Science & Nature

Adorable Piping Plover Chicks Hatch in Waukegan: See the First Photos as the Countdown Begins for Chicago

Father’s Day took on extra meaning this year for Lake County’s piping plover papa Pepper — he’s a dad again.

A trio of plover chicks hatched Sunday on a private Waukegan beach, Carolyn Lueck, president of Lake County Audubon Society and Share Our Shore-Waukegan, has announced.

“The team noticed Pepper was fidgeting and making frequent adjustments over the four eggs in the nest. Suddenly, a flash of fluff!” Lueck said. “When the next shift of monitors arrived, they saw not one but three chicks emerging from the nest!”

Pepper and his mate Blaze continued to incubate their fourth egg, which hatched Tuesday, Lueck reported.

“It’s very exciting but also very nerve-wracking!” Lueck told WTTW News via email.

Plover chicks are what’s known as precocial: They can walk, run and feed themselves within hours of hatching. That means monitors now have a family of six plovers to keep an eye on, looking for signs of distress and guarding against predators.

“The plovers will face many challenges over the next few weeks,” Lueck said.

Indeed, while Blaze and Pepper’s three chicks in 2024 all made it to the fledge stage (capable of flight), only one of the four plover chicks that hatched at Chicago’s Montrose Beach last summer survived.

Chicago’s plover pair — Imani and Searocket — are on the nest again themselves at Montrose, with hatchlings expected any day.

Great Lakes piping plovers were placed on the federal endangered species list in the 1980s as their numbers dwindled to roughly a dozen breeding pairs. This year, the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort reported a record number of 82 nests across the Great Lakes, including the two in Illinois.

Conservationists continue to work toward the recovery goal of 150 breeding pairs. Blaze and Pepper, as well as Searocket, were all captive-reared piping plovers released on Illinois beaches in 2023 to help boost numbers outside of the bird’s stronghold in Michigan, specifically the area around Sleeping Bear Dunes.

That experiment — which banked on plovers’ site fidelity — has proven successful, but luring additional plovers, especially females, has been challenging.

Too many males versus females has led to some drama in recent weeks as monitors at Montrose and Waukegan have both witnessed Pippin, the perennial plover third-wheel bachelor, attempt to woo Searocket and then Blaze away from their mates. The lonely fella was rebuffed but if his advances had been accepted, existing nests would have been abandoned.

But “Uncle Pippin” stepped up in a big way Tuesday morning, Lueck said, when he joined Blaze and Pepper in defense of the chicks against a gull.

“Blaze led the three chicks along the shore to forage while Pepper was on the nest incubating our fourth egg. Suddenly Pepper flew off the nest and joined Blaze to attack a gull that was flying in, likely trying to grab one of our little chicks!” Lueck emailed WTTW News. “They were like guided missiles, driving the gull away from the beach. As we watched them streaking past us along the shore, a third plover — Pippin! — joined the action, helping with the aerial assault!”

Blaze went back to the nest, where the fourth chick hatched in short order, and after an anxious half hour, monitors were treated to the sight of Pepper leading the rest of his brood back to the safety of the family’s enclosure, where they hunkered down for the rest of the morning.

“Monitoring these birds is an eye-opening experience to the challenges faced by not only this species, but all the other birds that are struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile world,” Lueck said.

Below are photos of Waukegan’s plover family, including the chicks on their first excursions outside the nest. They make their home on a private stretch of beach that’s part of a former industrial site.

“Management of the Waukegan dunes, alongside the transformation of shuttered factories into open spaces, has enhanced not just the visual image of the lakeshore but has increased its ecological importance as nature begins to return once again,” Lueck said of the location.

Note: This article has been updated with new information.

Two of Waukegan's newly hatched piping plover chicks, already on the move. (Courtesy of Carolyn Lueck)Piping plover chicks are capable of walking, running and foraging for food shortly after hatching. This little one in Waukegan is already out of the nest and hitting the beach. (Courtesy of Carolyn Lueck)Blaze and Pepper continue to incubate a fourth egg, which is well camouflaged among the rocks. Cages are set up around piping plover nests to deter predators. (Courtesy Carolyn Lueck)

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]

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