Chicago has 3 new piping plovers in Montrose: meet Searocket, Prickly Pear and Wild Indigo

Video:Joining Chicago tonight to discuss piping ploversis Armand Cann, fish and wildlife biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. (Produced by Acacia Hernndez)

Imani, a Chicago-based plover, spent the summer alone on Montrose Beach. Now, the city’s population of the endangered bird has increased thanks to three new residents.

Three plover chicks were released into the wild Wednesday afternoon at the protected Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary in an effort to aid the species in its recovery. Wednesday marks the first time the plovers have been released in the state.

Tamima Itani, the principal volunteer coordinator for Chicago Piping Plovers, said the three birds were named after plants native to Illinois: Searocket, Prickly Pear and Wild Indigo.

They join Imani, the former lone beach plover, who has been living a quiet bachelor life after two unidentified plovers, a male and a female, join him in late April, only to leave about a week later.

It has not yet been determined whether these new plovers are male or female.

Armand Cann, a fish and wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the chicks aren’t being released strictly for Imani, but the hope is they’re more likely to return to the area next year when they’re in able to reproduce.

Hopefully, if there’s a female, maybe they’ll mate with Imani, maybe they’ll mate with another male, but we’d like to see another successful breeding pair at this beach or elsewhere in Illinois as well, Cann said.

Armand Cann, a fish and wildlife biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, left, and Brad Semel, a species recovery specialist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, walk along a protected site in Montrose Beach before the release of three plovers on July 12, 2023. (Eunice Alpasan/WTTW News)

Imani is the son of Monty and Rose, who showed up at Montrose Beach in 2019 on their own, capturing the hearts and minds of the residents, especially those in the birding community. The pair raised three successive broods of chicks.

However, last year, Rose didn’t show up for the couple’s annual spring reunion, and Monty died suddenly in Montrose in May of what was later determined to be a fungal infection.

The release of the most recent birds was a joint effort by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Chicago Park District.

Four more plovers are expected to be released later Wednesday at Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, according to Brad Semel, a species recovery specialist for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Chicago Piping Plovers volunteers immediately began tracking the city’s new celebrities upon their release. The group plans to have volunteers watch the birds every day in two-hour shifts from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Itani said.

They’ll migrate south, and we want them to leave with as much Midwestern fat as possible, Itani said.

The three plovers released at Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary on July 12, 2023 are named after plants native to Illinois: Searocket, Prickly Pear and Wild Indigo. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)

Searocket, Prickly Pear and Wild Indigo are about five weeks old. They were captive chicks from New York. The chicks were rescued from the wild in the spring to be bred in captivity due to abandonment of the nest following the death of a plover parent.

The Great Lakes Plover population was listed as federally endangered in 1986. The Great Lakes Plover recovery effort reported 80 breeding pairs with 61 active broods or nests, as of July 5.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service recommends taking a few specific steps to share the beach with plovers and help them survive:

• Watch these funny birds from afar.

• If pets are allowed on beaches, keep them on a leash and away from birds.

• Remove trash and food scraps, which attract animals that may eat the plovers and their eggs.

• Do not feed animals on or near the beach. Keep your cats indoors.

• Volunteer as a plover monitor, ambassador or educator at your local beach. Tell your friends and family how to help.

When people get too close to the birds, they scavenge (they fly away from their nests or away from feeding areas), the US Fish and Wildlife Service said. While it might seem minor, this takes birds away from what they need to survive: food and a resting place. Imagine if you were hungry and tired, and forces beyond your control kept you from food all day with no safe place to rest.

The reason we took these captive plover chicks is because Chicago has been welcoming to Monty and Rose and their chicks, and how warmly everyone has embraced the plovers, Itani said. We have a great example of Midwestern hospitality here.

Birdwatchers and volunteers from the Chicago Piping Plovers group gather to monitor plovers in Montrose following the release of three new plovers on July 12, 2023. (Eunice Alpasan/WTTW News)