Science & Nature
2nd Piping Plover Chick Dies at Montrose, Monitors Report
Newly hatched piping plover chicks at Montrose Beach, June 16, 2026. (Courtesy of Chicago Piping Plovers)
Chicago piping plover monitors are mourning the loss of a second chick in less than a week at Montrose Beach.
The chick, given the name Tweedy, died over the holiday weekend, with weather conditions that fluctuated between extreme heat and heavy downpours possibly playing a role, Chicago Piping Plovers reported on social media.
Four chicks hatched at Montrose in mid-June, the offspring of Imani and Sea Rocket, who’ve nested at the Chicago beach for three years running.
Shortly after names for the four youngsters were announced, the chick dubbed Mavis died. Siblings Buddy and Frankie, identified by their unique combinations of leg bands, remain at the beach along with their parents.
Piping plover broods generally consist of four hatchlings, but losses are high. According to research, chick survival rates typically increase with age, but decrease with daily precipitation, which can limit their ability to forage for food, among other challenges.
Because of the weekend storms, Montrose Beach was evacuated, including plover monitors, who were unable to observe whether the chicks were in distress.
The chicks’ father, Imani, hatched at Montrose Beach in 2021 and is the last surviving chick of Monty and Rose, who in 2019 became the first piping plover pair to successfully breed in Chicago and Cook County since 1948.
Sea Rocket is a captive-reared chick who was released at Montrose in 2023.
Along with piping plovers nesting in Waukegan, Imani and Sea Rocket are the only breeding pairs in Illinois, with the vast majority of the endangered Great Lakes piping plover population clustered near Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.
While the latest news from Montrose has been disappointing, the 2026 breeding season has been a successful one overall for piping plover recovery efforts, with a record number of mating pairs. The Great Lakes population of piping plovers has been listed as federally endangered since 1985.
Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]
