Dayton’s peregrine falcon eggs have hatched

Two fluffy chicks in a nesting box at the top of the Liberty Savings Bank Tower in Dayton are a testament to another successful nesting season for Dayton’s peregrine falcon population. The first egg hatched May 3, the second May 4, and a third may hatch in the next few days. The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery will once again host a naming contest to celebrate! Last year’s nesting pair, Mercury and Snowball, produced three chicks named Flight, Light and Crystal.

Thousands of people participated in the naming contest, and watched Falcon Cam as the young chicks grew and eventually left the nest to establish their own territories. To view this year’s chicks, visit the Museum’s home page at www.BoonshoftMuseum.org and click on Falcon Cam.

This year’s winning names will be determined by a tally of votes for choices pre-selected by the ODNR Division of Wildlife. To honor Ohio’s American Indian history, the following names were chosen as candidates: Chippewa, Delaware, Erie, Iroquois, Kickapoo, Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot. To cast a vote, submit your entry in the Falcon Cam kiosk at the Boonshoft Museum or e-mail falcons@boonshoftmuseum.org with your favorite name in the subject line. Votes may also be mailed to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, 2600 DeWeese Parkway, Dayton, OH 45414, attn: Falcon Naming Contest. Votes will be accepted through Friday, May 16 at 5:00 p.m.

Falcon Cam provides new close-up images every 60 seconds, as well as photo galleries of the highlights from the 2003–2007 nesting seasons is accessible from the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Web site. Exclusive camera viewing is available in the Sonoran Desert at the Museum that allows visitors to observe the falcons every 15 seconds.

Dayton’s Falcon Cam is the result of a partnership among the ODNR Division of Wildlife, Glen Helen Raptor Center, Dayton Data Center Services LLC, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, The Friends of the Dayton Society of Natural History, and the Liberty Saving Bank Tower staff. For more information about the naming contest and to view Falcon Cam, visit www.BoonshoftMuseum.org.