>> [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 'em just flew.

Although we get kind of mild winters here in the LowCountry, it can still be kind of a tough place to make a living in the winter.

Some species are forced underground during really cold temperatures and remain inactive for long periods of time.

Others will migrate south to warmer temperatures.

But there are some species that are forced to stick it out right here.

They have to feed and remain active.

Let's look at how some of these LowCountry animals spend some of the coolest months of the year.

The salt marsh is a really different place this time of year.

Just as leaves change color in deciduous forests, the spartina grass changes, too.

And it goes from that rich, vivid green that you get midsummer to kind of a brown, drab color this time of year.

And the marsh, it changes from this cloudy, sort of turbid water, to crystal-clear waters this time of year.

And that's because it doesn't have all the microorganisms and all the living things that are in it during the warmer months.

The other thing that's gone are the sharks and the stingrays, and they've moved offshore and further south, because they just can't take the cool temperatures.

So, how do some of these animals make it through the winter?

Well, we're in the upper marsh here, and there's a piece of debris that has kind of floated up and is just kind of sitting out here in the open.

And I thought what we'd do is flip it over.

I think I know what's under here.

Yeah, this is exactly what I expected.

Squareback crabs.

So, here's one of these little squareback crabs.

And squareback crabs get their name because they have a very square back.

And so the carapace, or the back of the shell, is a very square shape.

This one appears to be missing a claw.

So, it looks like a predator or maybe another crab has broken this claw off.

Now, he'll grow this back, 'cause all our crabs will regenerate legs and claws.

But squareback crabs don't live in the water like a lot of other crabs.

They actually live on land.

They live in the upper marsh.

And they love areas like this where they can stay moist, but again, they don't have to go underwater like a lot of other crab species do.

Their gills just need to stay moist.

And one thing about squareback crabs is if you pick one up, they always bubble from the mouth.

Okay, I'm going to put this little guy back.

I'm sure he's going to go down a burrow or something.

And there are always squareback crabs under debris like this, this time of year.

And these guys are here for a reason.

The air temperature today is in the low 50s, but I'll bet you this board's quite a bit warmer.

So, I've got this nifty [Laughs] infrared thermometer, so what I can do is shine this thing on the board.

Of course, the board's in the sun, and I get a temperature of 62°.

So, that's a big difference.

And so these guys are thermoregulating.

And thermoregulation means that the animals are doing what they can to get their body temperature where they want it.

So, they're regulating their own body temperature.

And since these crabs are cold-blooded, they have to rely on an external source -- in this case, the sun.

Now, this board's out in the open, so obviously, it's going to heat up much faster than areas that are covered with vegetation.

The other thing I noticed is there's all kinds of snails here.

These are called coffee bean snails.

And they're probably doing the same thing the crabs are -- getting up where they can get a little bit warmer.

One really common animal in the LowCountry that has a tough time in the winter is the American alligator.

Although we get pretty mild temperatures in the LowCountry, when it gets cold like this, alligators have to have a way to protect themselves from the frigid temperatures.

And if you look behind me right here, there's this labyrinth of tunnels and holes, and a lot of these are full of water.

And alligators can go inside these things, and they can actually come up where there's air.

They can breathe and they can stay just a little bit warmer than the surrounding air.

And this protects them from freezes.

Now, it's really cold today, which is a good thing.

'Cause if you're going to explore alligator dens, you want to do it at a time when the alligators are really inactive.

So, I thought we'd do -- what we'd do is kind of poke around in here and just see what we can see.

This is that classic alligator habitat in the LowCountry.

Got salt marsh right here, then we've got this nice, little freshwater hole.

So, but if you look right around the corner here, you'll see there's something really neat.

This is a gator den.

I mean, it's really cool-looking.

I mean, if you look at this thing, it looks like a dinosaur would come out of it or something.

But this is where an alligator has gone in, and using its tail and used his muzzle, it has just kind of pushed some of the dirt out of here and dug a big hole.

Now, this hole's good for a couple things.

One, it will hold water.

And then the other thing it's good for is, during really, really cold winter snaps, cold snaps, it allows 'em to get out of the frost range and keeps 'em from getting too cold.

The other thing is, this provides refuge for the babies.

Now, we've seen a couple nests here, and a lot of times baby alligators, especially when the water level's up a little higher, will go into these little holes, go up underneath the ground, and this allows them to hide from great blue herons and other predators.

So, we're back at the same spot, and, boy, what a difference a couple days has made.

First of all, we had some huge rains which have really filled this area up.

The other thing is it's quite a bit warmer.

It's probably 15 degrees warmer.

And that's provided an opportunity for this little guy over my shoulder to come up and bask.

The other day when we were here, there was no activity.

But we see this little alligator out basking.

And this is probably just one of many alligators that are living in here.

And this is the one that was brave enough to come up and catch a few rays.

Alligators typically don't feed this time of year, but I'm sure he's out, just warming his body up.

So, I don't want to get too close to this alligator, 'cause this is a baby alligator, and baby alligators often have protective mothers.

So, I'm going to keep my distance.

But this little guy is just out catching some rays and warming up, and he'll go back when it gets cooler.

A little bit later on today, he'll go back down in that burrow so that he can handle the really cold night temperatures.

In April or so, maybe late March, this guy will come up and be active for good.

We're on the edge of a freshwater wetland in the LowCountry.

And we're looking for a cold-blooded animal that actually becomes active this time of year.

Let's see what we can find.

Now, this isn't what I was looking for, but this is an animal that becomes active this time of year, but only if conditions are right.

When it gets really warm, these guys will come out.

This is an armadillo burrow.

And you can see, this thing is packed with leaves.

What happens, an armadillo probably went in there, sort of packed the entrance real tight, and that way he can handle even the coldest temperatures.

Here is what I was after.

I pick this up very, very carefully.

And this a marbled salamander.

And this looks to be a male.

And I can tell this because it's got this real bright coloration to it.

Females tend to be a little bit more dingy.

But you can see this guy has real bright, bold patterns.

Now, marbled salamanders... it's pretty cool out here today.

But marbled salamanders become active this time of year, but it wouldn't be on a day like today.

They like warm, rainy nights -- is when these things are going to become active.

But you notice, it's under this log near this wetland.

And on the right rainy night, this guy would emerge, move into that little wetland, find a mate, breed, and then the female would lay eggs in an area that's due to flood.

So, she won't actually lay eggs in the water, but what she'll do is lay eggs in an area that's due to flood, that's likely to flood.

Once those eggs become inundated with fresh water, they'll hatch into little larvae.

Those larvae get bigger and bigger and bigger in the wetland, feeding on zooplankton and things like that.

And then they'll metamorphose -- turn into adult animals, very small, adult animals -- move up on land.

And they may come back to this same wetland late the next fall or maybe the following winter.

Not all birds fly south for the winter.

Some species are forced to make a living right here, even though it gets pretty cold.

Now, these pelicans behind me are in some real luck, because we just had a rather significant cold snap and the fish are slow, and so, these pelicans are taking advantage of it.

Pelicans eat fish.

And so they fly well above the top of the water.

They have excellent vision, and when they see a fish below, they fold their bodies up and plunge directly down in the water.

Course, taking in a great deal of water when they do that, and they tilt their bill forward, and water runs out of the bill, and then they flip their head back so that they can swallow whatever fish they've caught.

I mean, they are incredible divers, and it's really fun to watch pelicans feeding like this.

Pelicans are huge birds.

In fact, they're one of the biggest birds on the East Coast.

They can weigh as much as eight pounds, and they often have a wingspan of over six feet.

Uh, they're social birds.

So, generally, if you see one pelican, you're going to see lots of 'em.

And they can live as long as 30 years in the wild.

Pelicans are a little bit goofy-looking, but they're actually quite efficient predators.

They're elegant fliers, have excellent vision, and they're really good at catching small fish, which is what they do.

D.D.T.

took a real toll on pelicans, and at one point, they were in real trouble.

Since D.D.T.

has been taken off the market in the United States, they've made a real comeback.

In fact, they've been de-listed -- they're no longer a federally endangered species.

They still face some real threats.

Things like garbage in the water, fishing line -- things like that can really hurt pelicans.

And what we can do is make sure that we clean up all fishing line, dispense of it properly, and careful about garbage around the marsh and things.

So, there are some things we can do to protect pelicans.

This is great fox squirrel habitat, and there are a lot of fox squirrels that live right here.

Now, when I say fox squirrels, I'm talking about a really different squirrel than your standard gray squirrel.

Gray squirrels are fairly small.

They're only about a pound.

A fox squirrel can be 2.5 pounds, or even bigger than that.

And fox squirrels can be kind of gray and white, or they can be jet black and pretty much anything in between.

One of the reasons that fox squirrels are in this habitat is because of these big, live oak trees.

And these things are just riddled with cavities.

And fox squirrels are cavity nesters.

And so what they'll do, especially in the winter when it gets really cold, is they move into these trees.

They stuff 'em with leaves and things like that, and that way, allows them to stay warm on even the coldest winter days and winter nights.

Another reason why these squirrels like this habitat so much is because there's tons of acorns here.

And in the fall, a lot of live oak trees drop acorns, and these squirrels can collect them, and they can save 'em for the winter.

And a lot of times, they'll bury 'em.

They'll dig a hole, put an acorn in it, hoping to come back and sniff it out later.

But as you can imagine, a lot of times, they don't remember where they put those acorns, and some of 'em turn into oak trees.

So, it's a really cool way that these fox squirrels are planting oak trees.

You know, I've heard fox squirrels called monkey squirrels, and I think that may come from the fact that occasionally, they'll sit up on their hind legs with their front legs sort of tucked in.

And if you've never seen a fox squirrel, it can be pretty exciting.

They're very, very different than your standard squirrel.

So, there's some excellent cavities in some of these oak trees.

Let's climb up and see if we can get a good look into one.

This is the kind of place where a fox squirrel would spend the winter.

Great cavity, big tree.

And so fox squirrels can get inside this cavity, pack it full of leaves, and sometimes several of 'em will kind of group up together, and that way, they can handle even the coldest nights and the coldest rainy days.

When fox squirrels are out foraging, looking for things to eat, they need to be very aware of a really formidable predator that lives in the LowCountry.

The red-tailed hawk is one of the most impressive of all predators.

Because they're warm-blooded, red-tailed hawks must capture extra food during the cold months to warm their bodies, as well as what is needed for flying and hunting.

We want to look at some of the adaptations that red-tailed hawks have.

So, we've invited Hanes Warner.

Hanes is a student at Wake Forest University, and he's a long-time falconer.

So, tell us a little bit about this beautiful bird.

>> Well, Vesper is a four-year-old female red-tailed hawk.

I've had her since she was about nine months old, and we've been hunting together ever since.

>> So, tell me a little bit about falconry.

So, you fly this bird and you hunt this bird to catch things.

>> That's right.

Falconry is the sport of using a trained bird of prey to take game.

And with a red-tailed, we normally take squirrel and rabbit here in South Carolina.

>> It is -- is is an impressive beast.

So, one of the things we want to do is we want to look at just how this bird has adapted for what it does.

During the winter, it's a tough time for all birds.

And red-tailed hawks have it tough, as well, because not only do they have to catch food to power their bodies, but because they're fighting the cold all the time, they've got to use more energy, and therefore, catch more food to keep their bodies warm.

The name red-tailed hawk comes From the fact that red-tails have 12 tail feathers, and they're usually a reddish color.

Let's look at a couple -- tell me about the talons, Hanes.

>> Well, people always ask me, "Do you worry about getting bit?"

And, no, that's not the problem.

It's these talons that they use to grab their prey, and they're razor-sharp.

>> Which works really well for catching rabbits and squirrels and all sorts of -- >> Bigger game.

Yeah.

>> The other thing we look at, is look at the beak.

And the beak is kind of hooked.

And that beak is very good for tearing apart animals.

You know, it can grab a rabbit or a squirrel, and once it's killed it, it can tear it into little bite-sized pieces so it can swallow.

So, what do you feed Vesper?

>> Well, it depends.

Like you said, they have to expend more energy during these cold months to maintain a steady body temperature, so we mainly feed her what she's caught.

And that consists mostly of squirrel and rabbit.

>> Uh, notice this bird's ability to turn the head.

I mean, everybody talks about owls being able to turn the head almost all the way around in a circle.

And Vesper can turn it... [Laughs] She can face us, and then look backwards, which is kind of a cool trick.

So, Hanes, tell me.

I know these things have unbelievable vision, so tell me about vision in the red-tailed hawk.

>> Well, it's just amazing.

It's something like eight times better than humans'.

I've even heard that if they were to watch TV, they wouldn't see it as a fluid motion picture -- they would see it as a series of still-camera shots.

>> That is -- that is really cool.

And, of course, that vision is very good for being up very high, locating mice, rabbits, and squirrels, and things on the ground.

>> Right.

I always say when we're hunting, if I've seen it, she's seen it.

>> So, how does Vesper stay warm in the winter?

During the cold months, they fluff these feathers up to stay warm at night.

And she'll actually look twice as big as she is right now when she's fully fluffed up.

And they also, they'll tuck a foot up underneath these down feathers, 'cause they lose a lot of their heat through these feet that are scaled instead of feathered.

>> Hanes, I notice this bird has a bell on it.

So, why a bell?

>> Well, in falconry, we use bells to let us know where the hawk is as it's following us through the woods.

So, that's a long-time tool in the sport of falconry.

>> The other thing is you guys often put transmitters on the birds, right?

>> Right.

I don't have one on her right now, but we do use radio tracking equipment, just if something went wrong.

It's very helpful here in the LowCountry where she could island-hop, and for us, it's a couple miles by road, but for her -- >> There's nothing worse than the hawk flying off... >> Right.

>> Several miles, and at least with a transmitter, you could find it.

>> That's right.

I've had that happen before.

It's a nightmare.

>> So, this thing has a wingspan of, what, four feet or so?

>> 4.5 feet -- something like that.

>> So, tell me about how this thing attacks prey.

>> Well, the first thing she'll do when we get out hunting is rack up to the tallest part of a tree, and from there, we call it a "stoop."

And it's -- Falconry has quite a vocabulary.

But a stoop is the dive from the top of a tree, and they'll come down 50, 60 miles an hour.

I mean, it's -- you could hear the impact.

It's -- they're moving.

>> Yeah, they're really impressive.

These are really fine predators, for sure.

Well, it looks like -- it looks like Vesper's ready to go.

So, Hanes, thank you so much for bringing Vesper to show us, and for joining us today.

>> It's been my pleasure.

>> Another group of animals that's active year 'round here in the LowCountry are the owls.

And since owls are largely nocturnal, you've got to get out at night to see 'em.

And if you want to find an owl around here, your best bet is to talk to Dr. Chris Marsh.

Chris is my boss.

He's also the executive director of the LowCountry Institute, and he knows a lot about owls.

So, Chris, what are we -- how are we going to find an owl tonight?

>> Well, the first thing is we're dressed appropriately.

We're in dark clothes.

The next thing we have to do is we have to find a place that's the right habitat.

Since we're looking for screech owls, this is an ideal location, because it's the edge of field and we have woods behind us.

The next thing we're going to do is we're going to use a recording to draw the owl in.

>> Technology for finding owls.

>> That's right.

But we have to be careful with that, because we don't want to overdo that.

But we're at the right time of year, because it is winter, and they're not started breeding yet.

So, we're going to use a call, try to see if we can get the owl to come in, get a look at us, put a light on it for a little bit, and then we'll leave it be and let it go on its way.

>> Sounds great.

Let's get started.

And I think we're going to head right over here.

>> Sounds good.

We've found a place where we've gotten into a thicket.

So, owls don't like to come out in the open, in exposed areas.

So, we're getting into a thicket with a bird.

And what we're going to do is we're going to play the recording, see if we can hear the bird, and then we'll see if the bird likes this spot.

If we're close with the center of the bird's territory, it'll come in.

If we're not right inside the territory, it'll stay calling at a distance, and we'll just have to move.

So, let's just see what happens.

[Owl calling sound] Okay, Tony, this is a red-face.

So, screech owls are either born as a gray-face or red-face.

And once they're born that color, they stay that color.

The red-face is only found in the south where historically the long-leaf pine forest occurs.

See that rusty bark?

>> Oh, yeah.

So, the color of pine cones and pine straw and... >> And -- and pine bark.

So, this is one, I think, we've been seeing nearby, other days.

But he's the one that just came in.

>> This guy looks like he's kind of puff -- got his feathered kind of puffed up, and that helps to keep him warm when it's really cool out.

Look at those things -- golly, boy, he can turn his head almost around in a circle.

>> And you can see how the eyes are up front, so they have binocular vision, and therefore, are able to have depth perception, which is critical when you're trying to catch an animal that may be moving.

>> Oh, there he goes.

[Laughs] So, we got a pretty good look at him for a minute.

Okay, Chris, so it's winter, so what is this owl eating, now the insects and frogs and stuff are not here?

>> Since it's been so cold this winter, and this one's shifted over, he's looking for mice.

And the fact that where we're at right now is we're right at where the forest meets the edge of a very weedy field, I think it's an excellent opportunity to hear a mouse rustle.

>> So, it's a good way to -- >> Yes.

>> And, of course, these guys have tremendous hearing and tremendous vision, so they can see things pretty well.

>> They can, and because they're small, that means that there's a lot more small food out there -- a lot more mice than larger ones, so...

This is an adult owl.

>> So, if you're a great horned owl, you've got to eat bigger things.

>> Exactly.

>> Obviously.

Well, let's go see if we can find another one.

See if we can find a gray one.

>> All right, that'd be great.

He's still calling back there, though.

>> I can hear him in the distance calling.

They have the neatest, sort of eeriest call, don't they?

[Owl calling] >> Here it is, right here.

>> Looks like we've got one.

He's right here.

Right here.

you know, it's hard to see owls in the wild, and it's really neat to get a glimpse of one like this.

Tell you what's really neat, is they can do sort of a whisper call.

So, they sound like they're a long ways away when they're just very close.

[Owl calling] So, Chris, these animals are preyed upon by great horned owls and barred owls and lots of bigger birds, right?

>> Yeah, that's -- that's the advantage of being small is that you can plenty of small food, but the disadvantage is that you're also the right size for something else to eat you.

And so any nocturnal predator, such as a great horned owl and barred owl, doesn't see this as an owl.

It just sees it as a smaller food item for it.

So, they have to be -- that's one of the reasons they stay in such thick areas.

>> So, what a treat this is, to be able to see an owl like this.

I mean, not many people get to see this.

Chris, this has really been a blast.

I've really enjoyed this.

>> I have, too, Tony.

I never get tired of doing this.

This is something special to do every time I do it.

>> Well, I appreciate you taking us out.

>> Any time.

>> Although we have pretty mild winters here in the LowCountry, animals still have some really neat strategies for feeding themselves, staying warm, and even finding mates.

Thanks for joining us on "Coastal Kingdom."