Chicago birders mourn piping plovers at beach
Just feet from where Chicagoans were first captivated by the city’s famous and endangered piping plover couple, Monty and Rose, volunteers and community members came together Wednesday to grieve their loss.
Monty, the male plover, died at the beach May 13 after volunteers noticed him behaving oddly and stumbling. Rose hasn’t returned to Montrose Beach for months and is feared dead.
Melissa Foster — who was first introduced to Monty and Rose when volunteers stopped her from accidentally running into the tiny birds’ small habitat in 2019 — said she was crushed by the news of Monty’s death.
“I was utterly flattened,” Foster said.
Monty and Rose were first spotted at Montrose Beach in 2019 and had returned for three seasons to mate and hatch their chicks.
Janet Pellegrini and Linda Radtke, who both volunteered to guard the plovers for all three seasons, said Monty’s death sent shockwaves through the tightknit bird-watching community.
“Your family and friends understand, but no one else understands why you’re crying about a bird,” Pellegrini said.
At Wednesday’s memorial, volunteers stood in front of around 100 attendees to share their experiences on the beach, sometimes in grueling heat or heavy rain, watching over the birds.
“There was laughter, tears and so much anxiety,” said Daniela Herrera, a 27-year-old volunteer who was on duty when Monty died.
“I’m glad that Monty was not alone when he passed,” Herrera said. “I hope he felt my love in that moment and felt the love from all of Chicago as well.”
Foster said the city’s efforts to protect the birds inspired a sense of hope she hadn’t seen before.
“I saw the best of humanity here,” Foster said.