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PBS crew works to capture Alabama’s Cahaba lilies on film, in moonlight with moths

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PBS crew works to capture Alabama’s Cahaba lilies on film, in moonlight with moths


A film crew working on a documentary for public television has arrived in Birmingham to film day and night in Bibb County, south of Birmingham, hoping to capture a rare water lily as it flowers and is pollinated by moths on the Cahaba River.

Grizzly Creek Films, a production company based in Bozeman, Montana, has a crew in Alabama this week working on a documentary about the Cahaba lilies. The filming is taking place in the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in West Blocton.

The Cahaba lilies, which appear between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, are in full bloom right now.

“They’re gorgeous this year,” said Beth Stewart, executive director of the Cahaba River Society. “We have the largest stand of Cahaba lilies in the world.”

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The picturesque nature-scape of the white lilies in mid-stream has attracted the attention of the filmmakers from Montana.

“They’re making a documentary about the Cahaba lilies right now,” she said. “We’re going to be helping them. They’re going to be doing filming both during the day and at night because they want to try to capture pollination.”

The moon will be full on Thursday, and this week’s moonlight illuminates a hidden drama on the river.

“The lilies are night-pollinated,” Stewart said. “A couple of years ago we did a moonlight canoe trip, the only time we did an official one, because it’s a little scary to be out on those shoals in the dark. You can’t see where the bottom of the river is. You can’t see the rocks.”

What mostly goes unseen is the dance of moths on the moonlit lilies.

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“The lilies are made for nighttime pollinations,” Stewart said. “At night, they are just blazing white. They exude this amazing dew that completely dots the inside and outside of the flowers and carries the scent of the lilies on it. The whole shoals just smells fabulous at night. That’s when these sphinx moths and other pollinators, but mainly these moths that are huge and have a really long proboscis, that’s when they come and pollinate. The PBS crew is trying to capture that.”

On Sunday, dozens of people drove their cars down a single-lane dirt road called River Road, at the bridge at Bibb County 24 near West Blocton, parked up against the weeds on the gravel, then waded out into the river to get photos of the large groves of Cahaba lilies growing in the middle of the river.

“That’s the largest Cahaba lily stand on earth,” Stewart said. “They’re called the Cahaba lily or the Shoals spider lily. They’re in South Carolina and Georgia too. We’ve got the most.”

The lilies are very particular about where they grow. They take root in the rocks of the fast-flowing river.

“They won’t grow if they’re not in a river, in running water in that particular habitat,” Stewart said. “People used to try to dig them up, take them home and put them in their garden. They won’t grow. They’ll just die. There’s a different species, called the swamp lily, or the Carolina lily, that looks a lot like the Cahaba lily. That will grow in a garden. It’s made for damp or swampy ground. It’s a different species and sometimes those are available in garden stores. That’s the only one that could work in a garden.”

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Cahaba lilies can only grow wild.

“Cahaba lilies, the seeds sink,” she said. “They have to sink and wedge themselves in the crevices of the shoals of the rocks, and then they root. They will not grow unless there’s running water over them.”

They have banner years and less so, sometimes based on how development in the metro area affects stormwater flow into the river.

“The lilies are an indicator of the health of the river,” Stewart said.

“They’re threatened by everything that’s going on in the way that we’ve altered the flow of the river because of all the development in Birmingham metro area because we have so much more storm water runoff, because we have higher floods, more intense floods,” Stewart said. “That carries big chunks of trees that go through the lilies like a bulldozer. There’s also a lot of sediment from all of the extra stormwater flow. The Cahaba River has to get bigger because it’s carrying more rainwater on a regular basis every time it rains. That’s why the banks are collapsing. That’s why we see so much sediment. That’s why the river’s so brown after it rains.”

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But right now, the lilies are fabulous. “They are beautiful right now,” Stewart said.

For details and tips on viewing the Cahaba lilies, check out the Cahaba River Society’s website.

The Cahaba lilies are shown in full bloom on Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Photo by Jessica Garrison)Jessica Garrison



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3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine

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3 Alabama players who helped their draft stock at 2026 NFL combine



Each player had a pivotal role on the Crimson Tide in 2025.

Alabama had a multitude of former players who performed at an elite level at the NFL combine this past weekend.

Former Alabama star quarterback Ty Simpson was among those who put his talents on full display in Indianapolis, as Simpson continues to emerge as a top quarterback prospect available in April’s draft.

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Numerous Crimson Tide stars on both sides of the football were able to have an excellent showing at the combine as well, with each playmaker a vital component to the Tide’s success in 2025.

Here are three Alabama players who helped their draft stock rise at the NFL combine.

Ty Simpson, Quarterback

Simpson is widely regarded as the best quarterback prospect available outside of Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. The talented redshirt junior put on an absolute show at the NFL combine, as Simpson delivered multiple perfect throws and put his talents on full display throughout Saturday’s events.

The former Alabama star is a candidate to potentially shine day one in his campaign in the NFL, as Simpson’s draft stock continues to rise prior to April.

Jam Miller, Running Back

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Miller is an extremely fast and athletic running back, despite struggling in the Tide’s backfield last season. The star running back recorded an impressive 4.43u 40-yard dash time, as Miller could very easily shine in the NFL next season with consistent playing time.

Miller was nothing short of elite throughout his entire performance at the combine in Indianapolis, as the former Tide running back continues to rise in a multitude of draft rankings around the football world.

Kadyn Proctor, Offensive Tackle

Proctor played a crucial role on Alabama’s offensive line last season. The star lineman reportedly slimmed down prior to the NFL combine, as Proctor displayed elite speed and athleticism throughout Sunday’s combine in Indianapolis.

Proctor is widely expected to be a mid-to-late first round selection in April, as the talented lineman’s efforts during the combine could quickly begin to work in Proctor’s favor during next month’s draft.

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The 2026 NFL draft will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania starting on April 23, as each Crimson Tide star will look to shine throughout their rookie campaign in the NFL.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.





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Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

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Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child


A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.

Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, shot 24-year-old Precious Johnson at an Alabama hospital after she gave birth to their child. WVTM

Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.

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She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.

She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.

The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.

The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”

Terry completed Army National Guard training before marrying Johnson. WVTM
The shooting sent Brookwood Baptist Medical Center into an hours-long lockdown. Google Maps

Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.

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Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.

Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.



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Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

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Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran


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The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

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In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

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He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

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“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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