Science & Nature
Only 1 Piping Plover Chick in Waukegan Survived the Summer, and Now It Has a Name
A newly hatched piping plover chick checks out the beach in Waukegan under a watchful parent's eye, June 2025. (Courtesy of Carolyn Lueck)
Waukegan’s lone surviving piping plover chick has been given a name fit for a star: Aster.
Until now, the chick has been known as “Yellow Dot,” in reference to its leg band. Volunteer monitors searched through the names of native plants for inspiration and settled on New England aster for its star-shaped flowers, Lake County Audubon Society announced.
Aster was one of four chicks hatched barely a month ago by Blaze and Pepper. It was the pair’s second season breeding on a Waukegan beach.
One of the Waukegan chicks was never seen after hatching and monitors suspect the other two likely perished during recent strong storms. Of the latter two, one had even survived to its fledge date (capable of flight) along with Aster, but when it comes to plovers, monitors have learned there are no guarantees
“It’s been tough on our monitoring team, who become very attached to the birds they watch over every day,” Lake County Audubon Society said. “The losses serve as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by our Great Lakes plovers. These birds encounter numerous threats, including flooded nests, predation by birds of prey such as Merlins and Kestrels, storm surges and human-induced hazards such as dogs, litter, ATVs and even hair.”
In Chicago, three of the chicks hatched by Imani and Sea Rocket at Montrose Beach fledged: El, Bean and Ferris. It’s a reversal of the situation in 2024, when three Waukegan chicks survived but only one made it in Chicago.
Though it’s still the height of summer for humans, piping plovers are already heading south to their wintering grounds. Sea Rocket split more than a week ago, and Blaze, Pepper and “Uncle” Pippen — the third-wheel bachelor plover still looking for a love connection — have all flown the coop.
Aster and the Montrose trio have all been training for their first migration (the sex of piping plover chicks isn’t known until they begin their first spring molt), “showing us it has the strength and fierceness it will need,” Lake County Audubon Society said.
Watch: WTTW News Explains: What’s the Story Behind Chicago’s Piping Plovers?
Once the chicks have taken wing, monitors will then turn their attention to reports from Texas, Florida and North Carolina, hoping to learn whether any members of the Chicago plover contingent are spotted in the south.
Great Lakes piping plovers were listed as federally endangered in 1986, when there were roughly a dozen mating pairs left in the entire Great Lakes region.
Thanks to a multi-pronged conservation strategy, the Great Lakes plover population has inched upward.
This year, the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort has reported a record number of 85 pairs, the most since the birds were placed on the endangered list.
Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]
