Well, they have gone and done it again.

        Blake and Emily Scott, filmmakers and Producers for the Washington-based STRS Productions, have created
yet another breathtakingly beautiful DVD on one of the National Wildlife Refuges of our region.  The
film is made in collaboration with Lewis Forrest, Executive Producer and founder and Executive Director
of the Mattamuskeet Foundation. Their first DVD in this series, A Winter Day - Lake Mattamuskeet which
was issued in November of 2006, is now followed by the newly released A Winter Day - Pungo Lake.

        The 2800 acre Pungo Lake is the centerpiece of the Pungo Unit of the Pocosin Lakes National
Wildlife Refuge.  The Pungo Unit was originally the Pungo N. W. R. established in 1963, and through a
93,000 acre land donation was expanded to become the present day Pocosin Lakes N. W. R.  This portion of
the  Pocosin Lakes N. W. R. is located just south of Lake Phelps in Hyde and Washington Counties.

        A Winter Day - Pungo Lake generally follows the very successful format of A Winter Day - Lake
Mattamuskeet.  It begins at sunrise at 7:05 a.m., as the sun breaks over the horizon at Pungo Lake, and
concludes at 5:15 p.m. with sunset and the rise of a full moon.  There is no voice narration, only the
sounds of the wildlife and other natural sounds of the place, and an intermittent musical score.  The
strengths of A Winter Day - Lake Mattamuskeet that I noted in this column in February of 2007, Blake and
Emily have fine tuned in this DVD.  They allow Pungo Lake to speak for itself and convey on its own
terms the beauty and enchantment of the refuge and its wildlife.   

        The brief captions that note the time and offer important information about the refuge and its
wildlife keep viewers aware of how they are experiencing changes of light and movements of wildlife in
real time.  Thus despite the meditative quality of the film you are immersed in the reality of Pungo
Lake.

        A few examples may help my point along.  We tend to think of a sunrise as just momentary, the sun "pops
up" into the sky.  The long sunrise segment beginning at 7:05 shows us the complex process of changing
reflected light and shifting shadows.  At 7:32 as the thousand of Snow Geese leave the lake for nearby
fields, we hear their musical hubbub anticipating their flight long before we see them in the sky.  At
8:45 Tundra Swans gradually materialize before our eyes as the ascending sun burns the mist off the
lake.

        As well as being superb cinematographers Blake and Emily are natural born naturalist.  Their film
continually captures information for us about the ways of wildlife.

       A segment of Tundra Swans in flight  shows us the grace and power of these magnificent birds.  Their
rapid, deep wing beats reveal the strength and stamina that carry this twenty pounds of flesh, bone, and
feathers some four thousand miles to the Arctic tundra in western Canada and Alaska, and back again to
Pungo Lake in the fall.  (Anyone who has banded Tundra Swans can attest to the strength of their wings.)

       Watching a Northern Harrier course low over a field, rather like a coon or deer hound searching for the
quarry's scent, we see exactly how this raptor finds a meal.  (The segment concludes with the hawk
having located and captured its prey.)  One of nature's many amazing adaptations, the Northern Harrier
hunts more like an owl than a hawk, using hearing more than its keen eyesight.  It flies only a few feet
from the ground when hunting because it is listening for the telltale rustling sounds of a mouse or vole

       The film includes a wonderful study in the family dynamics of American Black Bears.  The two cubs
scamper, roll, and play, sniff and poke about, while the mother relaxes but remains vigilant to any sign
of danger.  The cubs are born blind and hairless in 'the den" during the period of winter dormancy and
stay with the mother until the second year.  Mother and cubs remain together as a family unit throughout
this period.

       A Winter Day - Pungo Lake  includes many of the 200 species of birds and 40 species of mammals to be
found on the refuge (amphibians and reptiles are rather absent due to the time of year).  The credits at
the end of the film include "Cast", a listing of all the wildlife species that put in an appearance.  An
appropriate way to conclude an excellent wildlife documentary film, and a film on location in the
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, whose motto as part of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
is "Wildlife First".

       To obtain the DVDs in the Winter Day series, A Winter Day - Lake Mattamuskeet and A Winter Day - Pungo
Lake, go to the website www.awinterday.com.  Or go to the website for Friends of Pocosin Lakes National
Wildlife an click on the link for the Winter Day Series.

        Blake and Emily Scott are currently engaged in making yet other wildlife documentaries.  They have begun
the Refuge Wildlife series consisting on 5 or 6 videos.  Refuge - Mattamuskeet is soon to be released,
and Refuge - Pocosin Lakes is currently in production.  They are also producing a 15-minute educational
film on the Pocosin Lakes N. W. R. for viewing at the Refuge Visitors Center.  The DVDs in The Refuge
Wildlife Series will be quite different from those in the Winter Day Series, having full voice narration
and in general being more sweeping in scope, following more closely the expected format of a nature
documentary.  For updates on these DVDs go to the website www.refugewildlife.com, or again go to  the
Friends of Pocosin Lakes N. W. R. website, http://www.pocosinlakes.com/, , and click on that link.

   Blake and Emily Scott are charter members of the Friends of Pocosin Lakes N. W. R., and are dedicated
supporters of our National Wildlife Refuges.  The Friends of Pocosin Lakes N. W. R. in turn is a
vigorous supporter of their endeavor. Working together they can do much much to protect our National
Wildlife Refuges, perhaps our region's greatest treasure.

Back