Efforts by scientists to help bolster the populations of endangered Great Lakes piping plovers took a significant step forward this week, as a total of seven birds either already released into the wild, or soon to be released, at multiple beaches along Lake Michigan.
Chicago’s Montrose Beach, which has gained fame as a sanctuary for the endangered birds, saw three of them released this week, according to the Chicago Park District.
Four more chicks will be released at Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County, according to officials.
The hope is that all seven chicks will thrive in their new locations, and will return back to Illinois after migrating south for the winter.
“The release is a win for conservation efforts citywide, and we could not have done it without our partners at the US Fish and Wildlife, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources,” biologist Armand Cann said in a statement.
The releases of captively-bred chicks are the first outside of Michigan, according to researchers.
The 5-week-old chicks were rescued in New York after the birds lost incubating adults, according to officials. The chicks were brought to Michigan, where they were raised in captivity.
Local
Piping plovers had disappeared from Illinois beaches in the 1950’s, according to officials. They made a return to the area in 2015, and in 2019, Montrose Beach fledged chicks for the first time, capturing the attention and hearts of Chicagoans.
The project was dealt a setback earlier this year after Monty, one of the iconic pair of piping plovers who had come back to Chicago in 2019, died. Imani remained at the beach, and several other plovers have been observed there this year.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
The chicks were released this week by officials with the Chicago Park District.
