Falcon parents Annie and Grinnell recently hatched 3 new falcon brothers.
UC Berkeley’s famous Campanile bell tower is home to some famous peregrine falcons, which are the largest falcon species on the continent. Each year, Cal Falcons hosts a contest to name new hatchlings, and the time has finally come to name the falcon triplets born last month.
Dr. Zeka Glucs, ornithologist and director of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group, banded the three falcon chicks this morning. Their official identifications are cumbersome strings of numbers: 2206-82983, 2206-82984, and 2206-82985 to be exact. That’s why Cal Falcons has turned to the public for advice.
Have any good name ideas? Submit them to a comment on this post! The most-liked/loved/hearted names submitted plus the top kid’s suggestion submitted to the Berkeley Public Library (https://t.co/O6pfXPNdav) will move on to the final vote starting Monday morning.
— CalFalconCam (@CalFalconCam) May 12, 2021
The public has voted on names for UC Berkeley’s peregrine falcons for years. Names of past chicks have included Poppy, Redwood, and Sequoia (after CA state plants); Carson and Cade (after Rachel Carson and Tom Cade, two peregrine falcon conservationists); Berkelium, Californium and Lawrencium (3 of 16 total periodic table elements discovered at Berkeley); and Fiat and Lux (after Berkeley’s motto, Fiat lux, Latin for “let there be light”).
Sean Peterson, a Ph.D. student in UC Berkeley’s Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department, told UC Berkeley News that the falcon chicks look to be in great health. “Now that we know they’re males, they’ll probably be on the early side of the fledging window,” he said. “Based on previous years, we’re expecting the two older chicks to fledge around May 28 to 29 and maybe May 31 for the younger chick.” Fledging is the period of time in which young birds grow the feathers they need for flight.
If you want to help name UC Berkeley’s new peregrine falcon chicks, submit your ideas at Cal Falcon’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages. They will accept names through Sunday, May 16. The final vote starts on Monday, May 17, and winning names will be announced on Thursday, May 20.