2009 Eaglet-Naming Contest

The Friends of Blackwater are proud to announce the following winners in our 2009 Eaglet-Naming Contest.

Winners:

The winning name of "Chesapeake," for our older eaglet, was submitted by Jannene Sheppard from Sandwich, Kent, England. Jan has been a fan of the Blackwater cams for several years and is a volunteer with a small man-made nature reserve - Gazen Salts in Sandwich, Kent - which is smaller than Blackwater but nevertheless home to a great variety of birds/small mammals and wildflowers.

And the winning name of "Choptank," for our younger eaglet, was submitted by William Piazza from Annapolis, Maryland. William and his wife are frequent visitors to Blackwater Refuge, and they also recently joined the Friends of Blackwater. They're both novice birdwatchers who enjoy meeting people on the trails and the Wildlife Drive at Blackwater and sharing some of their knowledge about our local wildlife.

The names "Chesapeake" and "Choptank" were chosen by several people, but Jan and William were the first to submit them, so their entries were the winners.

For those who don't know our local area well, Blackwater Refuge is near the Chesapeake Bay, which is the largest estuary in North America. And the Choptank River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and runs through the town of Cambridge, Maryland, which is close to the Refuge.

Both our winners will receive a certificate and an eagle gift from our Refuge store.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Eaglet-Naming Contest. If your entries didn't win this year, hang on to them and you can use them again in a future chick-naming contest -- they might just win next time.

Congratulations to our winners! And much thanks to all our participants.