something

561
00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:40,233
that just continues year 
after year after year,

562
00:22:40,233 --> 00:22:44,000
day after day after day, and 
this is a great place to see it

563
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,733
because you see skeletons 
of that old forest.

564
00:22:48,733 --> 00:22:52,900
Areas like this are 
called boneyards,

565
00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:54,633
the skeletons 
of the trees,

566
00:22:54,633 --> 00:22:56,633
and if you want to 
see how powerful

567
00:22:56,633 --> 00:22:59,700
the forces at work here are, 
look at this live oak right

568
00:22:59,700 --> 00:23:02,866
in front of us that has been 
turned basically upside-down.

569
00:23:02,866 --> 00:23:07,366
Those are the roots 
sticking out at the top

570
00:23:07,366 --> 00:23:10,533
where the branches 
are supposed to be,

571
00:23:10,533 --> 00:23:14,133
and, again, the Atlantic working 
today just like it was working

572
00:23:14,133 --> 00:23:18,133
back in September of 1989, 
but not with as much force.

573
00:23:18,133 --> 00:23:20,133
(Jim) 
A ghost beach.

574
00:23:20,133 --> 00:23:22,133
(Rudy) 
Yeah, a ghost beach,

575
00:23:22,133 --> 00:23:24,166
a ghost forest, 
really.

576
00:23:24,166 --> 00:23:26,700
The major maritime forest 
here, live oak-palmetto forest,

577
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:28,066
has been 
rearranged.

578
00:23:28,066 --> 00:23:31,133
Look right up here too, 
talking about just neat things.

579
00:23:31,133 --> 00:23:32,566
Look at the 
sand dollars.

580
00:23:32,566 --> 00:23:33,633
(Jim) 
Oh, yes.

581
00:23:33,633 --> 00:23:35,633
(Rudy) 
The skeleton of that animal,

582
00:23:35,633 --> 00:23:37,633
since we're talking 
about skeletons,

583
00:23:37,633 --> 00:23:39,600
test it 
is called.

584
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,733
Keyhole urchin is 
another name for it.

585
00:23:41,733 --> 00:23:44,733
Waves come in 
slowly but surely,

586
00:23:44,733 --> 00:23:47,766
put sand on it 
and take sand away.

587
00:23:47,766 --> 00:23:49,900
The animal's been dead 
for a good while,

588
00:23:49,900 --> 00:23:53,166
typical animal of 
these sandy beaches.

589
00:23:53,166 --> 00:23:54,833
And just look 
down the way --

590
00:23:54,833 --> 00:23:56,600
there are more 
and more and more.

591
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:57,966
(Jim) 
Look way down.

592
00:23:57,966 --> 00:24:01,566
Two, three -- two or three deer 
-- a few deer out in the surf.

593
00:24:01,566 --> 00:24:02,733
(Rudy) 
White-tailed deer

594
00:24:02,733 --> 00:24:04,600
coming out to 
play in the surf.

595
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,100
That's a pelican riding 
the water behind them,

596
00:24:07,100 --> 00:24:09,633
but white-tailed deer 
coming off the high ground,

597
00:24:09,633 --> 00:24:11,466
getting down 
close to the water.

598
00:24:11,466 --> 00:24:14,133
Maybe getting a little 
sniff of that salty water

599
00:24:14,133 --> 00:24:16,633
and then heading 
back in.

600
00:24:18,133 --> 00:24:21,633
In 1670, not so very 
far from this spot,

601
00:24:21,633 --> 00:24:23,700
the first settlers 
of South Carolina

602
00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:26,033
set foot on 
Carolina soil.

603
00:24:26,033 --> 00:24:29,633
Some things they saw then, 
we still see today.

604
00:24:29,633 --> 00:24:32,500
Things change, and yet in many 
ways they remain the same,

605
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:34,600
and hurricanes certainly 
have affected this place,

606
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:36,233
but nature 
bounces back.

607
00:24:36,233 --> 00:24:38,000
I guess it's good 
to remind ourselves

608
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,000
that nature isn't good, 
bad, right or wrong.

609
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000
It's just the 
way the world is.

610
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,666
The system is a 
wonderful system.

611
00:24:43,666 --> 00:24:44,833
What a 
special place.

612
00:24:44,833 --> 00:24:47,566
It still is, even though 
the maritime forest is gone.

613
00:24:47,566 --> 00:24:49,566
It's a great 
place to visit.

614
00:24:49,566 --> 00:24:51,733
Thanks for coming with 
us to Bulls Island,

615
00:24:51,733 --> 00:24:55,166
just northeast of 
Charleston, South Carolina,

616
00:24:55,166 --> 00:24:58,166
and join us again on 
the next "NatureScene."

617
00:24:59,633 --> 00:25:05,633
Program captioned by:  
CompuScripts Captioning, Inc.  
803.988.8438

618
00:25:06,633 --> 00:26:07,100
♪

619
00:26:18,866 --> 00:26:21,433
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620
00:26:21,433 --> 00:26:24,533
from Santee Cooper, where 
protection and improvement

621
00:26:24,533 --> 00:26:26,666
of our environment are 
equal in importance

622
00:26:26,666 --> 00:26:28,666
to providing 
electric energy.

623
00:26:30,933 --> 00:26:33,933
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624
00:26:33,933 --> 00:26:36,266
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625
00:26:37,866 --> 00:26:39,866
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626
00:26:39,866 --> 00:26:44,200
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