CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Monty and Rose, the piping plovers that were the first of the species to breed at Montrose Beach in decades continue to spread joy among the birding community in the Great Lakes and beyond.
Four chicks hatched along the Lake Erie shoreline in July, an area that birders are calling “Ploverville” in Maumee Bay State Park - a first in Ohio in more than 80 years.
The parents, Nellie and Nish, created the same stir among birders in Ohio that Monty and Rose created in Chicago. Nish, the male, is the offspring of Monty and Rose.
"To say that we love these little birds is quite an understatement," said Kimberly Kauffman, with Black Swamp Bird Observatory. "We've had the great honor, privilege, and joy, I must say, of monitoring these birds."
The chicks – Erie, Ottawa, Maumee and Kickapoo – were given protection, with a large part of the beach cordoned off until early August.
Unfortunately, on Aug. 18, one of the chicks, Kickapoo, was killed, likely by a predator. The following day, a second chick, named Erie, was seen injured, and the decision was made to capture her and transport her to the Toledo Zoo for treatment.
"We are all very emotionally connected to these birds," Kauffman said.
Since then, Ottawa and Maumee migrated south for the winter.
According to the Detroit Zoo, after nearly two weeks of treatment, Erie’s injury was healing well and the Toledo Zoo returned her to the beach. It was expected that she would head south like her parents and siblings, but in mid-October she was still at Maumee Bay State Park.
As a result, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) requested that Erie be captured and transferred to the Detroit Zoo, where animal care staff are providing medical care and a private, comfortable home for her over the winter.
Meanwhile, the father Nish, which is the offspring of Monty and Rose, has been spotted in Florida.
Kauffman said this is really significant for the recovering Great Lakes piping plover population.
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