Chicago’s beloved piping plovers Monty and Rose have welcomed three new chicks to the world, and are awaiting a fourth, as their eggs hatch at the Montrose Beach Dunes Natural Area.
Two of the endangered chicks hatched in the afternoon Wednesday, and a third emerged at 7:48 a.m. Thursday, according to Chicago Piping Plovers, a group dedicated to the birds. The chicks can leave the nest after hatching and run around the beach to find small bugs to feed themselves while Monty and Rose protect them from predators.
The group warned any disruption, including off-leash dogs and trying to get close for a photo, can endanger the baby birds.
The new parents lost their first four eggs this year to a skunk attack but renested shortly after and laid the new eggs.
