Beloved piping plover Imani returns to Montrose Beach

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Beloved piping plover Imani was spotted on Thursday at Chicago’s Montrose beach, where he was born to the celebrity plover couple Monty and Rose in 2021.

Imani’s arrival was right on time for Chicago's bird watching community, who came back around the same week of April in 2023.

In 2019, Imani’s parents became the first pair of piping plovers to nest in Chicago in 70 years.

Monty and Rose generated lots of excitement in 2021 when bird watchers noticed a nest with four eggs, but the eggs were stolen by a skunk just one week before they were expected to hatch.

That prompted conservationists to build an enclosure to protect Monty and Rose’s nest, after which they set up a new nest. Two hatchlings, including Imani, arrived later that summer.

In 2023, plovers were also spotted at 57th Street Beach.

Piping plovers are still listed under the Endangered Species Act and are considered endangered in the Great Lakes region. They’re considered threatened across the rest of their U.S. breeding range.

Tamima Itani, one of the lead volunteer coordinators who watch over the plovers at Montrose Beach, said the group is still looking for a few volunteers to help during the season. Volunteers need to be able to move between the beach and the pier, have a mobile phone and have binoculars.

Itani said they would love to have volunteers who speak both English and Spanish. Volunteering shifts are generally two hours long, between Monday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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