A FILM ABOUT CHICAGO'S PIPING PLOVERS
They'll capture your imagination...and your heart
"Monty and Rose 2" tells the story of a pair of endangered Piping Plovers attempting to nest on a busy beach in Chicago. The documentary chronicles these special birds and an unpredictable series of events including a proposed music festival that propelled them to national headlines. Monty and Rose became the first piping plovers to successfully nest within the city limits of Chicago since 1948.
About Great Lakes Piping Plovers
About the film
Filmmaker Bob Dolgan began work on the film soon after the plovers arrived in Chicago in the summer of 2019. A documentary short made its debut at the historic Music Box Theatre on November 18, 2019, a date declared Illinois Piping Plover Day by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Chicago's PBS station, WTTW Channel 11, has broadcast the documentary short:
Sponsors
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Special thanks to our Title Sponsor, Redstart Birding, a small, Ohio-based, female-owned business powered by birders.
They'll capture your imagination...and your heart
"Monty and Rose 2" tells the story of a pair of endangered Piping Plovers attempting to nest on a busy beach in Chicago. The documentary chronicles these special birds and an unpredictable series of events including a proposed music festival that propelled them to national headlines. Monty and Rose became the first piping plovers to successfully nest within the city limits of Chicago since 1948.
About Great Lakes Piping Plovers
- 65-70 nesting pairs, nesting on all five Great Lakes
- Population dipped to just 13 pairs by 1990
- Three separate geographic populations: Great Lakes, Great Plains and Atlantic Coast
- Birds from all three populations winter on the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, as well as the Bahamas
- Greatest threats facing Piping Plovers: habitat loss and degradation; nest disturbance and predation. Many of the coastal beaches traditionally used by piping plovers for nesting have been lost to commercial, residential, and recreational developments.
About the film
Filmmaker Bob Dolgan began work on the film soon after the plovers arrived in Chicago in the summer of 2019. A documentary short made its debut at the historic Music Box Theatre on November 18, 2019, a date declared Illinois Piping Plover Day by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Chicago's PBS station, WTTW Channel 11, has broadcast the documentary short:
- Production company: TURNSTONE
- Videographer: Mitchell Wenkus; Editor: Sharon Filipkowski; Original music: Congress of Starlings; Animations: Bill Fogarty
- Running time: approximately 53 minutes
- Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Sponsors
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council. Special thanks to our Title Sponsor, Redstart Birding, a small, Ohio-based, female-owned business powered by birders.
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Title Sponsor
Redstart Birding
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council
Platinum Sponsors ($1,000+)
Amy Lardner
Mark and Binnie Swislow
moss design
Openlands
Pamela Sloan
Champion Sponsors ($500+)
Andrea Raila
Audubon Great Lakes
Chicago Ornithological Society
DuPage Birding Club
Environmental Law and Policy Center
Katy Krigbaum
Lawrence Corry
Lin Johnston
Paul Petersen
Red Hill Birding
TJ Richmond
Vital Body Wellness LLC
Visionary Eye Care
West Cook Wild Ones
Will County Audubon Society
Presenting Sponsors ($250+)
Anonymous
Adeline Krohmer
Black River Audubon Society
Cecilia and Robert J. Dolgan
Clyde Steele
Ernest Kaminski
Erika Sanders and Adrian Hegeman
Heidi Kiesler
Howe & Osburn
Isoo O'Brien
Jay Trees
Jeanette Pescitelli
Jennifer and Russ Johnson
Joe Valencic
Karla Kerber
Lake-Cook Audubon Society
Lake County Audubon Society
McHenry County Audubon Society
Moller Family Foundation
Sable Dunes Audubon Society
Steven Anderson
Susan Riefe
Supporters ($100+)
Anonymous (4)
Amy Kunz
Andrea Bunch
Ann Paul
Betsy Brill
Candace Blank
Carl and Michelle England
David Baker
Debra Heinze
Diann Bilderback and John Westby
Dori Levine
Elaine Cue
Eva Penar
Gina Wammock
The Giometti Family
Grand Rapids Audubon Club
Gregg King
The Gunkel Family
Illinois Environmental Council
Jane Curry
Janet Pellegrini
In memory of Steven Jones
Kane County Audubon Society
Kerry and Merry Kerber
Laura Cripe
Lin and Gordon McGrew
Lindsey Arenberg
Marie Zahorik
Mark and Mabel Harman
Mary Hotson
The Nature Conservancy
Neil Johnston
Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society
The Potter Family
Richard Heger
Rob Baker
Roberta Fabiano
Ruth Castillo
Ruth Kurczewski
Sarah and Dan Tattersall
Sharon Borg
The Sierra Club, Chicago Group
Sonja Lundquist
Stacy Burns
Susan Riefe
Tamima Itani
"Monty and Rose are big characters who have sparked a passionate following in their home region. This is a story packed with risk: a threatened species represented by a pair who appear so vulnerable in their chosen nesting territory on the shore of a vast and iconic city."
—Peter Hamilton, Executive Producer, PBS Nature special SEASON OF THE OSPREY
"Two thumbs up!"
—Jessica Melfi, Bird Watcher's Digest
“Monty’s and Rose’s return to Chicago’s Montrose Beach is a wonderful bird conservation and urban outdoors story, and Bob Dolgan’s film tells it very well.”
—Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center
"Monty and Rose and their many volunteer monitors in Chicago have inspired all of us working to recover the endangered population of Great Lakes piping plovers. Their story is a model for other communities to follow as we continue to increase the number of breeding plover pairs in the region."
—Dr. Francesca Cuthbert, Piping Plover Research and Recovery Program
—Peter Hamilton, Executive Producer, PBS Nature special SEASON OF THE OSPREY
"Two thumbs up!"
—Jessica Melfi, Bird Watcher's Digest
“Monty’s and Rose’s return to Chicago’s Montrose Beach is a wonderful bird conservation and urban outdoors story, and Bob Dolgan’s film tells it very well.”
—Howard Learner, Executive Director, Environmental Law and Policy Center
"Monty and Rose and their many volunteer monitors in Chicago have inspired all of us working to recover the endangered population of Great Lakes piping plovers. Their story is a model for other communities to follow as we continue to increase the number of breeding plover pairs in the region."
—Dr. Francesca Cuthbert, Piping Plover Research and Recovery Program
