Meet the Hawk Watch Counters

Emma Riley

Emma Riley, raptor biologist with a degree from Colorado State University in Wildlife Biology, returns in 2026 for her fifth year as Lead Counter and Project Lead. 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. Emma recently presented the raptor session to Denver Audubon's current master birder class. Emma was recently certified as a DFO field trip leader.

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.

Soren Zappia

Soren Zappia is a University of Wisconsin graduate, where he studied Biochemistry and Chemistry. He has been birding since childhood, and has always had a particular love for raptors. He first started hawkwatching at Hawk Ridge in Minnesota last fall, where he was inspired to specialize in migration research. In the past, he has also worked in environmental education and songbird banding. The 2026 season is his first with Dinosaur Ridge and he is looking forward to the start of spring! He is especially excited to witness the Ferruginous Hawk and Prairie Falcon migration.

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.