The saga of Nagamo, the sole surviving piping plover chick at Chicago’s Montrose Beach, continues to warm the hearts of bird enthusiasts and conservationists alike, as the feathered youngster finally sets off on a long journey south for the winter, the WBEZ reports. With its parents, Imani and Searocket having flown the coop days prior, this tiny bird, not much bigger than a tennis ball, was once scampering around Montrose Beach, chomping down insects and honing its flight skills, prepped for migration.
Leaving hatching siblings behind who didn't make it and parents who launched for warmer climes, Nagamo, whose sex remains a mystery, succumbed to instinct and finally followed suit, as detailed by the Chicago Sun-Times. Piping plovers like Nagamo are renowned for being precocial, needing little assistance after hatching, which sharply contrasts with other bird species that remain nest-bound, relying heavily on parental support.
The proneness of these chicks to wanderlust before the big trek south is well-documented, with Nagamo making multiple returns to Montrose Beach over the past month, even bringing along a cousin from Waukegan during one visit, described by Chicago Piping Plovers, the volunteer group committed to the species' protection. Such behavior isn't atypical as "Hatch-year piping plovers like Nagamo take time exploring areas in the Great Lakes before heading south," noted Tamima Itani, lead volunteer for Chicago Piping Plovers, in her conversation with the Sun-Times.
From fledgling to flier, Nagamo's odyssey from its birthplace to migratory completion mirrors the plight and wonder of its species. Plovers like Nagamo employ a variety of celestial and environmental cues, including the sun, stars, and Earth’s magnetic field, for navigation, so says Nicole Finch-Mason, Hope B. McCormick Curator of Birds at Lincoln Park Zoo, in her chat with WBEZ. She elaborated on the critical survival skills learned from the chick's parents, which are essential for its imminent long-haul flight.
Nagamo’s trek to the wintering grounds—likely along the coastlines of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, or the Gulf Coast of Texas—echoes the natural pull that draws these birds to their seasonal habitats. There's hope among conservationists that this bird's successful journey will signal another small victory for the Great Lakes piping plovers, an endangered species that has fought valiantly to claw back from the brink since disappearing from Illinois beaches in 1955 and resurfacing with new hatchings only in 2019.
