Imani the Piping Plover is still with us

The offspring of Monty and Rose makes it back to Chicago for a third season.

Imani at Montrose Beach on the morning of April 25, 2024. Photo provided to TWiB by Robert Loerzel.

There’s cause for celebration whenever a Piping Plover makes it back to the breeding grounds after a winter away. That’s especially the case for Imani, the Piping Plover that hatched to the famed Monty and Rose all the way back in 2021. That’s a long time ago in plover years.

Imani has returned to Chicago’s Montrose Beach, first reported at dawn yesterday by Matthew Dolkart. Imani arrived again on April 25, exactly one year after last year’s arrival. We still don’t know where Imani spends the winter, but we know it’s likely on the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Coast.

I had the fortune of being present within an hour or two of the report of Imani and was entertained by some early-season shenanigans.

I watched as a Killdeer lingered within a few yards of the Piping Plover, who is looking plump and hearty after fueling up for the 1,000-plus mile migration journey. Imani was pipping beautifully before the Killdeer caught Imani’s attention. Imani didn’t go toward the Killdeer at first, an aggressive behavior we’ve seen many times before on this beach in other summers. The Killdeer turned away from Imani and raised up its undertail coverts toward the smaller plover, either an odd display of aggression or a type of mating behavior, one can’t be sure.

Killdeer showing its, um, undertail coverts to Imani. I think the technical term is “shaking your rump.” Photo provided to TWiB by Robert Loerzel.

Imani ran a literal circle around the Killdeer and got him into a spin cycle before the big plover began to flee away. Imani chased the Killdeer on foot well into the dune grasses and shrubs that are now just turning green with the season. Eventually both birds disappeared, but a few minutes later it was only Imani who re-emerged on the sand just above the wrack line. It was Imani who lingered then well after the encounter. 

The question after two years as a bachelor is whether Imani will attract a female plover this year. Piping Plovers migrate through Chicago in small numbers each year. But it will take a plover noticing Imani and staying put at Montrose. If any female does so, Imani already has taken care of at least one Killdeer for now.

Learn more about Monty and Rose by watching one of my documentary films, which have aired on PBS in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.