Overview

• Three Montrose Beach chicks born June 20 to Imani and Sea Rocket mark the second consecutive successful nesting by the second-generation pair.
• A fourth egg at Montrose was declared nonviable after inspection by volunteer monitors over the weekend.
• In Waukegan, Blaze and Pepper also welcomed three hatchlings on June 16, representing Illinois’s other known piping plover breeding pair.
• Chicago Piping Plovers volunteers and Lake County Audubon Society members are tracking chick movements and providing shade during the recent extreme heat.
• The Great Lakes region has reached a record 82 breeding pairs this year, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service targeting 1.6 fledged chicks per four-egg nest as a success benchmark.