News File Photo An egret flies over the bay south of Partridge Point in Alpena in this News file photo.

ALPENA — An Alpena bay has a new name, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday.

The bay south of Partridge Point in Thunder Bay will now be called Birdsong Bay, at least as far as the federal government is concerned.

The bay early this year appeared on a list of 650-some federally owned geographical features whose names included a word considered by many as sexist and racist toward Native American women and now written as “sq___” in Department of the Interior documents.

The Department of the Interior at the time invited residents to submit suggestions of new names for the geographical features on the list.

Following a News report of the impending change, residents from Alpena and elsewhere offered at least 40 name suggestions on the government’s website, with Birdsong Bay garnering the most mentions.

Many of those suggesting the name called it appropriate because of the wide variety of birds often present in the bay and because one version of the bay’s original naming included reference to a Native American woman named Birdsong.

Had residents not suggested name options, the government would likely have selected a name based on a nearby geographic feature, probably a derivative of Lake Huron, Partridge Point, Devil’s Lake, or Bare Point, the Department of Interior reported in March.

While the new names are immediately effective for federal use, the public may continue to propose name changes for any features — including the Alpena bay — by visiting usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names.