Our Falcon Chicks Have Names
The 2019 falcon chicks hatched atop WoodmenLife Tower have names!
Please say hello to Jimmy Falcon, Ellen and Oprah. The winning names were submitted by Wendy, Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska’s Chief Development Officer.
People from across the country submitted names through a recent Facebook contest and then voted for their favorite set. The winning names are Jimmy Falcon, Oprah and Ellen.
Once endangered, peregrine falcons were introduced to the 28th floor of the Tower in 1998 and have been permanent residents as their population worldwide rebounded in recent years. Over the three-plus decades they’ve been downtown Omaha residents, people from around the world have watched the tower falcon camera as the birds feed every hour or so and grow rapidly.
This year Chayton, who has lived there for two years, and Mintaka, who was born at the Lincoln State Capital and has lived there since 2012, laid four eggs and hatched three.
On June 3, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and Fontenelle Forest’s Raptor Recovery came to the tower to band the birds, check their health and determine their genders. They identified two females and one male based on the size of their feet; females are significantly larger than males. The bands will help wildlife experts in other parts of the world identify where birds are born. One peregrine falcon hatched at WoodmenLife Tower in Omaha, Sky King, was spotted as far away as Peru.
These three are testing their wings now and will soon leave their box to find their own fame in the world. Keep watching our falcon camera until the do.