DFO Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch Fundraiser

With our partners, volunteers, and supporters like you, we can continue to advance and inform conservation of raptors through the study, enjoyment and appreciation of raptor migration. 

No amount is too small to make a difference! 

Named for its world-renowned fossil beds, Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch, administered by Denver Field Ornithologists, is a window into the seasonal movement of birds of prey called raptors. These are hawks, eagles, falcons and more, all flying over Colorado's Front Range. Raptors migrate along the eastern mountainous edge of the Rockies in part because the mountain updrafts enable them to soar, conserving their energy during their long journeys north to their breeding grounds in the spring.

Because Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch features a 360-degree view, having professional hawk counters working alongside volunteer spotters is vital to ensuring an accurate data count of migrating raptors.

The program connects visitors to the awe of migrating birds of prey. It also teaches observation and raptor identification skills to students in K-8 school field trips, volunteers, college level observers, and casual visitors enjoying the trail. Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch gives anyone the chance to participate in community science and learn a skill they can carry with them to their next outdoor adventure. 

Dinosaur Ridge Hawk Watch also provides scientific raptor count data to HMANA's long-term, continent-wide raptor population database, vital to the foundation of successful raptor conservation efforts.