Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tennessee/North Carolina

Straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America's most visited national park and a premier birding destination. With over 240 documented bird species across diverse elevations from lowland coves to high-altitude spruce-fir forests, the park offers exceptional opportunities to observe both southern Appalachian specialties and neotropical migrants.

Best Months to Visit

April to May, September to October

Birding Season

Year-round

Notable Species

Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee Red Crossbill Northern Saw-whet Owl Wood Thrush

Top Birding Guides in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Browse our selection of expert birding guides serving the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area.

Keith Watson - Rocky Top Outfitter

5.0

Renowned conservationist and birding guide with over 40 years of national birding experience. Founder of the Southern Appalachian Bird Conservancy with extensive career in the National Park Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service advancing bird conservation across the Caribbean, Appalachian Mountains, and Southeast regions. Holds BS in Forestry and MS in Entomology from University of Tennessee. Has assisted Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Peregrine Falcon monitoring, Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, and wetland surveys. His North American bird list includes 594 species, with over 209 seen in Sevier County and 110+ in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

High-elevation specialties Appalachian birds Peregrine Falcon monitoring

40 years of experience

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A Walk in the Woods - Erik & Vesna Plakanis

5.0

Award-winning naturalist guide service founded by Erik and Vesna Plakanis, operating in the Great Smoky Mountains since 1998. With over 60 combined years of hiking experience, they have safely guided more than 100,000 visitors through the Smokies. Named Top Guide by REI in both 2012 and 2017, the only hiking guide service in the East to receive this prestigious award. Winner of Attraction of the Year by the Sevier County Hospitality and Tourism Association. Their team of expert naturalist guides specializes in birding treks and interpretive nature experiences. Outside Magazine called Vesna Plakanis a modern-day John Muir of the Smokies.

Neotropical migrants Forest birds Interpretive birding

27 years of experience

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Simon Thompson - Ventures Birding Tours

5.0

Highly accomplished birding guide based in Asheville, NC, serving the Great Smoky Mountains and Western North Carolina region since 2000. Originally from Suffolk, England, Simon has lived in North Carolina for over 20 years and has led birding tours to over 30 countries worldwide. With a remarkable eBird life list of 5,725 species (ranked 27th globally on Cornell University's eBird), his expertise is exceptional. Former owner of Asheville Wild Birds Unlimited and board member of Blue Ridge Audubon Society. His international experience includes six months in China studying crane and bird of prey migration as part of the British China Crane Watch expedition. Specializes in small group tours exploring birds, butterflies, and wildflowers throughout the Carolinas and Blue Ridge Mountains.

Western NC specialties Blue Ridge Mountains Neotropical migrants

25 years of experience

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