Skip to content
  • A recently-hatched piping plover chick appears from under one of...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    A recently-hatched piping plover chick appears from under one of its parents, Monty or Rose, at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021, in Chicago.

  • Beachgoers enjoy themselves at Montrose Beach on June 8, 2019....

    Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune

    Beachgoers enjoy themselves at Montrose Beach on June 8, 2019. Some community groups do not want the summer music fest Mamby on the Beach to take place, while the promotors are pushing back.

  • An adult piping plover flies at Montrose Beach on June...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    An adult piping plover flies at Montrose Beach on June 24, 2020.

  • Piping plovers with leg bandings matching mates Monty, right, and...

    Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

    Piping plovers with leg bandings matching mates Monty, right, and Rose, together at Montrose Beach on April 26, 2021, in Chicago. In 2019 they became the first pair to nest successfully in Chicago in decades.

  • Leslie Borns speaks at a gathering to remember piping plover...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    Leslie Borns speaks at a gathering to remember piping plover Monty.

  • A piping plover sits on its nest after a protective...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover sits on its nest after a protective cage was installed by officials June 10, 2019, at Montrose Beach. The piping plovers can enter and leave the cage, but other wildlife or people can't interfere with their nest.

  • Young piping plovers at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    Young piping plovers at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 29, 2020.

  • Piping plover monitors and others pose for photographs next to...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    Piping plover monitors and others pose for photographs next to a drawing of Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover, at Montrose Beach.

  • Birders look for Monty and Rose, the endangered Great Lakes...

    Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

    Birders look for Monty and Rose, the endangered Great Lakes piping plovers that became the first pair to nest successfully in Chicago in decades, at Montrose Beach on April 26, 2021.

  • People gather to remember piping plover Monty at Montrose Beach...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    People gather to remember piping plover Monty at Montrose Beach on May 25, 2022.

  • A newly hatched piping plover chick stands next to one...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    A newly hatched piping plover chick stands next to one of its parents, Monty or Rose, at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021.

  • A piping plover offspring of Monty and Rose is seen...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover offspring of Monty and Rose is seen at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 8, 2021.

  • A piping plover chick walks at Montrose Beach in Chicago...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover chick walks at Montrose Beach in Chicago on June 24, 2020.

  • People watch a piping plover walk through the sand on...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    People watch a piping plover walk through the sand on April 21, 2022, at Montrose Harbor.

  • Amy Lardner gives a thumbs-up to a friend while attending...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    Amy Lardner gives a thumbs-up to a friend while attending a gathering to remember Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover, at Montrose Beach on May 25, 2022, in Chicago. The endangered bird died May 13.

  • Monty or Rose, an adult piping plover, sits with one...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    Monty or Rose, an adult piping plover, sits with one of their chicks at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 8, 2021. Monty and Rose have hatched their third round of chicks since first parenting at Montrose Beach in 2019.

  • Two piping plover chicks, left, rush to an adult piping...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    Two piping plover chicks, left, rush to an adult piping plover as a heavy rain comes down at Montrose Beach in Chicago on June 24, 2020.

  • An adult piping plover huddles with two of its chicks...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    An adult piping plover huddles with two of its chicks at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 8, 2021.

  • Birding enthusiasts look for Monty and Rose, the endangered Great...

    Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

    Birding enthusiasts look for Monty and Rose, the endangered Great Lakes piping plovers, at Chicago's Montrose Beach on April 26, 2021.

  • An adult piping plover wades at Montrose Beach in Chicago...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    An adult piping plover wades at Montrose Beach in Chicago on June 24, 2020.

  • A piping plover known as Rose is seen at Chicago's...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover known as Rose is seen at Chicago's Montrose Beach on April 26, 2021.

  • Beachgoers enjoy themselves at Montrose Beach on June 8, 2019....

    Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune

    Beachgoers enjoy themselves at Montrose Beach on June 8, 2019. Some community groups do not want the summer music fest Mamby on the Beach to take place there, while the promotors are pushing back.

  • Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline on April 21,...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline on April 21, 2022, after returning to Montrose Harbor.

  • People walk along a foggy lakefront June 19, 2019, at...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    People walk along a foggy lakefront June 19, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • People gather to remember Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover,...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    People gather to remember Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover, at Montrose Beach on, May 25, 2022, in Chicago. The endangered bird died May 13.

  • A piping plover named Rose appears at Montrose Beach in...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover named Rose appears at Montrose Beach in Chicago on April 26, 2021. Rose and her mate, Monty, first met on a Waukegan beach when they were only a few months old. They attempted to nest in Waukegan in 2018, without success, but in 2019, they ended up fledging two chicks on Montrose. And last summer, they fledged three.

  • A piping plover chick checks out its surroundings at Montrose...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover chick checks out its surroundings at Montrose Beach in Chicago on June 24, 2020.

  • Bird monitor Emma England, left, and Annette McClellan walk along...

    Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune

    Bird monitor Emma England, left, and Annette McClellan walk along the pier at Waukegan Municipal Beach on a foggy morning on May 29, 2019, in Waukegan.

  • Bird monitor Emma England, left, and Annette McClellan look for...

    Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune

    Bird monitor Emma England, left, and Annette McClellan look for birds on a foggy morning at Waukegan Municipal Beach on May 29, 2019, in Waukegan. A male piping plover had been spotted foraging for food in the early morning hours over the last several weeks.

  • A piping plover forages along the water June 10, 2019,...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover forages along the water June 10, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • A tattoo of Rose, an endangered Great Lakes piping plover,...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    A tattoo of Rose, an endangered Great Lakes piping plover, is inked on the leg of Dori Levine, a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as she observes Rose and her mate, Monty, with their four recently hatched chicks at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021.

  • Young piping plovers at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July...

    Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune

    Young piping plovers at Montrose Beach in Chicago on July 29, 2020.

  • A poster of Great Lakes piping plovers Monty and Rose...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    A poster of Great Lakes piping plovers Monty and Rose is posted on the fence protecting a bird habitat at Montrose Beach, May 25, 2022.

  • A pair of piping plovers change places incubating a nest...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A pair of piping plovers change places incubating a nest of three eggs June 10, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • A piping plover walks on the sand near the new...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover walks on the sand near the new nest Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at Montrose Beach.

  • People gather to remember Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover,...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    People gather to remember Monty, a Great Lakes piping plover, at Montrose Beach on May 25, 2022.

  • Birders watch the piping plovers on April 21, 2022, at...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    Birders watch the piping plovers on April 21, 2022, at Montrose Harbor.

  • A bird that matches leg bandings of Monty, one of...

    Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

    A bird that matches leg bandings of Monty, one of the endangered Great Lakes piping plovers that became the first pair to nest successfully in Chicago in decades, is seen at Montrose Beach on April 26, 2021.

  • An endangered piping plover sits in a gravel parking lot...

    Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune

    An endangered piping plover sits in a gravel parking lot across from the beach in Waukegan Municipal Beach on May 10, 2019, in Waukegan.

  • People listen to speakers during a memorial for piping plover...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    People listen to speakers during a memorial for piping plover Monty at Montrose Beach.

  • A piping plover cleans itself while foraging along the water...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover cleans itself while foraging along the water June 10, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • A piping plover forages along the water June 10, 2019,...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover forages along the water June 10, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • A piping plover who appears to be Monty is seen...

    Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover who appears to be Monty is seen at Montrose beach on April 26, 2021.

  • A piping plover walks on the sand near the new...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    A piping plover walks on the sand near the new nest June 19, 2019, at Montrose Beach.

  • Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline after returning to...

    Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune

    Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline after returning to Montrose Harbor on April 21, 2022.

  • People applaud speakers during a gathering to remember piping plover...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    People applaud speakers during a gathering to remember piping plover Monty at Montrose Beach, May 25, 2022.

  • A newly hatched piping plover chick stands alone at Montrose...

    John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune

    A newly hatched piping plover chick stands alone at Montrose Beach on July 10, 2021, in Chicago. Three of its older siblings were hatched earlier in the week, but the chick was brought to Lincoln Park Zoo as an egg, where it hatched overnight.

  • An endangered piping plover roams around a gravel parking lot...

    Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune

    An endangered piping plover roams around a gravel parking lot across from the beach in Waukegan Municipal Beach on May 10, 2019, in Waukegan.

of

Expand
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Monty and Rose, who achieved local fame in 2019 as the first federally endangered piping plovers to raise a family in Chicago in almost 60 years, are gone from the North Side beach where they spent three summers.

But the hope that the jaunty little shorebirds sparked for their species continues to grow.

The Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team has announced a record-breaking 2022 breeding season, with 149 wild chicks reaching the fledgling — or flying — stage, the most since official counts began in 1984.

“I feel ecstatic,” said Jillian Farkas, the Great Lakes piping plover coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who noted that in 2020, only 87 wild chicks survived to become fledglings.

“The fact that we had almost 150 fledged chicks — just with the wild population — is fantastic. When you have that high a fledge rate, it makes you really excited for what is to come,” Farkas said.

In addition, she said, there’s one more wild chick that’s expected to fledge this summer, and there are 10 more chicks in captive rearing that have fledged, or are expected to do so.

Declared endangered in 1986, the Great Lakes region’s piping plovers likely benefited from this year’s lower lake levels, which created more habitat, as well as monitoring, predator management at several sites and a lack of major storm events, Farkas said.

Overall, there are now 72 breeding pairs of piping plovers in the Great Lakes region, Farkas said, less than half the 150 pairs needed for the birds to be taken off the endangered species list.

A bit larger than sparrows, with big dark eyes, stubby beaks, bold black and white markings and orange feet, piping plovers are charismatic little birds, and Chicagoans quickly embraced Monty and Rose when they started breeding at Montrose Beach in the summer of 2019.

Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline after returning to Montrose Harbor on April 21, 2022.
Monty the piping plover walks the shoreline after returning to Montrose Harbor on April 21, 2022.

The birds appeared on shirts and beer cans, and in two documentary films.

The pair returned to nest at Montrose in the summers of 2020 and 2021, and produced a total of seven fledglings.

This year’s piping plover season began in sorrow. Rose never returned from her wintering grounds, and Monty died suddenly of a respiratory infection at Montrose Beach on May 13.

But even while they mourned at Monty’s funeral, fans noted the presence of Monty and Rose’s son Imani, born in 2021, who touched down at Montrose 10 days after his father died.

“I hope that the sadness is melting away and being replaced by joy and gratitude,” said Leslie Borns, a longtime Montrose Beach dunes steward, as she watched Monty and Rose’s son.

Apparently ready for love, Imani dug shallow nests in the sand and chased off larger birds.

“He basically had a territory close to (the) pier and anyone who got close, he was constantly chasing them away,” said Tamima Itani, lead volunteer coordinator for the Chicago Piping Plovers monitoring program. “That was fun to watch, because it reminded me so much of Monty.”

Unfortunately, Imani didn’t find a mate at Montrose this year, and he left around July 11.

Rose never showed up at Montrose this summer, a sign that she has likely died, although a very small percentage of piping plovers will miss a summer season at the Great Lakes, according to Itani.

After Imani left Montrose, a fledgling piping plover, hatched just this summer, touched down for a few days.

The mystery bird wasn’t banded, but it’s possible that he’d hatched at a nest in Michigan where monitors had been unable to band the chicks, Itani said. The mystery plover could also have come from an unmonitored nest in the Great Lakes region, or even the Great Plains.

While Montrose is the only place where piping plovers have been observed breeding successfully in Chicago, the birds have been spotted passing through Rainbow Beach on the South Side.

With the birds’ annual southern migration now underway, there may be additional chances to see them at Montrose Beach, Rainbow Beach and Waukegan Municipal Beach in Lake County, said Itani. She asked that fans continue to take measures to protect the birds, such as keeping dogs off the beach.

“We want to give them safe passage,” Itani said. “Here in Chicago, we really pride ourselves on how much we love our piping plovers.”

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com