Chicago Piping Plovers launches annual fundraising drive

Fans of Chicago's piping plover population have an opportunity to show their love for the endangered shorebirds by buying a T-shirt and helping with the species recovery.

The Chicago Piping Plovers, an organization monitoring the endangered birds at Montrose Beach, announced its annual fundraiser for the Great Lakes Piping Plovers conservation team. The Chicago group is selling T-shirts to support the conservation team in its research and monitoring efforts.

On Friday, the volunteer group said on X that the shirts, priced between $18 and $35, would be available for two weeks only.

Since piping plovers Rose and and Monty gained viral fame after nesting at Montrose Beach in the summer of 2019 — the birds have spurred a broader movement to educate people about the federally endangered shorebirds, firing interest in Chicagoans to see the endangered birds thrive.

Plovers have since made Montrose Beach their annual nesting grounds.

In June, Monty and Rose's son Imani and his partner, Sea Rocket, brought three new plover chicks into the world: Ferris, El and Bean.

"The chicks are all doing well, they are 6-weeks old today, and they can fly around. It's getting close to the time where they'll be leaving," said Tamima Itani, lead volunteer coordinator with Chicago Piping Plovers, on Friday.

The chicks' names were chosen by Chicagoans from among 526 entries in a contest in July. The announcement of the names was timed to coincide with the day the chicks’ were expected to take their first flight.

Since 1982, researchers with Great Lakes Piping Plovers have been studying the genetics, behavior, habitat needs and interactions between humans and plovers.