Dinosaur Ridge: Colorado Migratory Hotspot — Dead of Winter Knowlege Quest with Emma Riley
Join hawk watch counter Emma Riley to learn about raptor migration along Dinosaur Ridge in Colorado.
Emma returns in 2025 for her fourth year counting migrating raptors on Dinosaur Ridge. Named for its world-renowned fossil beds, this ridge is also a window to the seasonal movement of raptors through Colorado. The birds migrate along the Front Range of the Rockies in part because mountain updrafts enable them to soar, which conserves energy during their long journeys.
Emma will cover the history of Dinosaur Ridge and hawkwatching as a whole in the U.S. She will then discuss current trends in raptor populations both at Dinosaur Ridge and across the country. These trend reports come directly from the data collected at Dinosaur Ridge, and this is the first year in decades that we have reports from a ridge that has been fully staffed. Finally, she will discuss the future of Dinosaur Ridge, how you can get involved, and why these things matter.
Emma is a raptor biologist from Ft. Collins, CO with a B.S. in Conservation Biology from Colorado State University. In her last semester at CSU she met a graduate student studying Ferruginous Hawks and was lucky enough to volunteer in the field with her for a month post-graduation. From that moment she was hooked on raptors and has since worked 5 Hawk Watch seasons in Minnesota, New Mexico, and in Colorado at Dinosaur Ridge. Emma is excited for her 4th season as a counter at Dinosaur Ridge and her first year as a project lead.
