Science & Nature
After 25 Years, the Peregrine Just Faced Its 1st Reelection Challenge as Chicago’s Bird. Here’s How the Vote Went Down
Fans of the black-crowned night heron show their support at the Great Bird Debate. "Qwok" is the bird's signature sound. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
While all eyes have been on next week’s presidential election, another important local race has flown under the radar.
We’re talking about the vote for Chicago’s official bird, which was recently informally decided by members of Chicago’s birding community.
We’ll get to the results in a moment, but here’s a quick bit of background for people who might not realize that Chicago has had an avian representative for 25 years.
Back in 1999, there was an actual election held to choose Chicago’s bird, with real ballots and ballot boxes supplied by the Chicago Board of Elections. Some 42,000 votes were cast — more than most alderpeople receive to gain a seat on City Council.
The winner was the peregrine falcon, a bird whose popularity had soared in Chicago thanks to the city’s contributions to the survival of this species that, at one time, was on the brink of extinction.
In true Chicago politician style, the peregrine has held onto its office without challenge ever since.
Fast forward to 2024, and as the Chicago Ornithological Society prepared to honor the 25th anniversary of the falcon’s reign with a full slate of "Year of the Peregrine" programming, organizers realized the peregrine had perhaps become something of a dictator.
“We got to thinking, what if we were to hold that election today,” said Edward Warden, president of the Chicago Ornithological Society. “It was a different world back in 1999. We’ve had new birds on the block since then.”
The idea for a new election — not quite as official as the first — was born.
The candidates for Chicago's symbolic bird, clockwise from top left: Daniel Eastman for piping plovers; Kelly Ballantyne for peregrine falcons; J'orge Garcia for belted kingfishers; Tess Branklin for pigeons; and Henry Adams for black-crowned night herons. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
Contestants stepped forward and campaigns coalesced, culminating in the Great Bird Debate held at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum the last week of October, where the incumbent falcon squared off against the Great Lakes piping plover, black-crowned night heron, belted kingfisher and pigeon/rock dove. (The red-winged blackbird withdrew due to illness.)
Plover monitors turned out in force to support their candidate, as did boisterous fans of the black-crowned night heron, their chants of “Qwok, qwok” mimicking the bird’s noisy chatter.
As each bird — given voice by an assigned human rep — laid out its case to voters, it became clear this would be no ordinary political debate. Too collegial, too lively, too fun.
Video: Feathers get ruffled as the candidates debate which of them should represent Chicago as the city's official bird. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
Sure, there was some good-natured ribbing: Jokes about “all three” piping plovers receiving so much outsized attention; jabs at the primadonna night heron for its “cushy” nesting grounds in the Lincoln Park Zoo; falcons characterized as “cannibals,” and pigeons teased just for being pigeons.
But all kidding aside, candidates’ final appeals for votes were full of heartfelt statements that demonstrated the way each, in its own way, provides a bridge between humans and the natural world in this most urban of environments.
And then votes were tallied and the winner was revealed. We’ll catch up with you after the jump.
Video: After closing arguments, the votes are tallied and the results are announced. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
It was never not going to be the piping plover, was it?
Fittingly, the peregrine, a bird once nearly lost but now thriving in Chicago, passed the torch — informally and unofficially — to the piping plover, a bird still very much struggling for survival.
Daniel Eastman, the piping plover monitor who was the bird's human stand-in for the debate, was humble in victory, giving all credit to the bird for the win: “It’s a testament to the hope the piping plover offers,” Eastman told WTTW News.
The peregrine will hold its title through the end of 2024 (and frankly, beyond, with the vote, again, being informal and unofficial). The final program of the Year of the Peregrine will take place Nov. 13 at the Field Museum, which has been a key player in the falcon’s recovery.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
