Expeditions with Patrick McMillan - Season 2

Belize is the smallest country in Central America both in size and population. Nearly 75% of the forests here still stand. But this place has been impacted by man for thousands of years and despite that it still harbors incredible diversity. 1200 years ago, there may have been over 3 million people in Belize, today there are only slightly over 300,000. The wildlife managed to survive and many of the species have a seldom noticed connection to man. Even species we enjoy here like neotropical migrant songbirds depend on what happens in Belize. Join Patrick as he explores Central America's last best chance, Belize, a land of resilience.

This is a very special bit of land, it is a destination for millions…of visiting animals! Dolphins, sea turtles, Seabirds, shorebirds, even Piping Plovers, Curlew and Red Knots use this place. Most stay for part of the year and then move on to other lands but without this place of refuge they may not survive. This is a place where humans are only visitors too. Join Patrick as he explores Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge a safe Harbor for visitors and a land that despite being protected is increasingly threatened by change.

The Ivorybill Woodpecker is a legend in the Southern swamps, but for years, it was thought to be only that, a legend. Recently a small glimmer of hope has emerged to suggest that the largest woodpecker in North America might still haunt the floodplain forests of the South. Join Patrick as he explores the wild bottomland forests in a quest to find evidence of the "Lord God Bird," the Ivorybill.

When you think about prairie you probably at least indirectly think about grazing. If you think about cattle or cowboys, you're thinking about grazing. Grazing has been an integral part of what has happened in the Great Plains for eons. The ecology of this place originally developed around a native grazer. The web of life here revolves around the biology of Bison. Join Patrick as he seeks to find out if there is a place for a true American on the plains, the Bison.

Is it possible to enjoy a steak and at the same time heal the weary Great Plains? You might be shocked to find out that ranchers today must break the law to conserve the prairie on their own property. Join Patrick as he visits a ranch in western Kansas where a landowner is fighting to keep his prairie dogs, without which black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks, mountain plovers and swift foxes might soon disappear. There is a silent war brewing on the Great Plains where tradition and politics are pitted against the survival of the prairie.