Patrick McMillan

Few creatures capture our attention and admiration more than hummingbirds. These miniature jeweled treasures move at mind-boggling speeds but also have the power to shape and change our world. Join Patrick as he explores the lives and biology of these creatures using high-tech technologies to uncover the secret lives of these little birds that live life in fast-forward. The episode took three years to film in parts of South Carolina, Arizona and Ecuador,...

Today, the Clemson Forest is over 17,000 acres of lovely, pristine-looking woodland and pastoral landscape nestled among suburban neighborhoods in the South Carolina piedmont. But this forest wasn't always so picturesque. Seventy years ago this landscape was an ecological disaster. Years of poor cotton farming practice led to dramatic erosion and hardly a tree grew in this now verdant setting. Join Patrick as he explores the unique and rare plants...

The lofty peaks of the Blue Ridge rise like islands in the sky. They provide unique habitats that act as ecological islands generating diversity and preserving fragments of the past. No peak has a more prominent position or poignant story than this one. Join Patrick as he takes a unique look at a very familiar place, Grandfather Mountain.

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...

Imagine 30 million Bison sharing the plains with humans. In only a decade, these massive herds were all but extinguished. We look back at the actions of the people who lived in America in the 19th century in disbelief; how could they do that? Today Prairie Dogs, Black-footed Ferrets and Kit Foxes are the endangered species living on the plains of the American West. Join Patrick as he journeys into the prairie with researchers who are trying to change...

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...

Table Rock is one of the most recognizable and most visited landmarks in the southern Blue Ridge. The rugged cliffs here would seem to expose most of the nature of this place, but if you're willing to venture a little farther afield on trails that are less travelled, you'll find that there is more here than meets the eye. Join Patrick as he traverses rock outcrops in search of 10,000-year-old Native American petroglyphs, explores one of the world's...

When you think of the Rocky Mountains you probably picture a wilderness that is far removed from our influence. It turns out that may not be the case. Life is changing here from the alpine lakes to fragile tundra life to the mighty forests of the mountain slopes. Join Patrick as he explores the challenges and changes that are happening in the Colorado Rockies.

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.

One of the most misunderstood regions of North America, the Trans-Pecos, is not a desolate expanse of nothingness like commonly thought. In fact, it is a melting pot of several different biomes. While it does indeed make up the northern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert, the Trans-Pecos also features a vast stretch of grasslands and oak-juniper woodlands. Come along with Patrick as he explores the Trans-Pecos during its peak time of year, monsoon season,...