Want to name South Bend's falcon chicks, soon to hatch? Audubon starts contest.
SOUTH BEND — Do you want to help name five peregrine falcon chicks that are due to hatch soon in downtown?
The Indiana Audubon Society has just launched a contest. Members of the public can submit up to three names through an online form at bit.ly/sbfalconnames. Then, voting on the suggested names will begin April 25.
For now, the falcon adults are busy sitting on the five eggs laid on separate days in mid- to late-March in the nest box atop the County-City Building. Indiana Audubon Executive Director Brad Bumgardner said they're expected to hatch close to May 1, giving them about 35 days to incubate after the last one was laid.
March 21, 2023: Falcons lay eggs in South Bend nest with Flash. Maltese still missing.
Incubation typically takes 28 to 32 days, meaning they could hatch in the last half of April.
The nest can be viewed through the city’s falcon cam at falcam.southbendin.gov.
The father is Flash, a new male that appeared and mated last year with the long-reigning female, Maltese. The mother is an unbanded bird. Maltese went missing last spring from the nest and didn’t return.
Last year, Flash and Maltese produced four eggs, none of which proved viable.
Find columnist Joseph Dits on Facebook at SBTOutdoorAdventures or 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Falcon chicks South Bend hatch so Audubon starts name contest
