Results
of Audubon Winter Bird Count
Seven
bird enthusiasts set out across Grandfather Mountain
in late December to see how many birds they could
find in one day as part of the Audubon Society's annual
Christmas bird count.
The
group counted a total of 1,837 birds representing
47 species.
"This
year's numbers were about average," said Audubon's
Mountain Program Manager Curtis Smalling. "The
best birds were probably the Red Crossbill noted at
the feeders outside the Nature Museum and a Red-shouldered
Hawk in the valley near Foscoe."
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When
the Nature Museum building opened in 1990 it was decorated
with photographs by Hugh Morton enlarged as big as
15 feet by 12 feet. In an effort to "freshen
up" the decor in Mildred's Grill, new photographic
enlargements featuring different wildlife scenes are
now going up on the walls. 
ASU
professors presented recommendations last August on ways
that Grandfather Mountain could cut down on its energy consumption
and reduce its carbon footprint. This January Grandfather
Mountain installed an air stratification fan that gently
keeps air in the Nature Museum moving so that all of the
heat does not collect high in the cathedral ceilings.
After
five years of counting inventory and stocking shelves,
identical twins Jean & Joan Cooper still say they
love the jobs they do at Grandfather Mountain. When
they are not keeping the Top Shop in order, the pair
can be found hiking or horseback riding around the
Southern Appalachians. 
