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And the Peregrine Falcon’s name is…….

And so here we are at the end.  It has been a fun Peregrine Falcon season.  Today’s ceremony at the Capitol announcing the winning entry for the “name-the-chick” contest was a great way to put an exclamation point on it all.  In fact, it made it special because it was about a lot more than Peregrine Falcons.

We had a great “name-the-chick” contest this year, with 507 initial suggestions and then 1,560 votes cast to select the winner from five finalists.  After the votes were tallied, one name stood out, capturing nearly 80% of all votes cast by the public.   The young male Peregrine Falcon hatched and raised at the Capitol in 2015 will, from this point forward, be known as Orozco.

Orozco
The Peregrine Falcon’s name was unveiled during a ceremony at the Capitol on Friday afternoon. The juvenile Peregrine Falcon is now known as Orozco.  NEBRASKAland photo.

Four individuals submitted Orozco and their names are as follows:

  • State Senator Kate Bolz of Lincoln
  • Amanda Horner of Lincoln
  • Omaha Police Sergeant Matt Manhart of Omaha
  • Rebecca McCoy of Lincoln

Congratulations to the winners.  Each received a prize package that included a certificate, a one-year subscription to NEBRASKAland magazine and a Peregrine Falcon plush toy.

Name-the-chick contest winners
Winners of the 2015 “name-the-chick” contest with the author on the far left and NGPC Deputy Director Tim McCoy on the far right.  Winners (holding their certificates), from right-to-left, were State Senator Kate Bolz, Rebecca McCoy, Omaha Police Sergeant Matt Manhart and Amanda Horner.  Congratulations to each of them!!  NEBRASKAland photo.

The winning name obviously honors the memory of fallen Omaha Police Officer Kerrie Orozco.  The tragedy which occurred on 20 May 2015 in Omaha impacted citizens throughout our state and across our country.    It was a privilege to be able to honor Officer Orozco, today, and it was special that our winners included a state senator and an Omaha Police Officer.

Now, we hope the best for Orozco.  He is the 22nd Peregrine Falcon to be fledged at the Capitol and he appears to be thriving.  He will hang around the Capitol for several more weeks as he is still dependent on his parents.  Sometime in late summer or early fall, he is expected to go out on his own into the great unknown.  I am hopeful, in a couple years, we will hear from Orozco again when he settles down and is sighted as an adult falcon.

Thanks to everyone that participated in the naming contest and to everyone that came out today, it was a great ceremony!

Nongame Bird Blog

About Joel Jorgensen

Joel Jorgensen is a Nebraska native and he has been interested in birds just about as long as he has been breathing. He has been NGPC’s Nongame Bird Program Manager for eight years and he works on a array of monitoring, research, regulatory and conservation issues. Nongame birds are the 400 or so species that are not hunted and include the Whooping Crane, Least Tern, Piping Plover, Bald Eagle, and Peregrine Falcon. When not working, he enjoys birding.

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