Piping plover chick born at Montrose beach given Ojibwe name

The newest addition to the family of Chicago's favorite birds has a name.

Nagamo was the only piping plover chick who survived after a full clutch of eggs spawned at Montrose Beach by plovers Imani and Sea Rocket kicked off a promising start to the breeding season of the beloved endangered species. The bird's name was officially announced Saturday by the Chicago Bird Alliance, the Chicago Ornithological Society and the Illinois Ornithological Society.

Imani and Sea Rocket laid eggs at the Montrose Beach dunes for the first time this year. Four chicks hatched, but Nagamo was the only one who survived. In Waukegan, three of the four eggs laid by plovers Blaze and Pepper's eggs hatched in late June.

"Nagamo" means "he/she sings" in the Ojibwe language and the name selection was submitted by a man named Mike Doty, the organizations said in a Facebook post.

"Piping Plovers are known for their 'pip-lo' song that fills summer beaches and that is represented in both their common name as well as their scientific name Charadrius melodus," the Facebook post reads. "On the day of the name selection, Imani and Sea Rocket’s little chick was heard piping."

Nagamo was given a U.S. Department of Agriculture tag on the right leg.

The plovers are considered endangered in the Great Lakes region, and keeping the eggs and chicks safe in a public place proved to be difficult.

"Montrose is a very public place; we are challenged daily with people entering the protected area,” Tamima Itani, lead volunteer coordinator of the Chicago Piping Plovers group, said when the eggs were initially laid in mid-June.

Imani was hatched at Montrose Beach in 2021, an offspring of the piping plovers Monty and Rose. Searocket, a captive-reared chick, was released at Montrose Beach in July 2023.

The species disappeared from Illinois beaches around 1955 and weren't seen again until chicks hatched in 2019, according to the Chicago Park District.