When a small migratory shorebird appeared in Duluth earlier this month, word of the sighting caused a flurry of excitement in Chicago. 

At Chicago’s largest public beach, mourners were still grappling with the loss of Monty and Rose; a pair of endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers that had defied the odds and nested at Montrose Beach since 2019. 

Rose’s disappearance and Monty’s death devastated local conservationists, birders and the nearly 200 volunteers that kept watch over the pair and their tiny chicks each season. 

In the wake of the sadness, an immense glimmer of hope made an unassuming arrival in Duluth on May 16: Imani, the only known surviving offspring from Monty and Rose's last hatch, had returned to the Great Lakes region after wintering in the south. 

"Everybody felt so down and really, really sad about losing Monty and not seeing Rose back, so when the news broke of Imani being seen it was such a joyful moment,” said Tamima Itani, the lead volunteer coordinator with Chicago Piping Plovers. 

Great Lakes Piping Plovers were listed as an endangered species in 1986. Only 12 pairs, all found in northern Michigan, were known to be living in 1990, according to Itani. 

Steadfast conservation efforts are succeeding in the region, Itani said, but there’s much more work to be done. Last year, 74 pairs of Great Lakes Piping Plovers were documented — a count of 150 pairs is needed for the species to lose its endangered status. 

Itani said an additional Great Lakes Piping Plover was also spotted in Duluth the day before Imani — some wonder if they might’ve been interested in exploring the Apostle Islands, but their exact flight paths aren't known. 

Imani, whose name means "faith" in Swahili, has since returned to the sands of Montrose Beach, where his adoring onlookers are hoping he’ll soon find a mate. 

"It brings up hope that we can go on and that there will be more Piping Plovers at Montrose or anywhere throughout the Great Lakes as time goes on,” Itani said.

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