Outdoors Maryland; Anniversary Show

I say I can. Hi I'm Rob Lloyd. It was 10 years ago that Maryland Public Television made the first outdoors Marilyn. The program was so successful and so popular that outdoors Maryland soon became an MTV favorite with many fans. Now hundreds of stories later we've dug into our archives to look back at some of our more memorable adventures collected from Mt. Marsh across Maryland. We hope you enjoy them.

They're a totally different thing than seeing what we thought is some prehistoric. That's just what they look like some three story which I don't know and I like you with any reasonable doubt and I would guess that all human body had a vision for vision that never ever did get a good look at them. They would they would eat your feet if you put one on the string and after that long the band with a vision of where they would go long needed we around here. You would have

to pick the river you know Western Maryland home to one of the state's most bizarre forms of life and aquatic salamander whose lineage reaches back 300 million years. Ed Thompson of the Melilla Natural Heritage Program and wildlife photographer Robert Newnan come in search of a creature surrounded by myth and mystery. Local people call it a water dog but its real name is more ominous. Hellbender what call your you for hours. The two

men search under large rocks lining the river bank places where hellbender like to hide. Finally they forced to give up from the river a little bit too high for to find say it's mainly because it's too Turbin you can't see the salamanders when you lift the rocks up and that's basically the problem. It's also too many places they could be when the river gets lower. There's they're concentrated in areas where so it becomes easier to find. So we're going to be very difficult if we would have a week without any rain the river would be low enough to have good success. A month is past the heavy rains of summer are over and the river is now low and clear.

Perfect conditions for finding hellbender is no way to find out when three go. I can't get the rock I think one home today it sure is a good looking. All these things are rare. With regard to Iraq we never know. There is a hellbender there's a hellbender under this rock margin. I got to put it

on hold and if you want to photograph him we should have put him in like what you just got under way and take a salamander in Maryland. And United States is one of its longer this is actually. It looks just like a rock. I don't know if you ever see it shaking her head. She's right about 16 inches say 15 18 inches wide. So when it gets away I'm going to shut up. I was wondering if she was in a fight with her.

No I still want to dog. This is like a water dog. This is incredible. You never think something like that would be in this area and it's not like the other salamanders I mean this tail is fleshy it's muscular. They're saying it's in or they can have short bursts of speed. Nothing like a fish. But they they can move pretty good but they normally just walk on you know feet primarily on one leg. Supposedly they really love crayfish and they'll eat earthworms that wash it with. Eat fish if they can catch them although they are usually dead or sick or dying and they're completely non-poisonous right. Harmless very hard. You'd never think an animal like this would be an improvement. I know it's a part of your whole life to be in a river like this. A lot of people don't know they're here when they do see one they are quite shocked. I can look at it. OK. I've seen it.

I've seen enough to go down expelling air. It's just amazing. It could be coloration is just so effective. Even walking by you and everything that was in that little piece of wood or a rock hellbender is a rare form of life. And in a lot of terrain they're still listed as an endangered species and they should be. There's a lot of other habitat in the river that should be occupied so not because some places are much more silt and little more. It's just an endangered animal it's one that we're worried about. We want to keep track of it see it and see how it's doing.

After releasing the adult salamander it makes a remarkable discovery. A cluster of hellbender is the sea with developing larvae inside. Look at that little baby hellbender. I've never seen the eggs in this phase of the life cycle with quite excited. Normally this would be a big hook. This this is this piece has broken off the main hunk. Normally this egg mass is a group of eggs would be about five times its size the female lays 300 or more eggs but these are in spite of the fact they broke off the main mast they're developing. They're not too far from hatching. I feel really excited. That's the first time we're seeing them. Well so. And

finding eggs. It's always a good one. No it doesn't. It's saving popular. You know we just haven't held banners in the stream that are all going to die. Some day it's just not good knowing they reproduce and then they might be here while it's good. I hope the stream continues and the population just continues to grow. It's an incredible thing. And then one each year before the first blade of grass turns green new dreams begin in Marilyn's thoroughbred horse country the rolling countryside that surrounds Baltimore is home to more than 200 thoroughbred horse farms here in the pre-dawn chill. New hope stirs as the first folds of the year drop onto the actually late.

And with each new fulled a dream is reborn the dream of a million dollar Stakes winner. Meanwhile hundreds of you step up to their daily chores. Crossing the blood line is one more calculated time passing on the speed the stamina and the will to win. To be a thoroughbred. A horse's blood line must be traceable to one of three stallions. The Darlie Arabian The dolphin bar or the Byerly. All of which began the line in 17th century England. Today's thoroughbred is the product of three centuries of inbreeding with one purpose in mind to breed a winner. The fastest horse around. By virtue of its pedigree its disposition and having proved itself a winner at the track.

The standing stud stallion is the royal sire of the thoroughbred line commanding a lofty feed for a few minutes work with considerable amounts of money at stake. Inception is not left to chance though I believe in their setting. These forms are serious commercial operations. Jay William Boniface owns Bonita farm in. A family run operation my older son runs the breeding division pardon the youngest son does stay in management. This is one of the need to find somewhere he happens to be the grand dad. One of the Kentucky Derby contenders for this year we're going to be greener too. Repeated testimony. She's been checked and Nerine thinks today is the best time for a breeder. Stallion covers so many mares up 16 there's where that would take a lot of caution because if he's on a mission and things are bad we're

going to put restraints on her so she can kick stand with the announcer. Right now the economic situation is such a breeding business it's really bad for is just worse if it has stood for 25000. Now fans are terrified. Wonder why what the best they. Say what we do is we'll come back to offer of sound her at about two days from mass media relations. Then we'll will tell whether we have won in their displeasure. I suspect. In about two or three days we see a heartbeat. The ultrasound machines made our job a lot easier. Let's go. Now take forward guess work out. Of a very full day of

operation starts at 6:00 and we begin training by seven to run four sets on the hour being 7 and 11 or breed of horses that really is the greatest of all. The birds and smell of heart. Read the word. Know a lot of people talk about the style that they of. How did they get the. But there is a big element psychologically. Relax. I had a film years ago and was working there one morning and whistled two or broke like a fresh horse. The next time I ran her I said to the jock look when you get ready to make your move be sure you've got a hole when you wish for take off. You've won three races on the road. Racing thoroughbreds takes a lot of land and the competition for it is considerable.

Atlanta Fong was founded by a horseman fleeing the encroachment of developers 60 years ago. It's the site of a unique indoor racetrack. Tom Voss is the current on that brand. Many of these kind of born in America let alone Malen. This barn was built around 1930 to pressure story has it that every carpenter within a 50 mile radius worked on it. It's like half an hour whatever the going rate. I think they build it like what. Where I grew up a mile around the time we have everybody with a race for 20 mile radius. We're training our horses on the ground. Harm is about 780 and it comes from Long Island where they were big in the back and forth but that was in New York City and all the suburbs that spread to Boston but it was in Long Island. And they came here

to Boston to build a place here. And a lot of other people came through. Luckily around here a lot of people with a bigger farm land and some kind of preservation I call it selling the development rights. So they're protected. You know or ever hope we allow some of this to go on. With some black horse and black horses or not people face of racism. Now the. And you're right. Both. And we've got to Pogo in the summertime. You know we basically go anywhere a race for. All thoroughbreds are destined for the track. This is where the major money is. But there is another side of this racing line one that harkens back to the tradition of Charlie Fenway train steeplechase horses at his farm in Buffalo just 25 minutes from downtown Baltimore.

My primary interest is in steeplechases training and riding is concerned. What we have here is a commercial operation a vast majority of the workers on this base are owned by other people. OK pay up to 45 hours a day to take care of thoroughbred breeding or training people to pay for it. It lends itself land with way very much suburban living. We've had some problem with the land value is escalating at a rapid rate. That puts a lot of pressure on our industry. They and this kind of area because of land value and have not taken the train terribly with that. And then people chasing sport with run a lot of hunt which are out in the open. Maryland is famous for its timber races running each weekend in April. These four races culminate with the Maryland hunt considered the toughest timber race in America.

The first meet of the season has held at Atlanta for just one race. And going on probably 45. Like a lot of people are just getting their horses ready give them an easy run. Race. The Maryland grand national It's the second of the Triple Crown timbrel races. It's been run each spring since 1890. It's held on Charlie fun with Tom her but grand Axel has been run here in the valley since the end of World War II.

Classic point. The point goes over six different properties from your area. But no other race quite like. The thoroughbred horse culture in Maryland is facing some tough times and it's survived the pressures of development rising land values lack of investors and the declining interest in thoroughbred racing off track betting may give the industry a needed boost. But it's viability in the Maryland countryside remains to be seen. One thing is sure the third is here to stay. Three centuries of breeding will not disappear overnight as long as there are fast horses. There will be races to run the place money to win and each spring a new crop of foals will hit the ground.

Running. Up. Down to this guy here. You're right coming up here in my pocket right. Now or I'm going to take a little but you're a guy. DOC. Told me he's just got energy and it's old energy it's energy it's been around a long time and I get a lot it when I come up from the city you know and Robin up here I get close to the river and I'm not going to give a hoot. You know I'm driving my car. Let's go you know in a pass over the river and I'm always watching and looking at it and I just I get turned on about it. You know the Potomac has great. History and energy. Intertwined and one of America's greatest rivers. George Washington saw in it a passage to the west. Thomas Jefferson said it was worth

the trip across the Atlantic. This one here is one of my favorites it's called the finesse fast and that's all undelete move around the water it's it's tops. Whites probably favorite color back to Mark watch is drawn by their own GIBBERD strength beauty and small amount that's where over 10 years Koba has guided float fishing expeditions on the upper Potomac. It's a trip as unique as its leader. Is. The. Starting Point is just about Harpers Ferry West Virginia narrow twisting section of the river. Hold the needle. Call. Another couple of good pockets on

either side. Michael Hicks from fishing as a guide I'm turning your sports on watching them catch fish. Because when you call the shot out and they can make that shot and you're holding them in a position so they can do it just like you do. In fact it's better because you've transferred this information you've transferred that now and bear enjoying it to him. As it slices through the Blue Ridge Mountains the Potomac offers prime bass habitat whitewater rapids rocky ledges and the wire. If you have any experienced people in the boat I don't think I've got a doubt about that. But you know like if you got people in about 100 that's the big that's a big fish or two about.

That one really brought me back to spend fishing last year there you know another scramble on there he goes. Little guy. Out there. Probably what people don't know the most about our trips is how to find fish in Florida. They've done like fishing and stuff. They don't have any idea where to go about it in flowing water fish are always going to be where the most amount of food goes by and it requires at least an effort for them to be there. All right. So in little and spots little eddies off to the side behind ledges in front of ledges and of places where the water breaks current split. You know we're slow water it's fast water and those are the target. So a lot of that is hitting those targets. Come on having. A small mouth will fight as hard as any fish its size allows his clients to keep only two fish a day one of which must be over 18

inches. But he encourages the release of every fish. Fishing is the most genteel of the woods. I mean you can have all the pleasures of the hunt. You know you get your gear ready you get your tackle together you know you've got to you've got to map out where you're going to go. You know you go into the river and then you start hunting. You know you look for the spots where the fish are going to be you understand their environment. Right. You set up or you make a toss into the area and then you have to trick them. You know it's not like pulling up a gun. You've got to trick them they've got to take the bait. Right. You've got to set the hook. You've got the flight where they always have the chance to get away. And then when you get into the boat you don't have to make the kill. In fact his efforts go well beyond what Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials believe is critical to saving Rivers fished a vastly improved water to combine with the state mandated five fish a day limit as the Potomac

responding when. The bridge into Harpers Ferry once carried John Brown on a crusade to end slavery. That bridge is gone but new unscary commerce and communards above the POBox ran. The. Internet. Rich people. Get Shots on the right to. Right. I'll. Be

watching. That's great advice Colorado. You know I got a thing I always get when I get my clients out I'm real big about kissing your first fish and your first fish and then you let them go and then they know you're friendly and they gonna be more cooperative I think it breeds good luck. I don't know I guess it's a sign of affection. It's times when somebody brings you a lot of joy and pleasure from it you know. And even though you may I guess they get a little certainly bothers them some in the process but you kind of like to pay your respects you know kind of give a little show a little affection too. Because I never did fish. That is a beautiful view. A colorful Cumberland daughter signals the onset of another in western

Maryland. It also draws one's eye to an area. Locals call the narrow rugged Einspruch nature is jagged 270 million years ago. There are some who view the police differently than most as perhaps a chapter in their life. For them the dare these rocks whisper is the seduction of. Some like Gary Green. And Daryl Spence. I think almost find its way really hard maybe at words of where it belongs. Will top or sit more looking back. And that's what it's all about. Keep an argument can. Argue with words. Sometimes I get nervous and start singing. And since.

You do that. You are nervous. I think not. Nervousness willing to risk arean Darrow's task is to climb one hundred fifty feet of loose and crumbling vertical rock with a menacing summit over him. As far as anyone knows. No one has attempted to climb this difficult route before. There's another friend in the world of rock climbing a successful ascent awards of climber the honor of naming his route to the top. So we climb a route we'll give it a name usually something that's happened one time I get stung by a bee. So we called it beast. One time Copperhead literally went right over my boot. We called it Copperhead. So we'll climb this and see what happens. Give it a name when we get finished. Putting all that stuff about around that know you might say. The Guardian Angel of rock climbers is good safe with something that won't be taken for granted today by either man.

Some of the equipment I tell you about this one right here they're my favorites. They're called friends. While the way they call them friends they really are from what you can do in Iraq opposed to some of these other equipment is it hands down it allows you to really attach it quickly. You can see checking to see the hole is real tight. You know there's a saying that we have a long rock climb all climbers all know. There are two areas here where climbers can stop and regroup. Everything from here on up is loose on the left side the right side. It's real solid wall. Today's ascent will proceed in three segments or pitches. Barry will lead the middle page Darrell the first and blast. The first pitch

after a half hour. And by far the easiest is nearly. Now. Up and over. There a point where you finally come to a spot where you're really scared mouth instantaneously dries up and then you find yourself it's like a wide angle lens on the camera. Everything gets the big prize blow up real I start you know on every piece of your body you are shaking where you know what's happened. Every move of my face that I have in everyday life. That is just the. That's that when I realize. That every day walking down the street or working a job. I do the work. That's the ultimate point and I guess in a way you look bounded right there.

I tell you what fried my calves on that one. You're going to take this climb down you fall out. But after your body gets up first you want to do is flap has had it's a great climb. You know then you start talking about all the different elements of. Maybe it was rock bottom or where you are. It's just right where you make a really good team. And you say why did it this way and I did it that way. And I reflect on it. Yeah I trust the person immensely. I went to it. I went and got him put it back on for like a relationship. You have to trust that person without question. I mean I sleep for. Two thirds of the time it's finished. The last picture is the most difficult for two reasons. First the climbers have already exhausted a lot of energy and second

the challenging over the top right. Is really. Right. They are climbing. I would say the most dangerous part of this flight they will go somewhere or top it all overhangs just a little. And also we lose our practices some practices that are lower. But as we get up top it's going to be this finger. So that's probably the part of the Opera hopeful about. This. Time of loose rock. Gary I don't see them out at the park because every time I fly after I get to the top and I get back to the bottom you know the rock should be in chains. It's still there. It's just it's just the environment that I live and play and it just happens to be more vertical that on. I got some attention just a little bit more. You're

not that far. Yeah there you go. There you go. Stay within yourself. I really think you can do it in one hand hold and there's nothing you can really put your hand on. Not really not enough to hold yourself enough to get up there. Take a look at let come back down to I just did OK. I just have to be a superman to make it after being the second man up on the previous pitch. Darryl has had little time to rest on already working on this pitch for 45 minutes. His arms ache and she searches for cracks in the rock strong enough to hold sprawl in place secure enough to support him in case she falls. For a fiery. Here we get it right. So meantime don't fatigue yourself. There there's one.

Well. Nice try. Here just just to feel this just to meet this challenge and deal with living on the air. A lot of the kind of weird. I think with some people like they call this an adrenaline junkie. I don't know that the jokey idea I mean I don't crave all that but I definitely go look for it. Let me know when you want some slack. We'll get to that point. We're all fine and we're kind of half dangling we don't know what you're going up or going to fall down and we really get the question you know why am I doing this. To a big guy.

I. Gary. I think I'm going to take a fall maybe it's like. Oh God I'm wrong Gary. I got that feeling you get a kick out of me God. OK. Well that was a trip. Let me down easy. Luckily Darrow's Proz held the fall and Alasia with a rock rattle but he's none the worse for wear. Gary now attacks the clip to finish that line. I'll tell you what. I have a whole new respect for what little red there is since Darrow's already wedged the equipment in the rock. Gary can concentrate so.

You can see why. Within 10 minutes he closes on the summit. I'm about ready. Matt. Slack. Got a very good team and they were strong. That's the craziest stuff I've ever done. I really don't think I could do it. Darrell did the hard part is already pre-sets So I basically just strongarmed it up. Remember I got a lot of drag. OK. He made it climb by.

Hand said a part of me that the way I was just thinking about how I was going to hit. I was just worried about my weight back hitting you know my arm hitting something. So I tried to hit my foot on the rock when I did I spun around I just kind of crazy. I was like OK I didn't die I. Tell you what a thrill. That's a thrill. You name it. And she took the worst of the brush. What's up with the name on that climb. We call it yellow. Since I was the weenie they couldn't make it up. Even the trees are yellow so it kind of goes with the season there Gary. They have some they were mad that they may have to tell our children why we named this one yellow. Now we are all. On the surface it all seems quite simple to the north metro to the south.

Virginia if you're a grabber look hard to the east or west. Find another marker and know for sure which side you're on. But beneath the surface it's not that simple. There lies a tangled mass of regulations resentment and a history of violence. Forty five minutes by fast boat from this field isolated by the waters of the Chesapeake is Maryland's only inhabited offshore island. First settled in the 16:00. The residents of Smith Island have long depended on the surrounding waters for their livelihood. Resenting outside interference. The waterman of the island have long form of the seasons in the ever changing dynamics of the bay.

The Virginia state line that's across the Southern Marshes of Smith Island. Going to Maryland Waterman into the centuries old territorial dispute between the two states over the resources of the Chesapeake. The original line is granted to Cecil Calvert and 16 32 has twice been moved once in the time of George Washington and again in the late 18 hundreds when oystermen and oyster police from both states fought over the immense wealth that lay on the bottom of the bay. During the years of the oyster warms the waters around the line ran red with blood. At the time the uninhabited marshes and shallow waterways of Smith Island were considered worthless choked during the summer months with aquatic grasses a poor bottom for oysters to the arbitrators of the day. It seemed a safe place to position the line. That. As the population decline and the crab replaced it as the money

drop the underwater Mattos became valuable territory being the favorite hiding place for the molding blue grass. Disputes along the line erupted again this time over crabs. In 1900 a teenage boy from Tyler was shot in the back by the Virginia police where grabbing below the line remembered by the islanders as if it happened yesterday. The incident said that. The principal method of catching crabs on Smith Island is scraping. Where generations the watermen have dragged their scrapes across the grassy bottoms. Going after the valuable soft crabs and Peeler's that hide there if they pull up some hard grabs or jimmies and scrapes and so much the better for the days take. The lion is such an unnatural boundary that the crabbers can easily turn into law breakers just for pursuing their catch.

The remote Waterman's communities always don't like any kind of outside interference in what they do. In this case it's a rather acute interference with the state line cutting across the lower end of their island. If they want to utilize those waters then they have to get a Virginia license and they Bethleham and know the laws and requirements of two separate states that work in their local waters. They don't really care what state water they're working in all they're trying to do is crab. Each side has its own agencies of enforcement. Maryland's natural resources police are based in Greece. The biggest thing with France scrapers Virginia great not allowed to keep our grabs for his back and keep it balance. So consequently all this man of ours will go down or to graduate Wadham try and save the heart rabs spoke about what was like. So.

I would be. The real thorn in the side of Smith Islander's is the Virginia Marine patrol officer out of 10 gear. Peter grokking journey as he's known by the water man has been a fixture on the line for a dozen years. To vote for. Me read. It most times you have to stay right on it. You got law breakers on both sides of your bottom up here and we got them down here too. Yeah when I first took a with all those had me in a dorm and shape them all boats about me. I think your idea was to try to rob me of that break which were a lot of great. Well I did back off a job like this. You've got to treat everybody right

when I start picking up that baby walking with. It's an early very early August morning in Tyler and the Smith Island town closest to the line. The Cranberries check their Peeler floats for those that have shed overnight. Electing the soft crabs for shipment later that day they head out in Firstlight to the shallow waters of tilers creek and hawgs night. Just a few minutes ride through the waterways of the southern island here they'll spend the rest of the day scraping for grabs flirting with the line. The boats are equipped with single scrapes and hydraulic rigs to help catch these rigs are illegal in Virginia only hand held scrapers can be licensed to crab there as they circle about the creek within sight of their homes. The true source of their resentment becomes apparent. Danny Bradshaw remembers how it

was always better bothered. Getting ready for our back door was the way we go. He died averaging about half way between here and dad. Grab his boat. They were slowed down a little bit let us get up for the burglar to jail on it now. This place got a white box. As the morning wears on the boats gradually moved north in anticipation of the daily arrival of Virginia police. But today the police come not by boat but by plane. Overlord's turned back at full throttle across the line. A log

jam or Robert G.T. might be in there. He knows Overbay was resisting the incumbent coming in force half way and so goes the daily drama of life on the line. Everyone involved doing their job is their conscience and feelings dictate. Just trying to make a living. Rules of the game helps when there have been legal challenges. The waterman of the island won the right to crab in Virginia though there are still restrictions and the constant threat of increased fee for the privilege that Smith Islanders view as their God given right. The resentment is real and the potential for violence remains especially as the resources of the bay window and the economy of the island and the way of life its

threat. One solution is to begin to look at the bay's resources as a single entity. William Goldsborough of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation we have one Chesapeake Bay population of blue crabs moves throughout the bay and in the jurisdictions of two states and yet two states have different regulations on crabbing. We ought to have as much as possible uniformity in the regulations on the fisheries throughout the Bay. Not sure if there is a way to resolve that in the short term but I hope we can do with some crab war like we had in the past. A postscript to this story on the morning of Sunday September 20th Jouni Crocket passed away. He died as he wished out in his boat on the job. All who knew him will not soon forget. Inspect them Pendu. When the dog days of summer hit the big down the Lazy To all my golf or his

little solace or inspiration. What if your sport is Whitewater the place to be is just a few miles upstream for a classic street that is tough to beat. Running with the big dogs at the Great Falls race. One of four in the adrenaline racing series The Great Falls race is by far the shortest and the most intense with an average run time of seventy five seconds. The course drops 55 vertical feet. Ending in a spectacular plunge over the spout. A 22 foot waterfall. Running of the race or just running the falls is crucially dependent on water law. No actually I've never done the Great Falls where I would have run the fall. But what's the falls like.

Well depends on the level. Fortunately I went down a foot over the last 12 hours so I'm a lot happier about that than I would have been if it were 3.1. Works. I think that the hardest part is the spout just because the angle and the kind of trickiness of the water. A lot of people don't think that but I think the spout is the hardest part. See. Now we are all timing. This.

Get when. I. Get. A good Bodor can make a fast six run look.

Classics wrap assesses a severe penalty for the smallest mistake. At. Least. From what. I. See. I sure. I. Don't get. The. But then there's Eric Jackson. Is coming out. NO IT'S NOT.

Yes. All right I can see that. Nothing seems about going to go on this 26 but from that I don't I think. There were over 50 entrants in the Great Falls race this year 37 of them ran the course in less than 80 seconds. 80 seconds of pure adrenaline. Early on that steamy Sunday morning. People who like to feed birds often consider squirrels to be public enemy number one. Squirrel does not get up get dressed go to work squirrel have one thing to do all day long.

One mission that's to illegally and dishonestly break into our bird feeders. These bird lovers begrudge squirrels their seed and they wage a valiant but ultimately vain fight to keep furry thieves out of their feeders. But there's another approach one espoused by Washington DC resident Iris Rothmann. Instead of fighting squirrels she's decided to enjoy them. I realized one day when I was trying to keep the squirrels away from the bird feeder squirrels were actually far more interesting than the birds. Birds were pretty but the squirrels certainly had it all in terms of personality. Rothmans backyard is essentially a squirrel community center complete with food housing games and athletic challenges. I've planted Haythorn at trees over there because Hazelnuts are one of their very favorites. Squirrel houses because my trees are fairly small. I set up a whole lot of feeders to supplement their natural food. I have. 6 different feeders

that are primarily for the squirrels three of which are bird print so that those pesky birds get along. Yes Squirrel. And then there are some that are unisex. Both birds and squirrels up and then a couple that are just for the birds. Rothmann a freelance writer editor who works at home caters to the squirrels as part of her daily routine. In the morning I get up read the paper this girl fricassee a normal morning working up in her second story office Rothmann is surrounded by more squirrels. They come to feast in terrarium like feeders in the windows. Crows are really wonderful companions for people who work at home. They're a great distraction for one of the things that's really fun to watch. I have a squirrel proof heater. Where the Domo red and it's hanging up in the air this the squirrels have a good attitude. They climb up the holder and reach out.

They can jump into another feeder built like a gumball machine. Also test squirrels problem solving ability fill it up with nuts and the squirrels have to turn a wheel to get the nuts to come up and beginning. They slip it bite it try to knock it over. Eventually will turn the wheel by accident. And once I get that first turn of the wheel. So they figure it out very quickly and just start turning and using hazelnuts like for kids enjoy watching these antics and Rothmann has frequent after school visitors. Can. Get. I got. One friend named after me. Little Iris who's 7 you know loves to come over here and she'll come and fill all my feeders she'll put out water for the squirrels. She'll sit for hours. She's actually learned to sit still so that she can watch the squirrels and empathy with other creatures. Often children I have trouble

with all of this feeding going on. Rothmann spends a lot on her squirrel habit more than hundred dollars a month on sunflower seeds and fancy shelled pecans and walnuts. In fact Rothmann buys so much seed that her local supplier delivers it in 100 pound lots. Not surprisingly Rothmann ranks as one of the store's top customers. Oh I heard about number one squirrel feeding goes over in Silver Spring. Bon Flieger a retired wildlife biology professor also goes through his share of seed but his squirrels have to earn their food. We don't want lazy squirrels around here. So they had to do something to get what we give them and just call it that work out later. The squirrels must do a tightrope walk across a wire that's an eighth of an inch thick. Then they hang from their hind legs to pull up little buckets filled with sunflower seeds.

When the first cup is empty they brave a longer run along the wire to get to cops that still have food. They didn't take this welfare long to master this within a week I had them for farming. They can smell the sunflower seeds and they know there's something down there. So that's how they discovered they had to pull it out. And the high wire act isn't as hard as it looks. If you're a squirrel it's really what they do in the wild they're hanging down from the branches of the trees to feed on things and. Jumping from one tree to another and having to negotiate pine branches so they're not doing anything unusual and squirrel that is in fact backyard feeders are a good way to learn more about squirrel behavior which seems to boil down to the pursuit of food mates and proper respect. World rank depends on age. The higher ranking squirrels are the older squirrels. When you see the squirrels chasing each other it's usually a dominant squirrel chasing a lesser ranked animal just to make sure

that he knows or she knows or place him by chasing is also part of the mating ritual. If you see a whole lot of squirrel facing one life then it's amazing he's chasing a female aerial chases and death defying leaps are made possible in part by the squirrels tale which is actually a balance organ. The tail is used as a balancing organ when they are running through the treetops and if you watch them on the small branches that tail is very important and they fall out of a tree. They always land on their bellies be paperwork started as an active of. The squirrels and other creatures so entranced Lee in the door that they build a glassed in addition to their Waldorf home just to watch wildlife. Every morning about 6:30 we have a cup of coffee a bag or we sit there for about an hour and then watch the birds and squirrels. We've seen as many as 20 squirrels at one time when cattle as many as 40 different species of birds are the course of the day.

Says. The secret of keeping squirrels out of bird feeders is to create separate dining areas. I think a better approach instead of having squirrels complete with the birds and the bird feeders is to keep them separately in an area where they can have their food. Let the birds get in there in peace with themselves. Nor has even devised a squirrel feeder that foil squirrels annoying habit of gnawing on their own feeders. The world's first squirrel proof squirrel feeder. Meaning that that is still can't eat it he can eat with the inside of it and squirrel lovers say the money spent on extra peanuts is more than made up by the pleasure that squirrels bring. I. Encourage people to feed squirrels and invite them into their into their backyard because they're very entertaining and they're sort of in a way more like Fred. 5:30 a.m.. The Ocean City and. A fleet heads

out into the Atlantic for the beginning of the 23rd annual White Marlin. And. All 237 boats with twelve hundred fishermen aboard many of them world class anglers. From this elite group. One boat stands out as decidedly different from all the rest. The caravan. Of Burkham 35 operated by Carlos Bentos of Annapolis the only man in the history of the tournament to attempt to compete. Along. Without the help. Of a crew. Normally. Carlos never takes anyone with him on board the caravan. He kindly made an exception for the camera crew from outdoors Maryland. One of the reasons that thirty feet long is because people the and the part of the restaurants. You have four customers per valuers employees. I think

this is the only way that you can be isolated. Either way might be just becoming a monk. Other boats have captains to find the fish. One or two mates to prepare the right bait and rig the tackle and several anglers to reel in the catch. Point. In my case will be different because they do the three things on one I'm the guy I'm the mate. On the bank trolley. Hopefully I will be the Wrangler. Without the sophisticated fishing raids of more expensive boats satellite images cameras under the hull and other high tech equipment Karlos must rely on his own experience. Today he has a hunch that white marlin will be found eighty five miles out in the Atlantic near a lump on the ocean floor. Carlos has detected a subtle change in watercolors. A Whiter Shade of blue that indicates a warmer current condition known to attract white marlin and other game fish for bait. Carlos uses a ballyhoo without a skirt

which he trolls on the surface of the water in a manner that makes it appear to be swimming. I like the feature with light that pulled out plenty on this line. Which makes it much more challenging. They. Effective. You know why all. The Caribana trolls on autopilot. Patiently waiting for a hungry wife to come looking for a snack. When nothing bites. I think they're thankful for being quiet them being like people in perspective trying. To find yourself. What were common. Why are we going. What we doing what we want to do what we plan to do what we have done and we do in. The space of time for reflection. Very nice I enjoy. It. Suddenly the adrenaline pumps. Off white marlin is on the line.

There you can see the first order of business is for Karlos to remove the other lines and bake so that he won't get tangled in them. Then he marches around so that he can circle back to the exact spot just in case other Marlan are in the area see what they are. I know am 53. Karlos must keep his line taught at all times or the white may throw off his hook only by keeping the right amount of pressure on the line and he really am in towards the boat. Too much pressure on the line might break or the hook pull out nobody.

You. It. With a little luck Carlos who's able to take them on. And then remove the hook from its bill. After making sure that Marlon has oxygen and its gills. He releases it back into the sea. Perhaps they will meet again in another day. I don't. Know why mottling. Going release no Crookenden mouth. I would guess probably

45 pounds 50 perhaps. That's an average fish. I'm glad you guys. Good. I was like you. Come to. Me. He had from. Carlos announces his catch and release to the tournament committee but. Are already released on dog operation. I'm OK because I got to be so. Lucky. I think that. Carlos sometimes documents his catches on his camcorder. Normally I'd take the rules just the guy could be on camera. I think I'm a better camera. But if you try to. He's nice it's a nice moment in film and in the winter days you know something

during his three days of tournament fishing Carlos has caught five white marlin including a pair of doubleheaders to Marlin hooked at the same time. Four of five of them were tagged. All were released 330 and the fishing deadline for the day is over. The competitors returned to the tournament headquarters in Ocean City. A tradition among the fishermen coming back to board to fly the flag of the culture of the day. In this day we can see the way my men and all of you fly in today and then the people around I know it looks like the guy who. So this is the white marlin open. Obviously the heaviest prize when he goes to the white marlin when the bill fish categories we award prize money to the heaviest white. And blue. But we also give release points awards for the most cost which is the most prestigious award any good angler would tell you this. You know I can tell you is better than I can get lucky to actually have the win.

Right. Not only did Carlos win top honors as the best angler best mate and best captain. He also won the top boat award one of the most prestigious awards in the tournament which is usually presented to entire boats and cruise I think I'm going to be enjoying my my five minutes a day because I don't think so because I've been so. Linked that you live with honors but dissipated and this time I'm on. Pins and I mean more than 100 this year. And I think I'm the best of them. I was probably the luckiest guy. Until the early years of World War Two hunters who were lured by large numbers of migrating solar radios that stopped the jugs Bay on the Patuxent in early fall to fatten up on rice grass seeds the hunters harvested the birds in unbelievable numbers 1500 birds taken in a day. Fifty thousand stars in a season.

They came here they didn't come here for plenty. They want to push your man down a boat ride as hard work as you could do. Would you say that just about as hard as I've ever done I tell anybody pushers like John McKenzie and Leroy Harper pulled a specially designed boat through the tall grass when a was spotted the pushier called out Mark and the shooter shot. Most hunters were crack shots. A few were otherwise engaged. I killed a man and I think he must have been laughing now when I see you shoot he said. Up and you. And you know I shot a hole with my bow. Man I for I don't move. I knew that I'd be all right on board the ball bouncing up and down. I mean when you're doing your own shot at one time he said no I didn't do the shooting at the bottom. Nah nah man ill put it all day and

I'm here till I pay for everything. You pay for everything from me. He went up there and got in the car and went away in a left nothing. Today early fall. Phone shouted mornings on the Patuxent River still offer an opportunity to catch sight of the secretive sorry. But sightings are more and more rare. Greg Kernes park naturalist of the Patuxent River Park as part of the Maryland National Capital Park and planning commission is studying these birds to learn more about their little known habits once they are both quantiles they can't accept they really don't have the inclination to find that small opening again when it's elevated above their eye level. And you've got them. One survey cost to fall and having a double funnel system like this is ensuring your calculus is something. That. I played around with for a couple of years just trying to keep raccoons out of these things we were able to catch more birds you know going from you

know from from 50 and five years to an hour you know over a hundred last year and just a one two month period. And these these lead fences or fences here these are it's two foot high chicken wire one inch mesh that guides the birds because of their natural inclination is not to fly. They wander along the fence seeking out the source of the sound system which is a digital ship that have been very close to. My Karama so wildlife research biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center helps Carnes with his work. We are really just scratching the surface about the basics about sewer rails. Greg is devised to devise traps which banned these birds in numbers that haven't been accomplished in the past. We've also examined hundreds of birds to determine sex and age criteria from random sampling. We're monitoring weights to see how the quality of this habitat is in

terms of the birds to refuel gain weight especially lipids which are formed from high carbohydrate feed sources so that they can to continue their migration in a timely way. Sources have made unique adaptation it's not allow them to prosper in the marsh. I think the course the legs are very long just about the longest for any bird or they're small size just about done. But the total length is probably almost a quarter of our body length here and short bill for picking up small seeds like wild rice which is what they come here to eat on. And their markings are totally cryptical Brown blends in with the mud. Little white highlights and the feathers blended with the breakup they're outlined in the reflections in the mud the shoddy mud surface. They have bold vertical barring on the sides of the flanks that blend in beautifully with the vertical lines of the marsh the shadowing effect it creates. They have a small tail that is triangular shape when it's closed. Little white patches

underneath very similar to the animals like a cottontail rabbit or a white tailed deer. The actual gap is about one inch of the rib cage is so flexible and so they could squeeze the tiniest of gaps. So the saying skinny as a rail. See where it came from. After the birds are banded most of them are released. Some are set aside so that later radio transmitters can be tied to their bodies. This is a very delicate operation. It's good I think on this one you like that the good candidates are radio telemetry methods using a 1.8 gram transmitter each. Each bird is individually marked with a different frequency. The radios really are the simplest type of location device. You can triangulate to find out where the bird is after the transmitter is attached. The birds are released one at a time in an enclosed environment to see if the string harness is too tight.

I think this is all normal in the bird. I mean as far as possible good. Horses at all whatsoever the bird bird is complete unimpeded and the birds are placed in a holding cage for further observation. After a final check several hours later the birds will be taken back to their capture site and released. We want to know how well the birds survive out here. Nobody nobody has ever studied them and we don't know how long they stay here on this series. How long does it take them to refuel to gain the fat reserves to make the next migratory hop from this area the radio transmitters have a range of approximately a quarter of a mile. And we found that we could we could actually drive right up with a boat for the birds and located within probably 50 meters. We found out that the birds are basically sedentary and that they stay in a small section of marsh where basically they gain weight. The birds

seem to be extremely well protected from predators and dense vegetation and we haven't recorded the mortality. We don't have high precision looking at that type of an issue because we have 20 years. Marcus hopeful's last year we caught over 800 of rails and I fully expect them to copy over a thousand this year by expanding the project and using some of the same habitat. We had great success in banning the Birge problem last year but we've been unpleasantly surprised this year by the fact we want to call it about 400 and so about half of the birds that we had this time last year. Curran's on harams hope these mysterious birds will help them answer troubling questions about the changing dynamics of the jug Bay Marsh. For instance the once abundant Rice grass that attracts Saurez and other birds here is in decline. It's being replaced by other marsh plants. What will this mean for the future health of the ecosystem. No one knows or has asked questions like this before.

The thrill of breaking new ground inspires them to repeatedly take to the marsh. This excitement and concern has triggered funding from the Maryland ornithological society coil's unlimited. The Chesapeake Bay Trust and Prince George's Community College so that their work can continue. You talk to most biologists out there these birds are gone from these wetlands and you know that's a shame that that's happening. It's terrible. You know we've caused things to change that much in their habitat and their environment to cause these once common birds to decline. We think that the easier to stop over and is really not that abundant in the flyway that there are probably certain critical areas where the birds stop that probably are worthy of protection or management of what they're eating. We need to recognize that we need to find better stewardship of the quality of those habitats in the future if we hope to preserve this bird. We want to know more about this bird how we can save it.

But if it's declining it's obviously something else going on in this environment the wetlands that need to be examined and find out what we're doing to them and how we can reverse the trend. So. One part of the puzzle a lot of them. Captain John Smith first spied it in 16:1. Of 1300 acre tree studded paradise carving a sharp way into the Chesapeake. Now almost 400 years later nothing remains of poplar. Nothing but fragments of its natural past. The Chesapeake is reclaiming poplar slowly. Deliberately inescapably. But this tiny shard of disappearing sand boasts a history rich in fact and fiction of legend and lower.

Originally called pro-police Island. Poplar was once expansive. To the north Lake Kent Island. To the east. Neck. And then Tilmann isolated yet teeming with wildlife. Poplar was a microcosm of the Eastern Shore ecosystem. Biologist Jan Reise say that all life on pop around in our time is essentially the same as on the mainland here particularly for a lot of nesting birds since it was sort of a safe. Haven free of predators. But since 1877 the Chesapeake relentless pursuit of poplar has won out by 1937 the western shore line was gone badly eroded the main island broken into in 1978 poplar was no more than six jagged sand bars peeking through the bay's green waters. Today most of them are gone swallowed up yet poplars colorful history survives.

Biologist reefs and colleague Dawn Merritt occasionally visit the island to document its disintegration. Jan Reese has followed poplars demise since childhood say in his late teens early 60s pop rock. Possibly me on. Tour. We'd. Land. On. The. Trees. And. Lucy beside our. Substantial. I would say to me the last hop around. Perhaps being be equated. To Death. Friends. Spent many many years here. Studying life. Really. Mistakes. Are. These. People. The. Pop round. Disappear. All these. Organisms in life. Here also. In July 1990 we docked a boat over on that little island and walked across to where we are now. We discovered cormorant colony in treat some of these trees that are laying in the water. 70 feet high. In less than two years. Much of this island has disappeared.

In Chesapeake Bay are rapidly disappearing from this one Bonnet's. Bob Brown is going to be probably the latest one to go on. It looks like it's got a couple more years like left. Sharp John disappeared in the late 50s. Heron Island Jamestown are also disappearing. Our island has always Loide the uncommon to its shores. Interesting thing about pop around is that it's had some strange events in history. It used to be owned at one time by the grandson of Charles Carroll of Carrollton to sign the Declaration of Independence and he had a money making scheme to sell black cat fur to the Chinese. They put an ad in a local Easton paper and purchased several hundred maybe even a thousand black cats and turn them loose on the island to breed in hopes that he could then go in and trap the progeny and sell the fur. Unfortunately Mother Nature didn't cooperate that winter. The bay froze and the cats decided to run to the mainland and he lost all of his breeding stock past poplar residents have lived through other historic moments as

well. Colonists were massacred by Nanticoke Indians here as they worked a vast corn and tobacco plantation and many witnessed a British takeover of the island during the war of 1812. Later its proximity to Washington still tied poplar to the capital and its powerful residence in 1931 prominent Democrats bought to what was then three islands in the group and formed the Jefferson islands club. It was really a haven for powerful Washington Democrats. Mary Jane had a white grew up on Poplar Island mingling with presidents and senators witnessing history as FDR and his staff forged the new deal and guided the allies through World War II. Of course there were some lighter moments too. Harry Truman was president on the proper island. I thought he was a fantastic person. And when the presidential party reserved for the 600 people that came that were and.

There were a few that stayed over. So my mother was serving dinner that night on the porch. Some reason or rather it had given her the poor rather than the dining room and I had two bowls of pools. And I leaned over to put one ball on the table and when I did the other ball the hole tilted and we went down the president's back. I wanted the floor to swallow me up because I was sure all those Secret Service men were just going up in our book had this world divided into floorboards who looked around and apparently I must have tears in my eyes. Ah how funny. Don't worry about that. We all have a story to tell your grandchildren. Needless to say I felt a lot better. The lodge burned to the ground in 1946. The Bailey family bought the islands after

the fire newspaperman who barely remembers the island was always shrinking. Washing slowly away. Hurricane Hazel devastated Bolivar in 1954 as it roared up the Bay Bridge. Papar island and about four places making five separate islands change the whole character of the place. It's one thing to have a shed or barn or even your house blown away. But when the whole terra firma changes that much the real a real shocker. The islands were again sold in 1951. This time to the Campbell Soup Company. After changing hands several more times including brief ownership by the Smithsonian. They lay abandoned a group of prominent lawyers bought the islands in the 1980s and hope the federal government will renew with drug spoilage. A piece of property that is losing its value and size quickly. By 1990 poplar island was reduced from a thriving colonial remnant to

a mere bird colony. It's guano coated trees standing as sentinels. Now even they are gone. Dredging could re-establish poplar. Yet it will never again be its former self. But even after it's gone. Fully covered by the bay. It's 400 years of Chesapeake lore beneath the choppy water. Poplar island will live through the memory of those who brought this Sandy sliver to life. Thanks for joining us for this special look back at outdoors. Maryland's first 10 years. We hope you'll watch as the next 10 unfold. Robert Lloyd from Maryland Public Television. Is here with me.

Females are higher than the males. Sasha takes great. CD standard pouch. Keep. From. Now. It's. Pretty interesting. Get. Any male. That's. Pretty. Good. Too.

Here's another one to let's get that pattern right there. That is very reminiscent of a copperhead it's got a hourglass pen up close. I the reason why these guys just get misidentified of capital pain like