‘A huge opportunity’: Release of four piping plovers could expand breeding population of endangered shorebird

The release this week of four piping plover fledglings reared in captivity at a secluded beach area on Lake Michigan raises the possibility of two more nesting sites for the federally endangered bird species in Waukegan.

If they make it through migration south and return next year as mates, the two added nests would increase the number in Waukegan to three and cement the city’s place as a plover-loving stronghold.

Their names provide a hint: Benny after Jack Benny and Ray after Ray Bradbury, both natives of Waukegan; Dandelion after Bradbury’s novel “Dandelion Wine”; and, Genesee after the landmark Genesee Theatre.

“The release of these captive-reared fledglings is a major accomplishment for our volunteers and for the city of Waukegan” said Carolyn Lueck, president of Lake County Audubon. “This is a huge opportunity to expand the breeding population in Lake County.”

The release was in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Sharing Our Shore — Waukegan, a partnership of Audubon and the city.

The introduction of two males and two females to the area is a win for supporters of the charismatic shorebirds and another hopeful step in their slow comeback in the Great Lakes region.

This summer, 88 unique pairs of plovers were breeding in the Great Lakes. The majority are in Michigan with a nesting pair each in Waukegan and Chicago. It’s the most since 1984 and seven more than last year’s record number, Lueck said.

Blaze and Pepper were part of a captive release in Waukegan in 2023 and have been returning to the same restricted beach. This year, the couple had four eggs hatch. One didn’t survive and two later were lost to storms.

That leaves Aster, a wild-raised fledgling who has been hanging out with the four new arrivals. Parents, Blaze (last seen July 5) and Pepper (last seen July 17) are migrating to their winter homes in North Carolina and Florida, respectively.

Two males released in Waukegan this week came from eggs rescued from a nest in Wilderness State Park in northern Michigan. The two females came from a nest at Port Inland in the Upper Peninsula, Lueck said.

Eggs were hatched at a captive rearing facility for Great Lakes piping plovers at the University of Michigan biological station near Pellston where abandoned eggs and chicks are incubated and cared for until ready to be released into the wild.

All five fledglings are gaining weight and honing their flying skills. They’re expected to head south for protected beaches in two to three weeks, Lueck said.

But Waukegan won’t be quite done with plovers. A special art exhibition, “Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: The Flora, Fauna & People of the Waukegan Shores,” runs Sept. 5 through Oct. 18 at the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie, 1 N. Sheridan Road.