Chances
of survival weren't good for four piping plover chicks that hatched this summer
along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Lake County.
The
male parent, which typically cares for the young, had disappeared, possibly
preyed upon by a hawk or a coyote — and the young had not yet fledged, making
them a potential meal for the same or other predators.
But
at least one of these chicks has made the more than 850-mile flight to Georgia
where it is now spending the winter.
"One
of the chicks has been found wintering down on Jekyll Island in Georgia, a
known wintering spot for piping plovers" said Vince Cavalieri, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) biologist and Great Lakes Piping Plover recovery
coordinator.
The
species is federally endangered — and nest in small numbers on the Atlantic
Coast, in the northern Great Plains and in the Great Lakes region, where they
are most imperiled, Cavalieri said. They winter along the Gulf Coast.
Adult
piping plovers are about 7 inches long with sandy-colored backs, white breasts
with black bands, orange-yellow legs and black-tipped orange bills. Their downy
young are sprinkled with brown to blend in with the pebbly beaches where the
species nests.
When
Cavalieri learned about the discovery of the Illinois chick wintering in
Georgia, he said, "I was super excited."
If
a pair of piping plovers is successful at nesting, "there's a very high
chance the parents will return," to the same spot — and that means they
might be back breeding in Lake County this coming summer, Cavalieri said.
The
last time the piping plover attempted nesting in Illinois was in 2009 and the
eggs were abandoned and removed to hatch at Lincoln Park Zoo, then released at
an established breeding area at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan.
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