Name That Bird
You see him every time you drive to pick up Chinese. He’s lined up in the grocery store parking lot. You stare at him during rush hour. And now, you get to name him. He — or is it she? — is the blue heron on Maryland’s Treasure the Chesapeake licenses plates.
Who would have thought such a popular bird was nameless?
After 27 years, the bird is in identity as well as gender crisis.
A name will not only solve those problems but also help Marylanders connect with the Bay plate and the work being done to restore the Bay. That’s the thinking at Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Trust, the nonprofit funded by Bay plates and Maryland tax filing check-offs. The Trust works to restore the Bay by planting trees, restoring shorelines, reviving oysters and educating human Bay dwellers. Lots of its money is passed along to schools and community groups.
Does poor nameless heron look like a Bob, or is she more of a Chessie?
Send your naming choice by April 15 to www.bayplate.org.
Three finalists will be chosen for your vote, with the grand-prize winner announced on April 29. Along with bragging rights, the winner gets a $100 voucher for Southwest Airlines, free Bay plates and tickets to the Treasure the Bay celebration and the Annapolis barBAYq.
Prizes also will be awarded to randomly selected voters, name submitters and the runners-ups.
Only one name per person, so make it count. The earliest entry on multiples of the same name gets the prize, so send in early.