Nagamo and Imani at Montrose Beach, before Imani headed south. (Courtesy Chicago Piping Plovers)
Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to North Avenue Beach this weekend for the annual Air and Water Show, but some of the most exciting aerial action will be taking place a few miles north.
Nagamo, the hatchling piping plover, has been taking test flights in preparation for the chick’s first migration south. (The plover’s sex is still undetermined.)
Papa Imani left for his wintering grounds a week ago and plover monitors initially thought Nagamo followed suit Thursday but the wee plover turned back up at Montrose Beach Friday.
“Hatch-year plovers are known to explore before heading south so this is not a total surprise,” Tamima Itani, lead plover monitor, posted on social media. “Our friends in Waukegan have been on the lookout as it seems to be in the family genes to visit their lovely shore.”
Three piping plover hatchlings continue to hang out at Illinois Beach State Park, with their father Pepper already spotted in Florida, having made the nearly 1,400-mile journey in just three days.
Imani’s wintering site remains a mystery to plover monitors. His parents, Monty and Rose, were known to spend their off seasons in Texas and Florida, respectively, before reuniting each spring at Montrose Beach.
Itani said there a number of reasons for the lack of winter sightings: Some of the wintering locations are quite remote, not all areas have dedicated monitors, and conditions can make it challenging for monitors to get a good look at plovers’ ID bands.
“We are anxious to hear of the Montrose crew” — Imani, Nagamo and momma Sea Rocket — “being identified on wintering grounds, but the lack of reports is not cause for alarm as Imani has proven,” Itani said.
Hopes will be high in 2025 for this year’s hatchlings to return to Chicago-area beaches and perhaps woo mates of their own. The 2024 season saw a record of 81 unique breeding pairs across the Great Lakes, the most since the birds were listed as an endangered species in 1986, according to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort.
While that number represents a significant increase over the 13 pairs counted in 1990 at the population’s low point, it’s still far short of the recovery effort goal of 150 to 200 pairs.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
