Piping plover couple Imani and Searocket lay first eggs of the season

One of Chicago's favorite piping plover couples, Searocket and Imani, produced their first eggs of the season this week.

The four eggs were found Sunday morning, according to volunteer monitors.

Imani, who hatched in 2021, arrived in the city last month after spending the winter in warmer climes. He’s the son of famed plover couple Monty and Rose, who in 2019 were the first of the endangered species to nest in Chicago since 1955.

"On behalf of Imani and Sea Rocket, we are excited to announce the first egg of an expected four-egg clutch was laid on the Montrose Beach Dunes shoreline," volunteer monitors wrote in a statement.

Searocket and Imani's only surviving hatchling, Nagamo, was the last plover to leave last August after learning to fly. He has yet to return, though the nesting season lasts from May through August, so he is likely to return at a later date.

Three other hatchlings from the second-generation couple died last year before they reached 2 weeks old.

The first chick was presumed dead July 10 after it went missing. Volunteer monitors later found its body on the beach with a growth on its neck. The next day, a second chick was found lethargic and struggling and was taken to the Lincoln Park Zoo for warmth, oxygen and fluids, but it later died.

Days later, the third chick was also taken to Lincoln Park Zoo after it was also seen struggling and died overnight. All three were taken in for necropsies.

Pippin, a plover that hatched in Wisconsin in 2023, and Uncle Larry, who hatched in Michigan in 2023, were both also spotted at Montrose Beach last month.

In the 1980s, the Great Lakes population of plovers comprised about 1,000 pairs. Last year, about 80 pairs nested in the region. The population remains far from stable, and at least 150 pairs are needed for the species to be considered self-sustaining.

However, the plovers at Montrose are the sign of a healing ecosystem. One of Monty and Rose’s other sons, Nish, who hatched at Montrose in 2020, nested in Ohio, the first there in 81 years.