by don | Sep 16, 2009
I decided to take advantage of a few free hours last Friday morning to get a firsthand look at fall migration. My strategy was to drive up to Soco Gap and then follow the Blue Ridge Parkway back to the Waynesville exit and home. It was a little overcast at my home...
by don | Sep 9, 2009
On long narrow graceful wings, the common nighthawk seems lighter than air as it dips, glides, banks and dives to scoop flying insects out of the sky. As common as dusk itself, this aerobatic ballet was performed all summer long across the ball fields, hay fields,...
by don | Sep 2, 2009
In his latest letter to the editor in Smoky Mountain News (8/19/09) the Canary Coalition’s executive director, Avram Friedman admonishes us to “stick to factual information” and calls Tonya Bottomley’s range of 40 to 70 acres per turbine, “grossly inaccurate” Ms....
by don | Aug 26, 2009
The chorus of katydids clamoring in the night air announces the impending fall. And with the arrival of fall comes the departure of millions of Neotropical migrants. Clearly 90 percent of the birds that nested in North America this past summer are either enroute or...
by don | Aug 19, 2009
Actually they’ve been back for a while and now their bags are packed and they’re ready to go. But first, it’s time to eat. In early summer, every year, there is a buzz on most birding listservs regarding the dearth of hummingbirds. Usually by mid July or so there is a...
by don | Aug 12, 2009
“Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” That refrain from the old Animals song runs through my head every time I think about bats. Or I see images of women, running, screaming with arms flailing all around their heads to keep the bats out of their hair. Or...
by don | Aug 5, 2009
At least Avram and I are talking. Want to join us? If we could generate enough kilowhats, whys, hows and wherefores maybe we could get a “wind forum” section going in Smoky Mountain News. Avram stated in his latest op-ed, “The most relevant part of Don Hendershot’s...
by don | Jul 28, 2009
Regular readers of this column probably already know that I’ve run afoul of many regional environmental groups by questioning the environmental and ecological cost-benefits of placing industrial-scale wind farms on top of the mountain ridges across the Appalachians....
by don | Jul 22, 2009
Western North Carolina senators Joe Sam Queen, Martin Nesbitt and John Snow might be wishing they had a wind turbine to cool down some of the heat they’ve been taking for throwing a kink into plans that would pave the way for utility-scale wind farms along the ridge...
by don | Jul 15, 2009
I have been watching the story in Smoky Mountain News regarding PETA and the caged bears in Cherokee with some interest and have a couple of observations. First, reporter Julia Merchant states in her piece “PETA targets bear zoos in national campaign” (SMN 7/1/09)...
