The hawk on the Washington National Cathedral started tweeting even before she had a name, much less a handle, as the Washington Post notes…
This red-tailed hawk seems to have made a home atop the Central Tower of @WNCathedral. Help us find a name! pic.twitter.com/ZNxUfPwcCD
— National Cathedral (@WNCathedral) February 12, 2018
Hi! I don’t care what your name is, but can you tell your friends down here at the @USDA to please stop mobbing me? pic.twitter.com/3fTJU7Jx0C
— USDA Snowy Owls (@USDASnowyOwl) February 13, 2018
Dude, come on up and hang out with us. No better view in the city. Lots to eat. No bureaucrats.
— National Cathedral (@WNCathedral) February 14, 2018
The above Twitter conversation took place between the cathedral’s newest resident and a couple of snowy owls who have taken up residence at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But the name thing has finally been solved. After a vote was announced, the nod to Star Wars came out on top (with 24 percent of more than 2,700 votes), and the somewhat skittish red-tailed hawk has been named the Millennium Falcon. The name beat out nine other nominations, including Deacon, Bishop and Agnes.
It’s not known whether she’s come face to face with the cathedral’s Darth Vader gargoyle yet, but she has had some run-ins with pigeons (the “she” is a guess, but likely – female hawks tend to be larger). It also remains to be seen if she can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (we’ll update when the information becomes available).
The Post:
The hawk comes and goes and has not set up a nest, cathedral officials said. They believe the rebuilding at the cathedral that has been going on since the 2011 earthquake disturbs the hawk, so it probably takes off when it is noisy.
The hawk likes to hang on the scaffolding that is being used in the repairs, according to [spokesperson Kevin] Eckstrom. When workers have spotted it, the hawk will sometimes screech if they get too close.
Han Solo/Harrison Ford photo comes from Wookieepedia, partly because Wookieepedia.