Four piping plover chicks hatched on Montrose Beach on Tuesday, potentially continuing the plover family of Sea Rocket and Imani one more generation, according to plover monitors.
The chicks can feed themselves and move about on their own as soon as they hatch, though they can’t regulate body temperature and often stay near a parent because of it, according to the group. The monitors have asked people to give the chicks some distance, pick up their trash and keep dogs on leashes outside the designated area at Montrose Beach.
A community naming contest will be held soon for the young birds, though details have yet to be announced.
Representatives for the plover monitor group could not immediately be reached.
Imani is the son of plover couple Monty and Rose, who joined the pantheon of famed Chicago animals when they nested at Montrose Beach seven years ago.
Sea Rocket, who was reared in captivity, was released at the same beach in July 2023, two years after Imani was hatched there.
Imani and Sea Rocket had three chicks last summer. One of the chicks, Ferris, was killed by a hawk; El and Bean survived. Nagamo was the only one of the couple’s four chicks hatched in 2024 to survive.
Piping plovers nearly went extinct in the Great Lakes region, and have been on the federal endangered species list for 40 years. Conservation work across the Great Lakes, initially in Michigan, has helped to rebuild the population.
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The day we have waited for, worked for has come! All 4 chicks have hatched. Our work carries on as we continue to support Sea Rocket and Imani and their chicks. Thank you, as always, for your support.📸: Chicago Piping Plovers (June 15, 2026, eggshell flown from nest)
— Chicago Piping Plovers (@chicagopiping.bsky.social) 2026-06-16T11:48:21.505Z