Pepper Returns to Waukegan Beach, Marking the Start of the 2026 Piping Plover Season
Piping Plover “Pepper” Returns to Waukegan Beach
Waukegan, IL - Lake County Audubon Society is thrilled to share that “Pepper,” one of the endangered Great Lakes piping plovers, has returned to Waukegan Beach following his migration from wintering grounds.
Brad Semel, Northern Species Recovery Specialist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, was surveying the restricted beach area Saturday afternoon (April 25) when he observed piping plover tracks in the sand. He returned Sunday afternoon, and Pepper quickly ran out to greet him, confirming the bird’s return.
Pepper is the male of the Waukegan pair that successfully nested in both 2023 and 2024. He is also one of four captive reared piping plovers released at Waukegan in 2023, making his return especially meaningful for ongoing recovery efforts in the Great Lakes region.
Pepper’s arrival marks an exciting start to the 2026 breeding season at Waukegan. His mate, Blaze, has not yet been sighted, but volunteers with Sharing Our Shore - Waukegan will continue scouting efforts in the coming days.
The plover pair, Blaze and Pepper, is one of approximately 88 nesting pairs of Great Lakes piping plovers recorded at the end of the 2025 breeding season. Once nearly extirpated from the region, the species continues a fragile recovery thanks to coordinated conservation efforts across the Great Lakes.
Waukegan’s piping plovers nest on a section of beach that is not open to the public due to long standing site restrictions. The area is closely monitored throughout the season to ensure the safety of the birds, with protection efforts carried out in coordination with state and federal agencies as part of a broader managed site. Through thousands of hours of fieldwork, volunteers help collect data, observe behavior, and support public awareness efforts that contribute to long term conservation success. This work is part of the Sharing Our Shore Waukegan initiative, a seven-year partnership between Lake County Audubon Society and the City of Waukegan focused on protecting critical lakefront habitat, supporting endangered species recovery, and engaging the community through education and outreach.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Pepper back to Waukegan,” said Carolyn Lueck, President of Lake County Audubon Society. “This is a success story for our entire community. Each return is a reminder of both the resilience of these birds and the responsibility we share to protect the habitat they depend on. We are so encouraged that Pepper has survived another migration, one of the most challenging journeys in a bird’s life, and returned to Waukegan.”
The Waukegan lakefront continues to draw attention as an important habitat within the Great Lakes region and is part of the broader Lake Plain, a rare and ecologically rich system of dunes, wetlands, and prairies. This landscape supports a wide range of bird species and serves as a key stopover for shorebirds migrating to and from breeding grounds further north. In recent days, a banded piping plover from the Great Plains population has also been observed at Waukegan Beach, likely stopping to rest and forage before continuing its migration to inland breeding areas. This unexpected visitor highlights the dynamic nature of migration and underscores the ecological importance of this shoreline for birds traveling through the region.
“This beach supports far more than a single species,” Lueck added. “It is part of a much larger story of migration, biodiversity, and community stewardship. We are also eagerly awaiting the return of Blaze, as well as the captive reared birds released last July.”
Chicago is also seeing encouraging signs. Chicago Piping Plovers have reported that two piping plovers have returned to Montrose Beach, including the well-known male “Pippin,” who successfully completed migration despite losing a foot last season after becoming entangled in synthetic hair. Another returning bird, “Imani,” has also been confirmed and is awaiting the return of “Searocket,” his mate for the past two years. An additional unbanded male has also been observed at Montrose Beach.
The City of Waukegan continues to demonstrate strong support for this conservation effort. In 2024, Waukegan officially declared the piping plover its city bird, further reflecting the community’s connection to this story. The City recently acquired a piping plover sculpture that was featured in the exhibition Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: The Flora, Fauna and Communities of the Lake Plain at the Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art in Grayslake.
Mayor Sam Cunningham welcomed the news of Pepper’s arrival, saying, “The return of the piping plovers to Waukegan is a powerful testament to what we can achieve through environmental stewardship. The City of Waukegan is proud to continue partnering with the Lake County Audubon Society and local advocates to protect and preserve the vital habitats these remarkable birds depend on. Together, we are ensuring that this success story continues to thrive for generations to come.”
In addition to the all-volunteer team of piping plover monitors, Lake County Audubon Society’s Sharing Our Shore Waukegan program leads a wide range of public outreach and educational initiatives designed to raise awareness about piping plovers and the unique lakefront habitat they depend on.
