Science & Nature
Contest Announced To Name Chicago’s 3 Piping Plover Chicks. Here’s How To Enter
Imani with his 2024 offspring Nagamo, at Montrose Beach. (Courtesy of Chicago Piping Plovers)
As much as “fluff ball” suits Chicago’s piping plover chicks, the city’s newest celebrities are in need of actual, individual names.
A contest is now open to submit options for Imani and Searocket’s three offspring. Once the chicks are banded with unique identifiers, people will be able to tell them apart.
Enter up to three proposed names via an online form. Representatives from the contest’s sponsoring organizations — Chicago Bird Alliance, Chicago Ornithological Society and Illinois Audubon Society — will select the winners.
The submission form will be open until 7 p.m. July 7.
A few guidelines for entries:
— Proposed names should reflect Chicago’s culture, heritage or diversity.
— No names referencing elected or political figures will be accepted.
— No names of businesses or corporations will be accepted.
For inspiration, Imani means “faith” in Swahili and Searocket is a native plant found along sandy beaches in Illinois.
Though the three chicks are thriving at Montrose Beach under the watchful eyes of Imani and Searocket, young piping plovers face a number of threats before they make it to the fledge stage, when they’re capable of flight.
Gulls, found in abundance along Chicago’s beaches, are among the most serious dangers, capable of nabbing a young chick, killing and eating it.
Dogs, either off or on leash, are also a concern. They’re perceived as predators by the plovers, and the birds will steer clear of foraging sites — robbing the chicks of nutrients — when the presence of dogs is detected. Plover monitors are asking dog owners to keep their pets away from the plovers’ protected beach, including the Montrose pier.
The overall success rate of piping plover nests across the Great Lakes is 1.3 chicks per nest, with most nests producing three to four hatchlings.
Already, the Waukegan piping plover family has lost one of its chicks, Lake County Audubon has reported.
“The cause is unknown — predators, waves or maybe the severe storm that hit the area last Wednesday? We’ll never know,” the group shared on social media, “but it makes our two remaining plover chicks and the three chicks at Montrose even more precious.”
Want to know why piping plovers are the talk of the town? Check out our latest WTTW News Explains: What’s the Story Behind Chicago’s Piping Plovers?
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
