>> [Guitar plays] >> [Laughs] So this is a little American alligator, it's not a crocodile.

Okay, here we go.

Here's a couple more.

In fact, one of them just flew.

Fields like this are critically important for the landscape.

I mean, this was once a forest, in fact, fairly recently.

But it was disturbed and opened up.

No canopy over head, so all this sunshine can come in and give these early successional species a chance to really flourish.

Composite flowers, lots of different flowers.

A lot of grasses.

I see goldenrod in here and lots of other species.

Of course, these are great for pollinators.

Insects love open areas like this.

And, of course, if there are insects here, then birds can come in and catch insects to eat and also to feed their babies.

But fields change.

This particular area hasn't been disturbed in quite a while, and you notice, look what's coming in.

Tree species like pines and oaks, sweet gums.

And what they're gonna do is get bigger and bigger, and then they're gonna form canopy, keep the sunlight from getting in, and out-compete these other plants.

And, eventually, this is gonna turn into a forest.

But let's take a look at some of the creatures that live in these fields and forests.

If you walk by a field like this, it doesn't really look like there's that much going on.

But if you step into the vegetation and take a really close look, a field like this comes alive with insects, reptiles, amphibians, and other animals.

I'll tell you what.

The number of grasshoppers out here is just incredible.

There's some smallish grasshoppers, and then there's some pretty good size ones.

Now, these things are really hard to catch.

Boy, there are a lot of insects in here!

In fact, this field is buzzing.

I mean, you can hear a lot of noise.

And a loud, buzzing field is most definitely a healthy field.

Boy, there's one right there.

Did I get him?

I got him!

Excellent!

This is one of the bird grasshoppers.

This is one of the leather-colored bird grasshoppers.

And, boy, talk about a beautiful animal.

Look at this.

You can see where it gets its name, this sort of leathery-looking cover to the wings.

That's a big grasshopper.

Now, the bird grasshoppers are eaten by all kinds of birds, including even kites.

Swallow-tail kites eat them.

So do Mississippi kites.

And they're tremendous jumpers, but they're also good fliers, too.

They feed on vegetation -- I mean, lots of different grasses and things like that.

They're good jumpers.

I'm gonna see if -- there he goes.

All right, let's see what else we can catch.

I'm gonna get some of the stuff out of this net.

Oh, my!

Look at this.

Oh, now that is cool!

This is one of the mantids -- one of the praying mantis group.

And this is one I haven't seen before.

Look how elongated it is.

It isn't a Carolina mantis.

I'm not exactly sure what it is.

It's got these neat serrations along the thorax.

Wonderful cryptic coloration.

So this thing was in the net and we didn't even see it.

So if it's mixed in with other vegetation, it pretty much is just going to disappear.

Got him!

Okay, so this is what's called a Gulf fritillary butterfly.

Really pretty orange butterfly.

People will occasionally confuse this with a monarch, and they really don't look much like monarchs at all.

Silver spots on the underside of the wing.

Let him fly back off.

So we found the adult.

I'll bet you I know where we can find the larvae.

The trick to this is finding the right food plant, and here it is.

There's a bunch of it here.

This is passion flower -- passiflora.

And there we go.

That is the caterpillar of a Gulf fritillary.

And really spiny-looking.

Now, these do not have those urticating hairs, those spines like some caterpillars have that actually sting.

They look dangerous, but they're not at all.

So this guy's gonna chow down on this passion vine -- eat as much as he possibly can.

And then when he or she is big enough, they'll form a chrysalis, and eventually they will emerge from that chrysalis as a Gulf fritillary butterfly.

If you look right here, there's a green lynx spider.

And, boy, this is a big one, too, right here.

Notice how it blends in beautifully.

I mean, it's shaped like these flower pods.

I mean, just beautifully cryptic.

Of course, anything that comes in to feed on those flowers is gonna get nailed by this spider.

Now, this one is particularly heavy, so it may have eggs in it.

It's hard to tell for sure.

Great camouflage.

I'll let this guy go about his business.

It's really neat how, if you just stop and really take the time to look, this stuff kind of comes into focus.

It's so well camouflaged, unless you're really looking for it, you're just not gonna see it.

Oh, missed!

Wait a minute!

Here's something even better!

In fact, way better.

This is a green snake, probably one of the most delicate-looking snakes that we have around here.

And it's -- they don't bite at all.

I've never seen a green snake bite.

And these guys eat all sorts of caterpillars and things.

One of their favorite foods is green lynx spiders, which, of course, are very cryptic as well.

I'm gonna pull this guy out.

Long, slender snake.

Now, this guy is missing the tip of the tail.

They normally have a very long tail, but this guy looks like he lost it.

Now, this isn't a lizard.

The tail is not gonna grow back or regenerate.

So for the rest of his life, he's just gonna be missing his tail.

In fact, it looks like this is a female, not a male.

And I'm going by looking at the tail.

It's got a very slender tail that tapers very rapidly.

Oh, beautiful snake -- one of my favorites, for sure.

This is form and function at its finest.

This animal is built for living up off the ground in the trees.

It has a long, slender body.

It's very lightweight, so it can climb in the trees and climb out to the very end branches, where it still isn't so heavy that it falls off.

It's a great spot for this snake.

He's obviously... gonna do real well here.

One of the things I like to do is look on this vertical structure, these blades of grass and vertical bushes.

And this is a good example.

Here's one of the tree frogs.

And it's a green tree frog, a little guy.

And I can tell that because it's got that stripe that goes down the side of the body right there.

So we know there must be some fresh water nearby.

These guys lay their eggs in the water, eggs hatch into tadpoles, and those tadpoles metamorphose into little froglets like this.

Now, this little guy has got quite a bit of growing to do.

At this size, it's just gotta try and keep from getting eaten.

Now, check this out right here.

This is a neat beast.

It's a praying mantis.

This looks like it's a big one.

It looks like it might be the Chinese mantis, an introduced species.

And I can probably just kind of grab this guy by hand.

I don't want to hurt him.

But what a neat creature!

And they can pinch you a little bit.

He's kind of poking me with those... Those feet... are really, really sharp.

And I'm gonna handle him so I don't hurt him.

But this is a big insect, first of all.

And it gets the name "praying mantis" because it holds its feet kind of up in this position, almost like it's praying.

And it uses those to fire out and grab small insects -- and even little tree frogs and little green anoles and things.

Of course, it's an insect, so it has six legs.

It flies.

It's not a great flier, but it does fly.

And, boy, look at the cool head.

Little tiny head, great big eyes -- so it can see really well.

It just gives you an idea how important these fields are.

I mean, these plants, these early successional plants are attracting all kinds of insects.

And, of course, that produces food for lots of other things.

If you look behind me, you'll see one of the most charismatic and acrobatic of all bird species.

These are swallow-tailed kites.

These are big birds.

They have a wingspan of over four feet -- sometimes even close to five feet, but they're light birds.

And their light weight gives them the ability to be wonderfully acrobatic.

And that's because they feed primarily on the wing.

They use their feet to grab stuff out of the air, and sometimes, they're even eating while they're looking for the next dragonfly or June bug or whatever it is that they're chasing.

But pretty much any flying insect is one that they're gonna grab and eat.

They also have the ability to feed on snakes -- green snakes, for instance.

They love those.

Also small rat snakes, green anoles, tree frogs, even bats.

They can eat just about anything.

Okay, this is obviously a planted field.

This is a cow field, and this is set up to feed cattle, but it attracts a lot of insects.

And when these insects come in, of course, it provides food for the swallow-tail kites.

Now, other types of fields may grow up a lot taller and attract a lot of other kinds of wildlife.

These birds are staging right now.

So what they're doing is eating as much as they possibly can because they have a really, really long migration down to Brazil in South America.

So we're talking about a tremendous flight.

And, of course, that requires a lot of energy.

So they stop at a spot, eat as much as they can, move further south, and then continue to do that.

Those same birds will come back here next year.

It is so exciting when you think about how far they have to travel and some of the perils that they face in their journey.

Now, these birds actually nest here.

And what they need is really tall trees.

In fact, they like trees that are over 100 feet tall.

And that protects their nestlings from all sorts of predators.

These guys lay two to three eggs, and those eggs hatch about a month later.

And then about four weeks after that, the young fledge and start to fly on their own.

The parents will often help to feed them and take care of them for quite a while after that.

So the other bird that we've seen a couple of them up really high are what are called Mississippi kites.

And they're quite a bit smaller.

So they have a three-foot wingspan, and they're much, much smaller birds.

And, of course, they eat smaller insects and things.

But they can often be seen with swallow-tail kites like these.

I've seen swallow-tail kites several times, but, man, I get excited about them every time I see them.

I think I counted 30 birds here.

Sometimes, you'll see concentrations of over a hundred in the lowcountry.

Man, I love to watch these things fly.

It's hard to believe that the majority of the southeastern United States was made up of forest just like this.

In fact, longleaf pine forest made up 92 million acres.

Sadly, only about 5% of that habitat is still intact.

But we have a special guest today.

We have my good friend David Jones.

And David is an expert on the plants and animals that live in the longleaf pine ecosystem.

And he's gonna show us around today.

Welcome, David.

>> Thanks, Tony, I'm glad to be out here with you in this special place, this old-growth, longleaf forest.

They are a very rare habitat and one of the richest habitats left in the southeast.

Like you say, some of these trees are 150 years old.

>> Oh, yeah, they're magnificent.

So, David, tell us a little bit about where we are, exactly.

>> Well, the lowcountry of South Carolina had lots of plantations that were preserved for the purpose of hunting quail or whatever by large landowners.

And a lot of these areas have been protected.

And it's exciting.

If they had not been retained that way, they could have easily disappeared to development.

I mean, it's beautiful, high-developable land.

But, anyway, it's been a snake-hunter's Mecca for years, these areas.

People came from all over the United States and the world.

>> MILLS: And so we plan to get out and catch some snakes today.

And if you had to pick one snake to see today, what would it be?

>> Well, that's a personal preference, but any day that you go out and you can find an eastern diamondback rattlesnake in these days, your day is done.

I mean, it's a real treat to come across one of these animals.

>> I know that would be my pick, for sure.

So what we're gonna do is get out and look around and see what we can find.

>> Sounds great, Tony.

>> MILLS: Okay, guys, here's a snake.

[ Chuckles ] And this is not what we're looking for.

But it is a black racer.

And black racer's are known for being pretty feisty.

And you can see this guys is -- although not venomous, is one tough customer.

>> Well, Tony, you got a black racer.

You broke the ice.

>> And most amazingly, I have not been bitten yet.

>> That is amazing.

He's just shed his skin.

He's a beauty.

>> Oh, boy.

And he's warmed up good.

He feels kind of toasty.

And, of course, snakes are cold-blooded, and so what they like to do is get a little bit warmed up so that they can be as active as possible.

Racers get their name because they're very fast movers.

They skate along the ground at great speed.

Notice how big the eyes are.

These guys have great big eyes, they're diurnal predators.

A just fabulous snake.

but not what we're looking for, right?

>> No, but it's a snake, and it's a start.

>> Okay, well, I'm gonna put this guy down, and we're gonna let him go.

>> Sounds great.

Hey, Tony, I think there's a nice king over here.

Whoo, he's a beauty!

Look at that thing there!

>> Oh, man!

>> Now, that's a king snake.

>> Oh, look at the speckling!

That is a beautiful snake.

>> That's one in a thousand there.

>> MILLS: So he was just crawling across the forest?

>> He must have heard us or something.

He was probably trying to get back to his stump hole, wherever that is.

>> Look how he's vibrating his tail a little bit.

And, sometimes, king snakes will do that if they get annoyed -- shake their tail like rat snakes and racers.

Boy, neat stripe on the head, too.

>> Looks like he's freshly shed also here, this... >> So he's maybe out looking for females or maybe looking for something to eat, I guess.

>> He might have been looking for that black racer.

[ Laughter ] They're cannibals.

This one eats a lot of snakes smaller than himself -- even a rattlesnake.

They're immune to venom, basically.

>> He'd have trouble eating a big diamondback, but he could eat a baby.

>> He could eat a small one, that's for sure.

It's amazing what they can eat, in fact.

>> Well, that is a treat.

>> It's a beautiful snake, though.

It's one of the nicest kings I've ever seen.

>> But, once again, not exactly what we're looking for so we'll let this guy go on his way.

>> Well, we're not gonna complain, but we are gonna keep the search up for a diamondback, hopefully.

Okay, have a happy life.

>> Whoa!

>> Tony, our dream has come true.

This is what we wanted -- a beautiful diamondback.

>> I guess I don't run up too quick, do I?

>> Right in the sun -- what a gorgeous animal.

Very pretty.

>> MILLS: Boy, that is a light one, too.

He's got beautiful gold on him.

>> Yellow, gold.

>> MILLS: So is this typical?

Is this where you see them?

I see he's near a stump hole.

>> Well, almost always, they're somewhere in close proximity to a cavity, a stump hole, where they spend the night or the day -- or whenever they just feel like not being seen.

Rodents also live in these stump holes.

Like, they eat a lot of rabbits, all rodents.

And it's kind of like a good relationship.

They got the hole to hide in, also for dinner.

It's amazing what they can eat.

I just saw him flinch when a shadow went over, and that shows how aware he is.

He knew that hawk was coming over and made him flinch.

That is amazing.

>> MILLS: And this is a snake that commonly get -- well, commonly gets to five feet long, and it very rarely gets to six or seven feet long.

>> I haven't seen many sixes, but I've seen some.

>> 'Cause you hear stories of 10-footers, and the reality is, the biggest ones are six feet.

>> JONES: Six feet.

But, anyway, this is about an average-size diamondback.

He's very -- got great color.

>> You know what's interesting, David, is the coloration that makes it look so bold right here helps it to hide.

>> Well, you have to remember this area is burned off.

If he was broom sage or broom straw, like they say, he would blend in perfectly.

It would almost be impossible to see him.

>> So, David, this is a snake that habitat destruction really plays a role in its disappearance.

I mean, they're not as common as they used to be.

>> Oh, no, they're definitely in a decline.

But it's improper land uses that is not compatible with the snake anymore.

I mean, they clear-cut a lot of land and plant it back in some other kind of trees they're not familiar with.

>> You know what I noticed about this snake?

This snake has its original rattle.

You can see the original button where, when this thing was born, it had that little button.

And I don't think this is a real old snake, do you?

>> In August, I think he'll be four years old.

>> Yeah, so fairly young.

A common misconception is that snakes get a new button for every year.

The reality is, every time they shed, they get a new button on the rattle, but the problem with that is, the rattle breaks off periodically.

>> If they're in a nice place with a good food supply, they could get three rattles, maybe four in a season.

>> MILLS: Like we said, this longleaf forest habitat is really, really important.

I mean, it's all about the habitat.

If the habitat isn't here, this diamondback can't make a living.

>> It cannot.

>> So tell me some good news about longleaf pine.

>> Well, I'm very interested in it.

Forestry practices are improving.

A lot of landowners, after they have cut their timber, were told for years not to plant the longleafs, it was difficult, it wouldn't grow.

They have that perfected now.

It really does well.

It's easy to plant.

It's a far more valuable forest tree for nature or even dollars, period.

And there are government incentives to help the landowner, and, you know, it makes it very attractive to put the longleafs back.

>> MILLS: And I know you've planted longleaf on your own property.

A nice grove of longleaf.

>> First thing I did, I've had them for 11 years, and I've got 25-foot trees.

That's as good as you can ask.

>> Well, that's great.

>> And I've got plenty of snakes in my longleafs, you can be certain of that.

>> Well, I'll tell you what.

I think we've bothered this guy enough.

>> Yeah, he needs a break.

Thank you very much, mister.

>> Yeah, that was a neat nature experience.

That was cool.

>> JONES: Today has been made.

>> MILLS: So this is a really different kind of forest.

In fact, the ocean is very close by.

This is a maritime forest.

There are some characteristic plants that live in these forests -- cabbage palmetto, wax myrtle, pine trees, loblolly, or slash.

Around here, most of them appear to be slash pines.

And the really characteristic tree is the live oak -- and there are lots of those around.

Let's hike around and see what kind of animals live in this forest.

Oh, here's something really neat.

A legless lizard, and he's using the bathroom, so I'm going to hold him away from me for a minute.

But this is a glass lizard, a legless lizard.

In fact, one of the ways we can tell it's -- I'm gonna wait until he's finished -- is if I look at his tail, you notice it's been broken off.

And so he has actually regenerated the tail, or is starting to regenerate a tail.

So the tail would have been much longer, probably this long or so.

And that little stub right there, that little sprig is starting to grow back.

Eventually, this guy will grow back a tail that's not quite as perfect as the original, but still much longer than this one is.

Now, I mentioned this is a lizard.

It looks a lot like a snake just because it has no limbs.

But it has eyelids and ear openings -- two things that lizards have and snakes don't.

Now, this particular guy, not a lot of these bite, but this seems to be a little bit of an aggressive one.

It's a lizard, so it's just kind of a pinch.

But I just want to be careful he doesn't hurt his jaws.

Really, really neat animal.

And very, very common on these barrier islands and sea islands.

Some of these sea islands have this saw palmetto.

And you can tell where it gets the name "saw palmetto" because this stalk right here has razor-sharp -- very much like a saw.

And if you were to run your hand across that, of course, it would cut you really badly.

In some areas, this plant absolutely dominates the understory, and it forms this impenetrable, you know, just grove of saw palmetto that would be very hard to even move through.

Now, this is more common further south of here, but it is really neat stuff -- and very, very pretty.

Oh, here's something really, really neat.

It's a snake.

And I'm gonna be really careful.

This is a copperhead.

And copperheads are so cryptic.

And if you look at this guy, he is so hard to see in this.

See if I can scoop him out, just put him out in the open.

So copperheads -- so this is a venomous species, and I'm staying well out of range.

The first thing to look at is the head.

This has a great big, triangular head, it's one of the pit vipers.

And copperheads, as I said before, are venomous.

And so I don't want to touch him with my hands.

'Cause if I was bitten by a copperhead, I would need to get to the doctor and receive medical treatment for sure.

Nobody's ever died from the bite of a copperhead, but it would be terribly painful, and, obviously, you can get serious injuries from them.

You know, copperheads are really, really common.

It's one of the most common snakes that we have in the lowcountry.

The good news is, like most snakes, they spend most of their time hiding.

And so we don't often see snakes.

And I had to actually pull the bark away from that stump to get a good look at his one.

This is -- it's an adult, but a young one.

Looks like it has a pretty good scar on the back right here.

Probably, you know, some sort of run-in with a predator of some sort.

And a lot of things, even though it's venomous, might try and eat a copperhead.

Now, camouflage like this is really important.

I mean, this cryptic coloration, because it helps the copperhead to protect itself against predators, but also, it allows it to -- it's an ambush predator.

So it will sit and wait until a frog or a mouse or another small animal gets close enough, and then it'll bite it, inject venom to kill it, and then, of course, eat it.

Now, one of the other things to notice about this snake is it has elliptical pupils.

It's a pit viper, and our pit vipers have vertical pupils.

And those pupils are designed for taking in a lot of light when there isn't much light.

So these guys see real well at dusk or even at night.

I'm gonna put this little guy back in his habitat.

You know, whether you're in a field or a forest -- or any other habitat, for that matter -- there's always something kind of interesting to find in the lowcountry.

Thanks for joining us on "Coastal Kingdom."