CHICAGO — A third chick born to the Montrose Beach Piping Plovers Imani and Searocket has died, just under two weeks after it hatched.
The group “Chicago Piping Plovers,” which tracks the birds in Chicago, said Sunday that a team of Piping Plover monitors observed that the chick was lethargic and struggling on Saturday.
The chick and its only remaining sibling had been spotted feeding and moving normally earlier in the day.
With permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the chick was collected on Saturday and taken to the Lincoln Park Zoo where it was provided warmth, oxygen and fluids.
Despite the fact that there were no signs of external or internal injuries or illness, the chick died during the night.
“Chicago Piping Plovers and its partners remain grateful for the outpouring of love and support. We are working to understand the factors that have led to the demise of our precious chicks,” a spokesperson for the Chicago Piping Plovers group said on Friday.
It is the third chick born to the Montrose Beach Piping Plovers to die in recent days.
On Friday morning, following the death of two of the four chicks, field biologists from the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort captured the two surviving chicks and put metal bands on their legs to track the birds.
During their tagging, a veterinary doctor examined both chicks and said they did not exhibit any signs of illness or injuries.
Only one of the four Piping Plover chicks born in recent weeks remains.
Three of Imani and Searocket’s four chicks hatched on Sunday, July 1, and the fourth hatched the next day as volunteers looked on.
The eggs had appeared at the Monty and Rose Wildlife Habitat at Montrose Beach Dunes in May.