‘Magical’: 2 more piping plover chicks hatch in Waukegan, bringing total to 4

Pepper and Blaze had another surprise up their wings, it seems.

The Waukegan piping plover mates welcomed not just two, but four new chicks over the weekend, according to the Lake County Audubon Society.

The first of the chicks hatched early Saturday morning, with the second following by the afternoon. But the hatchling happenings didn’t stop there. Hours later, a third chick hatched Saturday evening, then a fourth emerged Sunday morning, Lake County Audubon Society president Carolyn Lueck confirmed.

Lueck herself witnessed the last two chicks hatch. “I think the only word you can use is magical,” she said.

As of Tuesday night, Lueck said the hatchlings were doing well and that local volunteers were “feeling lucky right now.” Still, she said they were “cautiously optimistic” knowing there are so many dangers that the plover chicks face.

Waukegan’s new chicks follow the birth of four plovers at the Montrose Beach Dunes Natural Area in mid-June. Two of those chicks, known as Tweedy and Mavis, did not survive, according to local monitors.

Blaze and Pepper have been regulars at Waukegan Beach since 2023, nesting together in 2024 and 2025. This year, the former lovers reunited to build a nest just days after a previous clutch laid by Blaze and another mate, Pippin, washed away in a storm. The eggs were recovered by volunteers and rushed to the Lincoln Park Zoo, before being transferred to the Detroit Zoo. All four chicks hatched and are now part of the piping plover captive-rearing program at the University of Michigan Biological Station in Pellston, Michigan.

The Chicago area has rallied around local piping plover sightings since 2019, ever since the beloved pair of Monty and Rose became the first piping plovers to live in Chicago in more than 70 years. After Monty’s death in 2022 and Rose’s disappearance the same year, attention turned to their son, Imani, who in recent years has regaled the city with hatchlings of his own with mate, Searocket.

• Chicago Tribune’s Evgenia Anastasakos contributed.