We asked for eagle names, and boy did you give them to us.
From Sunday through Thursday, Richmond Eagle Cam fans sent the Richmond Times-Dispatch more than 560 emails suggesting names for the two big raptors nesting in the city along the James River.
From your submissions we picked these five finalists, with first names in alphabetical order:
- Edgar and Annabel, for former Richmonder Edgar Allan Poe and his love poem "Annabel Lee."
- Edith and Eggbert. We just liked the sounds.
- James (for the river) and Virginia. A natural?
- Liberty and Justice. We got a lot of suggestions with uplifting words like Freedom, Honor, Hope and Glory. These two seemed to work together the best. Liberty would be the female.
- Ralph and Cricket, for longtime James River Park manager Ralph White and his wife.
You can vote for the winners in the Times-Dispatch's online poll through Thursday. Winners will be announced Friday.
Here are some of the best names that didn't make the final cut: Richmond and Virginia, Rich and Ginny, Grace and Franklin, James and Cary, Zeus and Hera, James and Rivah, Richard and Mildred (for Virginia civil rights pioneers Richard and Mildred Loving), Belle and James and Liberty and Belle.
Children offered particularly interesting names, including Neeb Neeb and Nab Nab from Sarah Rae Statelman, 7, of South Richmond.
A lot of the names had Baby Boomer pedigrees, including Lucy and Desi, Fred and Ethel, Gomez and Morticia, George and Gracie and Boris and Natasha.
There were names from mythology and literature, including Romeo and Juliet, Apollo and Athena and Thor with various mates.
Of course, there were Civil War-related names, such as Dixie and Yankee, Rhett and Scarlett and Lee and Grant.
Abe and Mary were pretty good, but really, here in the South?
And there were names that were simply offbeat, such as Desperado and the Regal Mrs. Steagal, Pluribus and Unum, Lob and Lolly (for the tree that holds the eagle's nest), Be-Bop and She-Bop (with "Bop" standing for bird of prey), Beeks and Squawkie, Cynder and Hex and Wow-Wee and Hoo-Hoo.
Several names came from couples in the news, such as William and Kate, Charles and Camilla and Bob and Maureen (McDonnell).
Several people suggested George and Martha, but we set them aside because they have been used for other eagles, including a pair in the Washington area a few years ago.
William and Mary were good suggestions, but we felt they were better suited for birds near Williamsburg. Please don't squawk.
The Richmond Eagle Cam is a project of the Times-Dispatch and the Center for Conservation Biology, a research group.
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