Meet the Hawk Watch Counters

Emma Riley Lead Counter

Emma Riley is a raptor biologist from Ft. Collins, CO with a B.S. in Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. Emma has just returned from a birding trip to Columbia where she observed the King Vulture, a raptor she's been trying to spot for years, bringing her total raptor species to 49. Emma will be teaching the Raptor Identification session to the Denver Audubon's Master Birder class of 2026 and has worked 6 Hawk Watch seasons in Minnesota, New Mexico, and in Colorado. Emma looks forward to her 5th season as counter at Dinosaur Ridge and her second year as Project Lead.

Soren Zappia Official Counter

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.

Laura Farnsworth Observer

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 appreciates the opportunity to strengthen her raptor identification skills in her second season as an official observer with Denver Field Ornithologists.

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.