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Chicago Piping Plovers

@chicagopiping.bsky.social
1.3K followers 29 following 879 posts

The offical account for Chicago Piping Plover news and content. Media inquiries email piperwatch@chicagobirder.org.

PostsRepliesMedia
Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
There’s so much we can do for migratory birds right here in Chicago from protecting our endangered plovers, preserving critical stopover habitat, and advocating for bird friendly buildings @birdfriendlychicago. Even counting migratory birds on citizen science apps helps!! 📸: Matthew Dolkart
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Happy World Migratory Bird Day!! 🌏 While your favorite plover family’s migratory journey is done for the year, billions of birds worldwide are still on the move. These incredible journeys across countries and continents highlight how conservation is always a cooperative, global effort.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Thank you for your consideration to support this effort! takeaction.greatlakes.org/page/96945/a...
takeaction.greatlakes.org
Tell Your Senators: Great Lakes Restoration Must Continue
I just contacted my U.S. senators. Join me!
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
act.audubon.org/a/glri-fall-...
act.audubon.org
AUDUBON ALERT: Urge Congress to Restore Essential Bird Habitat
Ask your U.S. Senators to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to help restore wetlands for the more than 350 bird species across the hemisphere that depend on this vital ecosystem.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The 100 plus individuals who serve as monitors are gathering observations, supporting the piping plover family, and educating the public from 6 am to 8 pm, at a minimum, each day during breeding season, in all sorts of weather. Thank you, Monitors!
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Thank You, Monitors! World Gratitude Day arrives every September 21 and serves as a reminder to pause and acknowledge the people in our lives. We are grateful to so many hands that contribute to this recovery effort and want to give a special shout out to Your Chicago Piping Plovers Monitors. 🧡
Montage of people in orange who monitor endangered shorebirds featured in the upper right picture
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Chats with festival goers ranged from Monty & Rose being someone's spark bird and taking them into a career in conservation to hopes Ohio will again have nesting Piping Plovers to the Piping Plover Pal Pledge dog owners can take, and beyond! 2/2
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Talking about Plovers, Dogs, and Community! We had a terrific time joint tabling with the Lincoln Park Zoo Urban Wildlife Institute at year three of The Urban Birding Festival, which took place at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum this weekend. 1/2 Pictured: Liza Lehrer (LPZ), John McElhattan (CPP)
People talking around a table in an exhibit area
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Chicago's motto is "Urbs in Horto." City in a Garden. The plovers are a measure of whether we mean it. 7/7 fin
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
On this Plover Appreciation Day, it's worth reflecting on what "sustainable city" really means for us in Chicago. It is not just energy or transit, but whether our urban ecosystems can still support wild things. 6/7
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The recovery effort is a model of community science and civic engagement. Scientists, researchers, local, state, federal agencies and institutions, and volunteer monitors work in coordination to give a fragile species room to survive wherever they choose to nest. 5/7
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
That’s changing, for the better. Every year, we come together during breeding season to keep these little families safe. Community protecting community. 4/7
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Piping Plovers, small, sand-colored shorebirds, nest on beaches across the Great Lakes where thousands of us walk, swim, and play every summer. The endangered Great Lakes population of Piping Plovers has fewer than 100 breeding pairs left in the world. 3/7
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
...that has turned into generations of Piping Plovers nesting on Chicago’s shoreline. We became part of something bigger, Great Lakes bigger! 2/7
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Reflections on Plover Appreciation Day When Rose and Monty chose Montrose Beach in 2019, it was the beginning of a seemingly improbable survival story... 1/7 📸: Tamima Itani (Monty and Rose and their 1st Montrose chick)
Two adult plovers and a chick
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Here is the donation link, if you wish to make a charitable contribution to Chicago Piping Plovers in 2026. Thank you for your support on the beach, online, and in your charitable giving! 🤍 chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/forms/piping...
chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com
2026 Chicago Piping Plover Fund
Thank you for your donation to support the Chicago Piping Plovers. Your donation allows us to support the presence, nesting and welfare of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in Chicago and Coo...
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We are as committed to being good stewards of your generous gifts as we are to working towards the recovery of the endangered population of Great Lakes Piping Plovers.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Our gratitude is unending to all of our donors. There are so many worthy causes to which you may lend your support and we thank you for including Chicago Piping Plovers in your charitable giving.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
We have met the goal for our Chicago Piping Plover Fund for the 2027 nesting season and thank the anonymous donor for their largess!
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Over the Top and Over the Moon Our 2025 anonymous donor has done it again! This year offering an $11,000 matching grant, if you got us to $11K by Plover Appreciation Day (September 16). Guess what, you did!
Montage of pictures of piping plovers and people who care about them
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Next, why haven't we known where Imani winters after 5 years or Sea Rocket after 3 years? A few points here. 2/2
Text explaining the challenges around wintering ground sightings
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Let's Talk About Wintering Ground Sightings! Alternatively, Where in the World are Your Chicago Piping Plovers?! First, here's where to report your sightings: plover@umn.edu. Photographs are ideal to submit. See pix for band combinations for the Montrose Beach 2026 crew. 1/2
A piping plover with leg bandsA piping plover with leg bandsA piping plover with leg bandsA piping plover with leg bands
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Thank you for your consideration of a $5-$10 donation. Funds will go towards human and other resources needed for monitor management 🧡 and education outreach. 2/2 chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/forms/piping...
chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com
2026 Chicago Piping Plover Fund
Thank you for your donation to support the Chicago Piping Plovers. Your donation allows us to support the presence, nesting and welfare of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in Chicago and Coo...
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
As we tick down to Plover Appreciation Day this Wednesday, September 16, our fundraising meter is ticking up and we are, as always, grateful. We are so close to reaching 50% of our fundraising goal! 1/2
Two people standing on a pier looking through binoculars monitoring endangered piping plovers and a fundraising meter.
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Reposted by Chicago Piping Plovers
Raed Mansour @raedmansour.com · 10/09/2026
Huge bird migration going on over Wisconsin & Midwest right now: 🐦‍⬛Wisconsin 93.1 million birds 🐦‍⬛Illinois 35.6 million birds 🐦‍⬛Minnesota 35.2 million birds 🐦‍⬛Michigan 30.8 million bird Turn #LightsOut to save migrating birds!
Live BirdCast bird migration map for the morning of September 10, 2026 estimation of over 526M birds migrating nationally, but concentrating mainly across Lake Michigan moving north to south.BirdCast screenshot of live data feed over Wisconsin showing over 93M birds having crossed, with 98M having crossed at 11:40p last night.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Thank you for your consideration of a $5-$10 donation. Funds will go towards human and other resources needed for monitor management 🧡 and education outreach. 2/2 chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/forms/piping...
chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com
2026 Chicago Piping Plover Fund
Thank you for your donation to support the Chicago Piping Plovers. Your donation allows us to support the presence, nesting and welfare of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in Chicago and Coo...
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This is incredible! Plover Appreciation Day (September 16) is a little over a week away and we are so close to reaching 50% of our fundraising goal! We are so grateful for and humbled by your support as we raise funds for the 2027 nesting season. 1/2
Fledgling piping plover on a beach along with a fundraising meter
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
You can find migrating shorebirds on a coastline, a flooded field, or a local wetland, and this can be the beginning of a deeper awareness of migration, habitat loss, seasonality, and ecological change. Source: www.worldshorebirdsday.org/world-shoreb...
worldshorebirdsday.org
World Shorebirds Day
World Shorebirds Day is a global initiative dedicated to shorebirds, migration, citizen science, and the protection of the habitats these birds depend upon across the planet.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Happy World Shorebirds Day! This global initiative is dedicated to shorebirds, migration, and the habitats these birds depend upon. It encourages a stronger connection between people and shorebirds - not only through conservation but observation. Source: www.worldshorebirdsday.org/world-shoreb...
worldshorebirdsday.org
World Shorebirds Day
World Shorebirds Day is a global initiative dedicated to shorebirds, migration, citizen science, and the protection of the habitats these birds depend upon across the planet.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Chicago, time and time again, you have chosen your Chicago Piping Plovers (as well as other urban wildlife!). Thank you for giving your Piping Plovers the space and respect to rest and nest on our shoreline. 3/3 fin
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Hundreds of times we have watched our Piping Plovers, beginning with Rose&Monty, turn adversity away. We observe and monitor them, yet what protects them forever is our growing beyond ourselves and fighting for them on their breeding and wintering grounds and stopover habitats.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Life is Better with Piping Plovers 🤍 Today is National Wildlife Day, designated to raise awareness about animal conservation and the plight of endangered species. 1/3 📸: Grace Palacio (Imani, Montrose, May 30, 2026)
Piping plover walking on a beach
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Can we reach 50% of our fundraising goal by Plover Appreciation Day (September 16)? Your charitable contribution supports the human and other resources needed for monitor management and education outreach. 2/2 chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/forms/piping...
chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com
2026 Chicago Piping Plover Fund
Thank you for your donation to support the Chicago Piping Plovers. Your donation allows us to support the presence, nesting and welfare of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in Chicago and Coo...
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
We know there are so many incredible initiatives to support and are humbled by your charitable contributions to Chicago Piping Plovers. They allow for what is now generations of Great Lakes Piping Plovers to thrive in Chicago. 1/2
Picture of beach with sign on fence that reads, "Welcome Home Piping Plovers."
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Reposted by Chicago Piping Plovers
Lake Michigan @lakemichigan13.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Public lands and waters must be protected - they belong to you and all future generations 🌊🌊
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Then, each plover faces many challenges during their migrations from predators to the increasing loss of stopover habitat, among other challenges.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Thanks for your question. Seeing a family tree for an endangered species can be a bit jarring. A piping plover clutch is typically 4 eggs and the average fledge rate is 1.5. Chicks that did not make it to fledging are not reflected on the family tree but extensive documentation is kept.
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The Monty & Rose Family Tree Our thanks to Plovermother Tamima Itani for producing and maintaining the family tree. 🤍
Family tree of Great Lakes Piping Plovers Monty & Rose
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Buddy!!! 🤍🎸
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
🤍!
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Tremendous! A captive-reared chick released at Waukegan. Then, another CR released at Waukegan and Frankie!
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thank you! 🤍🎸
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thank you! 🤍
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I am Sushi. I am glorious. I am also a Piping Plover Pal! We had such a terrific time tabling at Montrose today with Lincoln Park Zoo! Talking 'bout plovers, dogs, and creating a beach community where everyone feels welcome, safe, and connected.
A senior dogA tabling exhibit at the beach about being wildlife-friendly
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thank you! 🤍
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Can we reach 50% of our fundraising goal by Plover Appreciation Day (September 16)? Your charitable contribution supports the human and other resources needed for monitor management and education outreach. chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/forms/piping...
chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com
2026 Chicago Piping Plover Fund
Thank you for your donation to support the Chicago Piping Plovers. Your donation allows us to support the presence, nesting and welfare of the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in Chicago and Coo...
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Thank you, always, for your support on the beach/pier at Montrose, online, and in your charitable giving. It allows for what is now generations of Great Lakes Piping Plovers to thrive in Chicago. 1/2 📸: John McElhattan (Buddy and Frankie, Montrose, July 2026)
Fundraising meter and a picture of two piping plover fledglings
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Meet You At Montrose! 🤍🐶 This Friday from 9:30-noon reps from Lincoln Park Zoo and Your Monitoring Team 🧡 will be along the walkway by The Dock to discuss the Plover Pal campaign. You and your leashed pooch can take the pledge to be wildlife-friendly and get a fun giveaway!
Photo montage promoting dog owners being wildlife-friendly
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Bands are read from the bird’s top left to bottom left, then top right to bottom right (e.g., here is Imani's ID card). X = metal US Geological Survey (USGS) band (-) = no band (:) = move to right leg, top O = orange band (-) = no band Ystar = yellow star sticker on orange band
A piping plover on the sand with leg bands to identify him
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Chicago Piping Plovers @chicagopiping.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
If you live in or visit Piping Plover wintering grounds (the Carolinas down through the Gulf Coast and into Mexico and the Caribbean), we appreciate your reported sightings! 2/3
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