Last week we solicited name pairs for our osprey parents at the RVA Osprey Cam (click here to find out why we’re naming the adults, not the chicks). Well, now it’s time to unveil the top five pairs chosen by a panel of distinguished judges from RichmondOutside and the Friends of the James River Park.

But first some context. We received almost 70 submissions from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, the cam site chat room and email. The suggestions were all over the map, from the world of entertainment (Porgy and Bess, Olive Oyl and Popeye, Bonnie and Clyde), to sports (Larry and Magic) to Norse mythology (Odin and Freyja).  James and Belle and Ralph and Cricket (i.e. former James River Park Manager Ralph White and his wife Cricket) tied for the most submissions.

It wasn’t easy winnowing those choices down to five, but we burned the midnight oil and got it done. As of this moment, when you go to the RVA Osprey Cam site, you’ll find a voting button. Submit your email address and you can vote once an hour, all day every day through 3:30 p.m on May 21st. That’s the Sunday of Dominion Riverrock, and that’s when we’ll announce the winning name pair at the Friends of the James River Park booth at Riverrock. Shortly thereafter, we’ll put the winning name online.

So, here we are. Drumroll please…

The names are:

James and Belle – submitted by Mike Holbert, Adrienne Fenley and Rachel Cohen

Ralph and Cricket – submitted by Brent Merritt, Lorne Field and Molly Dellinger-Wray

Maggie and Walker – submitted by Carol Shimkus

Oscar and Olive – submitted by Hadley Walder

Annabel and Lee – submitted by Mary Beth Long

Click here to vote!