Simon Thompson
Park Ornithologist
Simon Thompson joined Chimney Rock Park as staff ornithologist in 1989. He has written our guide to the Birds of Chimney Rock Park and updates it annually for Park guests. Simon continues to survey the birds that are found in the Park and leads scheduled hikes to look for them on the trails. Simon also owns and operates a small wildlife tour company, Ventures, Inc., and regularly leads wildlife and nature tours abroad in England, Kenya, Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon, and to many locations within the Carolinas and the US.
Simon was born in Malta and educated at Writtle Agricultural College in Chelmsford, England, where he received his degree in commercial horticulture in 1984. Prior to receiving his degree, he lived in Ghana, Kenya and Lebanon, where his interest in birds began. In addition to traveling extensively in the US, he spent six months in China studying the crane and bird of prey migration as a member of the British "China Crane Watch" expedition.
Since moving permanently to the US in 1987, Simon has been active in various conservation activities, such as the recycling effort in Polk County, NC. He is a member of the American Birding Association and the Carolina Bird Club, and plans many bird watching talks and programs throughout western NC. He has also done a regular weekly commentary on birds on WNCW, the local Public Radio station. Currently he writes a regular birding column for the Hendersonville Times-News in North Carolina. Simon lives in Asheville, NC.
Read about a recent "Simon Says" bird walk.
View the newest edition of "Your Guide to Birding at Chimney Rock Park," edited by Simon. You can even download a PDF copy to take out on the trails.
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