Piping Plovers nest on Chicago beach

A collection of articles about the Piping Plover pair – now dubbed Monty & Rose – who nested and raised chicks on Chicago’s Montrose Beach in 2019, and have returned again this year. The most recent prior hatching in the Chicago area was in 1955.

Both Piping Plovers and Western Snowy Plovers are classified as threatened species. The Piping Plover population is around 4000 pairs, of which approximately 1400 pairs nested in the northern Great Plains in 1996. The North American Snowy Plover population is around 9000 pairs, with the threatened Western (coastal) population totaling around 1500 pairs.  [Chuck Almdale]

Photo: USFWS

Piping Plovers Nest in Chicago for the First Time in Over Half a Century
National Audubon Society, by Kawai Marin, June 28, 2019
The enterprising pair have made Montrose Beach their new home, and not even flooding will keep them from trying to build a family. Includes a 53-second video.

Chicago Tribune photo gallery of the Piping Plovers and environs
14 photos, various dates May 8 – June 19, 2019

Three Piping Plover chicks hatch in Chicago, forcing cancellation of concert
Bird Watching Daily, by Matt Mendenhall, July 24, 2019
For the first time since 1955, Piping Plovers in Chicago have hatched chicks. One young bird hatched on Wednesday, July 17, and two more emerged the following day. A fourth egg in the nest didn’t hatch. After the 2018 breeding season, the Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers numbered only 67 breeding pairs, so every new chick is a cause for celebration. And that’s especially true when the birds breed in a big city.

Piping Plover Watch
Chicago Ornithological Society, June 1 – August 18, 2019
A collection of nine articles with many photos, various dates.

Direct link to Piping Plover Slideshow
Chicago Ornithological Society, photos by Susan Szeszol.
28 photos June 21 – August 18, 2019
Included in the collection of nine articles above.

Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), Great Lakes Population
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chicago Ecological Field Services Office, December 31, 2019
Article plus links to other articles.

Three Piping Plover chicks hatch in Chicago, forcing cancellation of concert
Bird Watching Daily, by Matt Mendenhall, July 24, 2019
For the first time since 1955, Piping Plovers in Chicago have hatched chicks. One young bird hatched on Wednesday, July 17, and two more emerged the following day. A fourth egg in the nest didn’t hatch. After the 2018 breeding season, the Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers numbered only 67 breeding pairs, so every new chick is a cause for celebration. And that’s especially true when the birds breed in a big city.

Monty And Rose, Chicago’s Piping Plover Pair, Return To Montrose Beach For Second Year
Block Club Chicago, by Joe Ward, May 4, 2020
The birds’ nesting efforts could be boosted because the lakefront is closed to the public.