Two Peregrine falcon chicks hatched earlier this spring at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor – and the public is invited to help name the birds. 

Suggestions can be made until June 4 at an online form. The winners will be announced June 9, according to the University Record news. 

The chicks hatched in a nesting box at the university's North Quad. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources attached tracking bands to both of them earlier in May. The adult birds responsible for the nest do not have banding, so they can't be definitively identified among the known birds.

Asking the public to help name new checks is a recent tradition in Ann Arbor, with the chosen names often paying tribute to the university, those who have worked or studied there, and the Ann Arbor community. 

The species was once listed as endangered in Michigan; but about a year and a half ago the Peregrine falcon population in the state had recovered enough to be listed instead as threatened. The birds remain federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.   

The University of Michigan nest included three nonviable eggs that have been collected for possible analysis. 

The Michigan DNR asks that if people encounter a chick on the ground, which might happen as the birds learn to fly, to contact the DNR Southeast Michigan peregrine falcon nest coordinator at 989-313-0283. 

Other Peregrine falcon nests this season in Southeast Michigan include one above the Old County Building in downtown Mount Clemens, where three chicks had hatched.