Keith Watson
A native to Sevier County, Keith has over 35 years of national birding experience, including East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains. He began his birding experience as a conservationist and birder in the mid-1970’s in Knoxville, TN as a student at the University of Tennessee. He often traveled to and experienced the “waves” of warblers on Sharp’s Ridge (Knoxville), known regionally for its attraction to migrating songbirds. During his career with the National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service, he advanced bird conservation in the Caribbean, Appalachian Mountains, Southeast Coastal Plain, and the Piedmont regions of the U.S. and developed an Avian Conservation Implementation Plan for each national park unit in the southeastern region of the NPS (57).
After leaving federal service, Keith and his wife Ruth moved “home” to the Smoky Mountains where he established the Southern Appalachian Bird Conservancy, a small business to assist local and regional conservationists with bird conservation needs. He has assisted the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with Peregrine Falcon monitoring, Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, and special wetland surveys and developed an Avian Conservation Implementation Plan for the US Fish and Wildlife Service for the Piedmont Bird Conservation Region. Together with fellow birders, he has documented birds never reported for Sevier County, TN.
Testimonials
Keith, our amazing tour guide, communicated multiple times with us in order to establish exactly what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go. It was very personalized. We saw and heard a lot of new birds, and learned a lot about them and the areas we were birding in. I couldn't recommend Venture and Keith more. It was the highlight of our trip.
Keith Watson is an expert, yet he explained everything well for novices like us. The tour was like birding with a knowledgeable friend and it was the highlight of our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. I wish there was a Keith in every country. He is a good communicator, great guide, is friendly and has a good sense of humor.
As an amateur birder, Keith made me feel knowledgeable but had many helpful tips to become a better birder. He was very knowledgeable of not only the birds, but the local flora, fauna and history of the area. I learned so much in the few hours I spent birding with Keith!