We are excited to introduce our new American Kestrel Ambassador... who needs a name! This juvenile male kestrel hatched this past spring and was found grounded and alone in Bakersfield when he was too young to be on his own. The family who discovered him kept him for almost a month until he was able fly. They tried to release him, but realized the kestrel was too habituated to humans to survive in the wild after he kept returning to them for food and landing on their heads! The first few weeks after hatching is a critical developmental period for young birds, when they naturally imprint onto their own species by bonding with their families and learn important skills for survival. Birds that aren't socialized with members of their species during this time can permanently imprint onto other species, including humans, in which case they can never be returned to the wild. We also call this malprinting, and it is irreversible. This is why we go to such great lengths at ORC to socialize our “orphans” with others of the same species and why we use things like taxidermy birds and funny costumes to disguise ourselves when feeding these young patients. While releasing our patients to the wild is always our ultimate goal, this American Kestrel will have a very important job at our center acting as an ambassador for his species. He will help us educate about conservation, biodiversity, and will inspire people to be better stewards of the environment we all share. He has already developed a lot of trust in his two trainers at ORC, who are using choice-based training to prepare him for his role as an ORC Ambassador. He is taking well to voluntary jessing (similar to putting on a leash) and crating. Our hope is that he will allow us to visit classrooms again as a traveling avian ambassador. With such an important title and job ahead, he needs a befitting name. Can you help us pick the perfect name for this fantastic little falcon? Choose between the names Toyon and Topa. Whichever name has raised the most by Wednesday, September 21 is the winner! Click link in bio to vote!