A week after hatching, Chicago’s newest piping plovers are thriving, according to lead plover monitor Tamima Itani.
Monday will mark one week since Imani and Sea Rocket’s four hatchlings entered the world, and their parents — in addition to a team of 115 monitors sticking out rain or shine on Montrose Beach — have been watching over them since.
There had initially been concern that severe weather could have hurt the young birds last week, but they fared well, protected by their mother, who shielded them amid the rain for hours, Itani said.
The next major milestone for the hatchlings is day 23, which is when the group considers them fully fledged whether or not they have actually begun to fly; for these four, that will be July 8. Before that, they’ll begin to look up to the sky for predators, relying less on their parents each day.
“Even within the first week, you’ll see them extending their wings and then eventually a little hop,” Itani said. “It’s very cute.”
With Sunday being Father’s Day, Itani said it was a day to celebrate plover dads too.
Both parents take turns incubating the eggs, and eventually watching and brooding the chicks in their early days.
As the weeks go by, plover dads tend to take over taking care of the chicks, a common pattern in shorebirds, Itani said.
Last year, her favorite memory of the plovers came as she watched Imani lead his chicks in a 100-yard flight between one end of the pier and one end of the beach. They were already capable of flying on their own, but he was pushing them to go farther.
“It was flight school basically,” Itani said. “He was encouraging them to venture a little bit farther.”
The chicks will also soon have names. Submissions for the naming contest close at 7 p.m. Sunday. As of Saturday night, there were already 350 entries.
A selection committee that has chosen the chicks’ names since 2021 is trying to keep the names related to Chicago. Her favorite so far has been Nagamo, which is Ojibwe for “they sing” — a fitting name for the plovers, who are named for their singing.
“Some names bubble up for everybody [on the committee], but all the names have been fabulous,” she said.
Itani said there have consistently been 15 to 20 visitors at the beach asking monitors to help them spot the birds. She said a couple from India stopped by during their trip to the city on Saturday, and often the beach gets visitors from farther downstate.
Visitors are asked to stay behind ropes set up at the nearby pier to give the birds some distance, as well as to pick up trash on the beach if they see any. She said so far, people have been cooperating.
“I just have to say how wonderful people have been; visitors have been super cooperative and respectful,” Itani said. “People really come to Montrose to see them. It’s an activity and a community.”
