Trailblazing bird gets name in contest
Merriam-Webster's third definition under "pioneer" reads "a plant or animal capable of establishing itself in a bare, barren or open area and initiating an ecological cycle." Make that "a plant, animal or bird."
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission held a contest to name the peregrine falcon chick that hatched in May atop the state Capitol. The contest, accompanied by an online FalconCam, generated 746 submissions from 22 states and British Columbia.
On Wednesday, Pioneer rose to the top like a falcon soaring on an updraft.
Actually, John Dinan, the commission's nongame bird specialist, selected the name Pioneer. Given that the young male falcon is the first to hatch at the Capitol, the name fits perfectly, said Mace Hack, assistant administrator of the agency's wildlife division.
The commission started the falcon nesting program 14 years ago, when the peregrine was still listed as an endangered species. Pesticide bans and urban nesting programs such as the one at the Capitol and the Woodmen Tower in Omaha helped their population recover to the point that they were delisted in 1999.
While adult falcons have long used the nesting box at the Capitol, they never hatched a chick there until this spring. Thousands of people have logged onto the commission's Web site for daily updates on the chick.
Hack offered one theory to help explain why people are so fascinated by the plight of the chick.
"It's easier for people to relate to the fates of individual animals than it is to relate to populations," he said.
Two people entered the winning name. Commission staff were unable to contact one of them on Wednesday, but the other was 7-year-old Sophie Frohberg of The Woodlands, Texas. She entered the contest in early June while visiting her grandmother, Lois Corning, in Lincoln.
Sophie, her mother and grandmother walked into the Capitol building when they saw the chick on the FalconCam. The trio had just come from the Museum of Nebraska History, so pioneers were fresh in Sophie's mind when it came time to fill out the entry form.
The second-grader-to-be said Wednesday she was really excited about having her entry chosen. But when her mother, Marilyn Frohberg, suggested they return to Lincoln July 15 for a public event called "Lunch with the Peregrines," she shot back with a question of her own.
"Her response was, ‘Oh please, do I have to eat bird food?'"
Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.
On the Web
To see pictures of the peregrine falcons and the nesting box atop the Capitol, go to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Web site: http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/falcon.asp
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission held a contest to name the peregrine falcon chick that hatched in May atop the state Capitol. The contest, accompanied by an online FalconCam, generated 746 submissions from 22 states and British Columbia.
On Wednesday, Pioneer rose to the top like a falcon soaring on an updraft.
Actually, John Dinan, the commission's nongame bird specialist, selected the name Pioneer. Given that the young male falcon is the first to hatch at the Capitol, the name fits perfectly, said Mace Hack, assistant administrator of the agency's wildlife division.
The commission started the falcon nesting program 14 years ago, when the peregrine was still listed as an endangered species. Pesticide bans and urban nesting programs such as the one at the Capitol and the Woodmen Tower in Omaha helped their population recover to the point that they were delisted in 1999.
While adult falcons have long used the nesting box at the Capitol, they never hatched a chick there until this spring. Thousands of people have logged onto the commission's Web site for daily updates on the chick.
Hack offered one theory to help explain why people are so fascinated by the plight of the chick.
"It's easier for people to relate to the fates of individual animals than it is to relate to populations," he said.
Two people entered the winning name. Commission staff were unable to contact one of them on Wednesday, but the other was 7-year-old Sophie Frohberg of The Woodlands, Texas. She entered the contest in early June while visiting her grandmother, Lois Corning, in Lincoln.
Sophie, her mother and grandmother walked into the Capitol building when they saw the chick on the FalconCam. The trio had just come from the Museum of Nebraska History, so pioneers were fresh in Sophie's mind when it came time to fill out the entry form.
The second-grader-to-be said Wednesday she was really excited about having her entry chosen. But when her mother, Marilyn Frohberg, suggested they return to Lincoln July 15 for a public event called "Lunch with the Peregrines," she shot back with a question of her own.
"Her response was, ‘Oh please, do I have to eat bird food?'"
Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.
On the Web
To see pictures of the peregrine falcons and the nesting box atop the Capitol, go to Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Web site: http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/falcon.asp
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