Meet the Hawk Watch Counters

Emma Riley

Emma Riley, raptor biologist with a degree from Colorado State University in Wildlife Biology, returns in 2025 for her fourth year counting migrating raptors on Dinosaur Ridge. She has studied Ferruginous Hawks, breeding passerines across Wyoming and Idaho, and has worked two other raptor migration seasons at Hawkwatch International's Manzanos Mountains and Hawk Ridge in Duluth, MN as a counter and raptor trapper. Her focus is raptor biology, especially migration and movement ecology. Emma is passionate about working at the country's best spot for migrating Ferruginous Hawks, one of her "spark birds".

Audrey Anderson

Audrey Anderson, a graduate from the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is ecstatic in her professional pursuit of a career in ornithology and conservation. A Colorado native and outdoor enthusiast, she initially got her start in hawkwatching as an Official Observer at the Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch in the spring of 2024. For the 2024 fall migration season she was a counter at the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. She looks forward to returning to Dinosaur Ridge this 2025 spring season as a counter!

Laura Farnsworth

Laura Farnsworth is a current graduate student of University of Colorado Denver studying population ecology of wintering waterfowl in urban areas. Although she is a duck enthusiast, she enjoys watching and learning about all species of avifauna. Laura has taught numerous field ornithology courses and has also worked as a field technician for various projects on Colorado wildlife. She is excited to begin her first field season as an official observer with Denver Field Ornithologists and expand her knowledge on raptors.

Laura Campbell

Laura Campbell is a current undergraduate at Colorado State University in her last semester majoring in Conservation Biology. Laura has been interested in birds since she was a little kid and is particularly interested in birds of prey. This will be Laura’s first year as an Official Observer. She is looking forward to sharing her passion, learning from others, improving her in-flight identification skills, and spending time in nature doing what she loves.

Ajit Antony

Ajit and his wife Liza, also a Dino Ridge volunteer, bring decades of experience with them including counting at the Mount Peter, Hook Mountain, and the I-84 Overlook Hawk Watches. Together they achieved records along the Eastern Flyway for Broad-winged Hawks, Red-Shouldered Hawks, Black Vultures, and Golden Eagles. Ajit is a wonderful volunteer trainer and is excited to share his skills with you for identifying the raptors that migrate along the Central Flyway.

About Us

Named for its world-renowned fossil beds, Dinosaur Ridge is also a window into the seasonal movement of birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, falcons and more, over Colorado's Front Range. These raptors migrate in the spring along the eastern mountainous edge of the Rockies in part because mountain updrafts enable them to soar and conserve energy during their long journeys north to their breeding grounds.

Full Story
Access to Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch begins at the Stegosaurus parking lot off Interstate 70 and Jefferson County Road 93. The lot is at the southeast corner of Exit 259 from the freeway. Take the trail leading upslope from the southeast corner of the parking lot, (trail markers are located along the trail) then proceed south along Dinosaur Ridge to the ridge top.The trail is approximately 0.6 miles long.