I feel like the swamp monster or the marsh monster.

Well.

Hey, y'all.

My name is Hyatt Mamoun, and I'm a wildlife filmmaker from the Deep South.

It's chaos!

[bird noises] [bird noises] Nicolo, can I help you?

And today.

Or should I say tonight?

We're going on an overnight expedition through the totally wild east basin.

Come on, come on, come on.

Oh, guys, guys, guys.

Did you see that?

Come on.

I know you're not scared of the dark.

Lowcountry magic.

There's no other way to describe it.

The way light dances through Spanish moss draped on oak branches.

How every bend in the rivers and tidal creeks hold so much life.

Gators, dolphins, frogs and a huge variety of birds thrive in this ecological hotspot.

And there's no better example of this Lowcountry magic than a place tucked in the shores of South Carolina.

The Ace Basin Ace stands for the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto River watersheds, which all meet right here to create a nutrient rich estuary that remains as wild as can be.

And I want to get to know it even better, which is why I'm spending the night out here, because I know that life doesn't stop at sunset.

As the day starts to wind down, all hell breaks loose.

Well, excuse me, you got hundreds, if not thousands of birds right now, getting ready to nest.

They're trying to hunker down for the night.

It's chaos [bird nosies] [bird noises] And listen to this sound.

[bird sounds] Me and a girl going to a club.

Oh, there is so much hooting and hollering as tons of critters go nuts around here.

As the sun sets for birds, there's a rush to grab dinner before finding a safe spot for the nest and for fish, well, less light makes it harder for prey to see, making it the perfect time to hunt or run and hide.

We got fish feeding, we got birds feeding, we got fish jumping.

There's so much wildlife action that I have no idea what to build next.

Of course, this window is so small to get the shot.

As the sun sets, this lens becomes more and more useless.

So I would say, let's say good night to our long lens.

As the sun sets and the moon rises, the wooden marsh that we know takes a totally different, more mysterious shape.

But I am here to tell you that the night is just as friendly and interesting as the day.

Make way for the night shift.

But see if anyone's awake.

Y'all look.

We have to make sure we keep our distance from them.

We don't want to scare him at all, but he is sitting right here in the middle of the road.

Look how gorgeous he is.

This is a copperhead.

This is an extremely venomous pit viper native to here.

And he is so pretty.

Look at the spots on his back.

Copperheads get their name for obvious reasons, but they also have a few other names that you may recognize, like Cottonmouth.

And right now we're seeing a pretty surprising behavior from see, when copperheads feel threatened, they freeze in place because usually their camouflage is so good that it successfully hides them from predators.

But I don't think that tactic is working super well for them right now.

And you need to always make sure if you run into these guys, you stay far, far away.

But look at how pretty he is.

And the rest is lush and dense and huge.

Palmetto leaves make perfect cover for the adorable little green resident.

Oh, guys, guys, guys, we have something.

You see?

You all right?

This is a green tree frog.

He is totally nocturnal, and he hides on the underside of leaves during the day.

And at night, he comes out to hunt and look for mates.

And he blends in so perfectly to this big old palmetto leaf.

Like, look at this.

Bigger than me now it's only been a few hours and there is so much nightlife around here.

Right after hopping in the car to check out another trail, we came across one of the weirdest critters in the Lowcountry.

There's two armadillos crossing the street right now.

Well, look at how cute they are.

Look at their crazy little shape with their hard shells and their funny little pointy nose and pointy ears.

Now, armadillos are actually really unique little critters.

They don't really have anything else around here related to them.

No, armadillos are so funny because they're covered in this armor on the outside, and that armor is actually made out of the same stuff that your fingernails called keratin.

This flavor of armadillo does not roll up into a ball like you think.

They're really confused why we're looking at him right now.

He's just frozen like, hello, can I help you?

They are insectivores, which means most of their diet, all bugs, and they are very voracious eaters.

They will actually dig under anything to find these bugs, including houses.

One thing I've learned in the time I've spent exploring the woods at night is.

Nature is not out to get you.

Things are just mysterious when they're unfamiliar and with a little bit of knowledge, there ain't nothing to fear.

I promise.

As the light winds down and the birds start chirping again, we got even indescribably lucky.

I think they're coming this way.

Let's go, let's go!

Careful.

Be careful.

Be careful.

Right there.

Y'all see that?

This is such a special moment.

We have come across one of the most rare wildlife behaviors.

This is strand feeding.

Now, bottlenose dolphins locally here in the area have learned to do a really, really, really unique feeding tactic where they actually go along the shore.

Here you can see the water moving.

So you see like all these waves which is happening.

So if you'll find multiple dolphins working together, chasing whole school fish on the shore and beaching themselves to eat them.

This is an extremely rare tactic that's only found right here in the Lowcountry and one place in Australia.

These bottlenose dolphins have shorter fins, and they're actually shorter bodies, and they're darker.

So they're actually able to work through the marsh easily.

And so this actually comes as a huge benefit to their insanely unique feeding tactic that we are so lucky to see right now.

What a special treat.

I can't think of a better way to end our incredible expedition across South Carolina.

The past few days have been a perfect example of how our world is full of magic.

Incredible stories play out in our natural world every day.

We can, you and I make a real difference in fighting for our wild spaces.

And it all starts with something super easy that everyone can do.

All you got to do is slow on down and get outside.

To get to know your neighbors and to appreciate the wonder and beauty that lies waiting in our very own backyards.

I'll see you all next time in the wild, wild South.

No, she just push yourself off the dock and she doesn't have a paddle.

Oh, do you want help now?