The "Barred" Of The Mountains

More than 230 people from across the country entered the contest to “name the owls” at Grandfather Mountain. As a result, the barred owl is now named Shakespeare and the gray-phase screech owl is named Zoey.
Half a dozen people submitted the name Shakespeare for the barred owl, and once they mentioned it, the named seemed preordained.
The six contestants who submitted that winning name were: Maria Brerslin of Jacksonville, Florida; Tom Flynn of Sunrise, Florida; Alan Beckley of Rock Hill, S.C.; Linda Kaylor of Anniston, Al; Kirk deCordova of Garland, Texas; and Erin Diel via the Internet.
Becky Seay of Rogersville, Tennessee, submitted the name Zoey for the screech owl.
When the contest began, contestants were asked to submit a name for a red-phase screech owl, but by the time the contest was over the staff had already gotten in the habit of calling the red-phase owl Herbie. Grandfather then came into the possession of a gray-phase screech owl, so it was decided to let the gray-phase owl become the beneficiary of the contest.
Day passes to Grandfather Mountain have been awarded to each of the seven contestants who submitted one of the winning names.
Another contest, this time to name three newborn baby bears is drawing names from all across the nation, and for more information on this contest or on Grandfather’s three new owls, visit the ”Conservation & Interpretation” section of the Grandfather Website at www.grandfather.com.
The photo above of Shakespeare was taken by Grandfather Mountain photographer Monty Combs.