“Pwee-lo,” “Peep-lo,” “Pwee-lo.” Three cotton balls chirp as they dash across the sands of Montrose Beach. They scurry up and down, left and right. They are new to the world and the world is new to them.
Imani and Searocket welcomed three chicks on June 20. The Chicago Bird Alliance is holding a naming contest for the new additions to the city’s piping plover population.
The group hopes to receive suggestions that “reflect Chicago’s heritage, culture and diversity.” Names of elected political figures, businesses or corporations will not be considered. This is the fourth year in a row that the public has been asked to come up with names, with a few hundred responses received each year.
Submissions will be accepted until 7 p.m. Monday. To submit names for the newest hatchlings, fill out the Google form linked on the Chicago Piping Plovers Facebook page.
After the deadline, a small committee is set to review all suggestions.
Tamima Itani, the lead volunteer coordinator with Chicago Piping Plovers, anticipates the official names will be announced by the end of next week. After selections are finalized, the chicks will be banded so they can be identified by name.
It is an exciting time but, Itani said, those closest to the plovers will hold their breath until the last chick has left for their winter’s journey down south.
“These three chicks, as far as we know, are in good health,” Itani said. “But anything can happen at any time while they are with us.”
According to Itani, survival is difficult for young piping plovers.
Habitat deterioration, predators and nest disturbances caused these birds to completely disappear from Illinois in 1955. But, with Montrose Beach acting as a haven, the piping plover population rebounded in 2019.
They are still considered endangered, and it’s considered a success in the Great Lakes if 1.6 chicks per nest develop feathers large enough to fly.
Last year, three of Imani and Searocket’s hatchlings died before reaching 2 weeks old. With no specific illness or injury, it was determined that the cause of death was “failure to thrive.”
The couple’s surviving chick, Nagamo, left Montrose Beach in August. Itani and her staff have not heard any reported sightings of Nagamo and, as far as they know, he has yet to return.