- [Narrator] On this edition of Great Lakes Now, endangered birds find a home and fame, on the Chicago beach.

- It was mind boggling, that they would choose Chicago to nest.

(soft music) - [Narrator] Destructor storms forced Duluth to rethink a waterfront park.

- We can't retreat.

This is not like you just leave it and move back.

This is our front door.

- [Narrator] And eves dropping on suckers as they swim upstream to spawn.

- They're coming right over the hydrophone, coming right to me (chuckles).

(soft music) (whooshing) - [Announcer] This program is brought to you by the Fred A and Barbara M Erb Family Foundation.

The Charles Stewart Mott foundation.

Laurie and Tim Wadhams.

- [Announcer] The Consumer's Energy foundation is committed to serving Michigan from preserving our state's natural resources and sustaining our future to continuing business growth, academic achievement and community involvement.

Learn more at consumersenergy.com/foundation.

- [Announcer] The Richard C. Deveraux Foundation for energy and environmental programs at DPTV.

The Polk Family Fund, Eve and Jerry Jung, the Americana Foundation, the Brookby Foundation, Founders Brewing company and viewers like you, thank you.

(whooshing) - Hi, I'm Ward Detwiler, welcome back to Great Lakes Now.

Since 2019, two little birds have captured a lot of hearts.

They've inspired a book, a movie and even a beer and they've been spending their summers on Lake Michigan beach in Chicago.

(whooshing) (soft music) (birds chirping) - [Narrator] About five miles north of downtown Chicago is a Haven for birds and the humans who watch them.

It's called Montrose Point Bird sanctuary.

- Well, Montrose in particular is a special place.

You can't really get the kind of shots that you can get here, you're so close to the birds, they all funnel through here and they come down much lower than you might see them in other places.

They're gonna get in the water.

- [Narrator] Alex Handler is one of dozens of birders who flock to Montrose almost every day during the warmer months.

There are a tightly knit group of citizen scientists who track the birds' every move, gather useful data for documenting bird population growth and decline.

- Really, it's great.

You kind of feel like you're contributing as well when you're out here.

- [Narrator] And while there are more than 350 different bird species living at the Montrose point, bird sanctuary, these two little birds have been getting all the attention in recent years.

They are Piping Plovers, their names, Monty and Rose.

Monty and Rose have caused quite a stir within the birdwatching community.

Their mere presence inspired a documentary film and another one in the works.

The filmmaker is Bob Dolgan, a lifelong birder.

(soft music) - I think birds open us up to a whole nother world.

I mean, you'd see a migratory bird species here in Chicago, that bird be going all the way to the Arctic circle in the summertime and then in the winter go down to somewhere in South America.

If we know more about birds, that just tells us so much more about the environment and about the challenges we have in terms of habitat loss, climate change, pollution, pesticides, you name it and so birds are really a window into so many other issues.

- [Narrator] Dolgan says the story of Monty and Rose happened quickly and took everyone in the birdwatching community by surprise.

- And so all of a sudden they were scraping nests much to our astonishment and delight and the story just took off from there.

- [Narrator] In the great lakes area, piping plovers are considered endangered and they hadn't been seen around Chicago since 1948.

- And so this was just an astonishing thing and there's such a highly endangered species that it just, it was mind boggling that they would choose Chicago to nest.

- [Narrator] Their story begins in 2019, and it has been a journey filled with drama for these little birds as illustrated by the movie.

(whooshing) - [Narrator] On June 12th I came, Rose was on the nest, you know, the four eggs had been laid and everything looked so peaceful, it looked like we were going to have a successful nesting experience.

(soft music) - [Narrator] The birds were discovered mating on the beach by Tamima Itani with the Illinois Ornithological Society.

She named them Monty and Rose and soon earned the nickname Plover mother.

- As we started looking at the forecast for the rest of the day, it was high winds, torrential rains but even more concerning a strong storm surge from the lake.

There was already a lot of water on the beach and there was a good chance that the water would rise to cover the nest.

- [Narrator] I looked and saw the waves building on lake Michigan and we knew we were in trouble, so then they were calling for 35 to 40 mile an hour, north wind.

- [Narrator] It was very distressing to me, the four eggs where we moved around 6:00 p.m. that day, by the next morning, the nest was under a foot of water, so it was definitely the right decision to make.

- [Narrator] The eggs were carefully transferred to an incubator but they did not survive.

Just days later a hopeful sign, Monty could be seen scraping another nest this time, further up the beach.

- [Narrator] And then one day we realized that they were interested in the volleyball court area which is an area that makes so much sense from a nesting standpoint because it's high and dry.

In all the storms that we had, that area wasn't underwater.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] The new nest in the sand only about an inch deep, was protected by a metal cage to keep out predators but the birds then faced another obstacle.

An outdoor concert was being planned for Montrose beach.

25,000 screaming fans would be dancing and bouncing in the sand just yards from where Monty and Rose were nesting.

The two tiny birds were up against their biggest challenge yet.

But after a lot of back and forth with the City and with concert promoters, the concert was canceled just one day after the chicks were hatched.

Monty and Rose won.

- After they hatched and they started moving around.

That probably was the most stressful time because basically they're these cute little fluff balls running around but that's all they can do run around.

They can't fly, you know, their parents can only do so much to defend them.

- [Narrator] They were seen and photographed chasing gulls chasing mallards.

The two of them ganged up on a great blue Heron and chase the great blue Heron.

- [Narrator] One of the chicks born to Monty and Rose in 2019 is now starting his own family.

(soft music) A bird named Nish has settled down with Nelly in Ohio.

They are the first piping plovers to nest in that region in more than 80 years.

The nesting site is at Maumee Bay State Park, near Toledo.

It's an encouraging sign according to filmmaker Dolgan because the plover population in the Great lakes is highly endangered.

- There are only about 70 pairs or so remaining.

In the early 90s the population dipped all the way down to just a dozen pairs all in Michigan and so just their very survival persisting on a handful of beaches around the great lakes, there's just something really cool about that.

- [Narrator] Persistence in the face of disaster is simply a way of life for piping plovers.

Predators are a constant threat.

We learned during the taping of this segment that all four eggs at Montrose were eaten by a skunk that had reached into the metal cage protecting the nest.

Undaunted by tragedy.

The next day, there were signs that Monty and Rose were courting again.

(waves crashing) (chatting loudly) (soft music) Monty and Rose have attracted a huge following.

T-shirts and hats have been created, a children's book was published and there's even a beer called Piping Plover Ale.

Plus the governor declared November 18th, Illinois Piping Plover day.

To ensure the bird's safety more than 200 volunteers work on a rotating schedule to keep a close watch on the birds, almost around the clock.

- Oh, change it, change.

- [Volunteer] Shift change.

- I'm watching, is it gonna happen?

- [Volunteer] Shift change.

- Yes, shift change.

Rose is off duty, all right.

- [Volunteer] I just wanna get my (mumbles).

(soft music) - [Narrator] Come September Monty and Rose fly South for the winter.

Monty will fly to Texas while Rose heads to Florida.

Then in the spring, they fly North to build a new nest all over again on the beach at Montrose.

- Last year, they came on the same day and this year they came 24 hours apart and how that's possible is a mystery.

I mean, it is still one of these things that is little known as to how birds could possibly do that.

- [Narrator] I think these birds have been tremendous ambassadors to birding, to birds, to having wildlife within your city.

It's a great story of engaging people and bringing them on board.

(soft music) (whooshing) - For more about Monty and Rose and other birds of the Great lakes visit GreatLakesNow.org.

Duluth, Minnesota on the far Western tip of Lake Superior has been battered by storms over the past few years and it's taken a toll.

So the city is taking steps to prepare one shoreline park for future storms.

(whooshing) (soft music) - [Narrator] Duluth's Lake Walk is a major destination both for locals and the more than 6,000,000 people who visit the city every year.

The pave trail hugs several miles of the cities at Lake Superior shore with sweeping views of the lake and the city that make it one of Duluth's gems.

In 2019 the New York times reported on Duluth as a possible climate refuge, a haven from the worst effects of climate change but that doesn't mean Duluth is immune.

(dramatic music) By my model suggests a future of more powerful and more frequent storms.

Like the three storms that hit Duluth in 2017 and 2018 doing millions of dollars in damage to the waterfront, including the lake walk.

Especially hard hit was the trail's most popular stretch behind a row of hotels in the city's canal park tourist district.

Mike Lebow is Construction Projects Manager for the City of Duluth.

- It's humbling.

I was down here kind of during the first part of this last big storm.

People were leaving the area, the whole district canal park district was flooding and big, big stones were moving around, boardwalk sections, flipping around - [Narrator] Parking lots and streets were flooded.

The waves were high enough to close down Duluth's famous aerial lift bridge, shutting off access to an entire neighborhood.

It made an impression on Duluth mayor, Emily Larson.

- I remember (chuckles) every single one of those storms.

I used to love storms, I used to love them and now I do not.

I no longer like moody weather (laughs).

(dramatic music) - [Narrator] That moody weather has caused tens of millions of dollars in damage over the past five years, the storms were declared state and federal emergencies.

- One of those awesome, beautiful storms that people love to come down and drive for to take pictures, all I think about in the middle of the night is, you know.

(laughing loudly) And because we, you know, we can't retreat.

This is not like you just leave it and move back, this is our front door, it's social but it's also economic development, it's infrastructure - [Narrator] In some way, parts of the Great lakes, retreat is the best option for private homeowners threatened by rising lake water and a disappearing shoreline.

That's not an option for Canal Park, a lake walk is itself a valuable asset, but it also helps to protect the hotels and businesses behind it.

- You know, after the first storm, I think we were kind of going like, okay, let's piecemeal this, let's sweep it up, let's lay some more pavement down, let's fix these boards and then the second one, and then the third one and you start realizing not only is that exhausting and unsustainable, it's frustrating, it's expensive and it's not going to work.

She's letting us know, this lake is letting us know who is in charge and it is not us.

- [Narrator] After even more storms in 2019 instead of repairing the damaged lake walk the city began rebuilding it from the foundation up.

City officials and businesses behind the lake walk, hope this bigger, stronger lake walk will stand up to rising lake waters and the intense storms that have grown more frequent in recent years.

The first line of defense is an engineered wall of giant boulders that slopes into the water.

- The bulk of these rocks, the armor stone, which is just the top layer are in the eight to nine ton range.

They're held in place by a double row of tow stones which are 10 to 12 tons, which are buried out in the lake.

All of this material on top is several times as large as what was here before.

- [Narrator] Behind the rocks, a thick concrete wall anchored deep in the ground offers a second layer of protection for the new wider lake walk.

There's also a new system to drain away water from the waves that do crash over the wall.

The price tag for rebuilding just this half mile stretch of lake walk and canal park will run about $17,000,000.

It's expected to be complete this summer.

State and federal emergency funds are expected to cover more than two thirds of that cost.

- This is a key piece to not only local enjoyment, but the tourist trade for Duluth.

So it's definitely a payback and if it lasts 50 years in good shape, that's a pretty small cost.

- [Narrator] But if more intense storms are part of our new normal can we really expect to get 50 years out of anything built on the lakefront?

- I tend to answer that question by saying, we may not have seen them the worst the lake can throw our way.

(soft music) - [Narrator] One good sign, a new section of the lake walk the city finished a couple of years ago held up during the most recent storm.

The biggest change visitors will notice in addition to the giant boulders is that the lake walk is now several feet higher than it used to be.

That's partly blocked the view of the lake and made it tougher to access the water.

Matt Baumgardner is the president of the canal park business association.

- When people started to see the plans and see that views might be obstructed a little bit from some of the wonderful hotels that we have down here then all of a sudden it's whoa, whoa, whoa, pump the brakes, we wanna make sure that this is still gonna work.

- [Narrator] But the string of big storms that's pummeled Duluth has also been a wake-up call for businesses that rely on tourists flocking to canal park.

- We need to do something big with this.

And so I think that there was an acceptance and then support that something had to happen, which we see does make it look different and feel different, but hopefully it's a, and it seems to be robustly designed and constructed and engineered so that we can have a safe lake walk, a lake walk for all to enjoy and a lake walk that's resilient, just like the Dulutheans are.

(whooshing) - Since we shot that story, Duluth lake walk has reopened but the city has more work plan to create an even more resilient shoreline.

Even if you don't fish, you know about trout and walleye, but what about suckers?

Every spring, they swim upstream to spawn and now one researcher with Chicago's Shedd Aquarium is conducting the first long-term study into what kicks off the migration.

(whooshing) (soft music) - I'm Karen Murchie and I'm the Director of Freshwater Research at Shedd Aquarium.

I also run our migratory fishes program and as part of that research, it takes us to amazing creeks like the one behind me, which is Heinz Creek, just south of Bailey's Harbor, indoor county, Wisconsin.

And we're out here to monitor the amazing migration of suckers We have suckers responding like right next to the bank - [Narrator] For five years, Dr. Murchie has been collecting data from 17 locations along the Western shore of Lake Michigan and the south shore of Lake Superior.

The information helps researchers understand the migration patterns of suckers, a native fish population that is important to the creeks and streams that feed the Great lakes.

- The suckers move from each individual Great lake, Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie, Superior and they take a quiet creek and bring it to life in the spring, not long after the ice is off the lake and starting to warm up, the fish start showing up and they're in here to spawn.

- [Narrator] Long Nose and White suckers are abundant in all five great lakes and can grow up to 25 inches in length.

They get their name from the shape of their mouth but according to Dr. Murchie they're largely misunderstood and underappreciated.

- These fish are not commercially fish, they don't have recreational value.

People don't really know so much about their biology but we know that these animals, when they're in the Creek they're adding a lot of nutrients.

So their eggs and their excrement actually add nitrogen and phosphorus to the Creek that can be used by all sorts of other organisms living here.

- [Narrator] Dr. Murchie and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago have recruited dozens of volunteers to act as citizen scientists and assist in monitoring the sucker population at these lake Michigan sites.

- It's a really neat aspect of being able to work at Shedd Aquarium, where I can run this program and harness the amazing power of volunteers to be my eyes and ears on the ground.

- Being a citizen science monitor for the Sucker Program is very easy and quite rewarding.

It's just a process of coming out on a daily basis, checking to see if there are fish in the stream, you know, whether they're suckers or other spring migratory fish and then checking water levels, collecting other, you know, types of data for Karen to then use to get a better understanding of the sucker migratory season.

- It's really fascinating just to see in the spring time, the sequence of events that happen.

So first you see the pike come in and they do a little bit of spawning, and there's a few of 'em not as big in numbers, but then all of a sudden hundreds of suckers will come up at the a Creek and that happens over a short period of time and it's just fascinating to see that many fish in a small little Creek.

So it's quite an amazing thing and just kind of one of those miracles in nature that are really fun to watch.

- It's an opportunity for people of all ages regardless of their background, to participate in real research and collect real data.

And it doesn't matter whether you have an institutional knowledge of the scientific process or of science in general, it's just a great opportunity to get out, collect data for the researchers to then use to develop and understand the natural world.

- I've actually had a degree in Fisheries Biology but I never did a lot of work with it, but now I kind of come full circle and then helping out various people on various projects to collect data and to me, that's a lot of fun.

- [Narrator] The volunteers also help monitor more than 300 suckers that Dr. Murchie has tagged.

She is hoping the data collected will reveal clues about the suckers' migration.

- We're finding out from tagging and tracking studies the suckers like to come back to the same location year after year to spawn.

And it's pretty fascinating.

A lot of people, when they think of migratory fish one of the first ones that comes to mind are salmon and salmon are amazing fish species but then they die after they spawn.

These guys are called Iteroparous meaning that once they've reached sexual maturity they can spawn year after year after year.

So they're constantly coming in and adding nutrients being like the little gardeners in the spring, fertilizing these creeks hanging out anywhere from a week to two weeks and then going back out into Lake Michigan and then they're an important forage species for a lot of recreationally important fish.

Things like Walleye, Northern pike, Muskie all sorts of things.

So they're really important fish.

And I say, if there was an academy award for fishes I would give suckers the Academy award for best supporting fishes because of all these amazing services they provide.

- [Narrator] Recently, Dr. Murchie began using a new way to gather data, she's eavesdropping on the suckers.

- I'm gonna be setting up this hydrophone which is an underwater microphone for being able to record the spawning sounds of the long nose suckers.

So I'll place the hydrophone in the water and then when the suckers move back on to this gravel bed and start spawning, I'm able to pick that up.

And I'm looking to determine like how long is each spawning event, are there any other sounds associated with spawning or just that suckers make on the regular?

And this is like a secret peak into their world, getting to listen in on all sorts of their sounds.

They're coming right over the Hydrophone, coming right to me (chuckles).

(rattling gently) You hear that shifting of the gravel as they're beating their tails and their bodies frequently.

(rattling gently) - [Narrator] One of the challenges suckers can encounter during migration are man-made culverts.

Narrow culverts can make water flow too quickly for the suckers to swim against and if a culvert becomes too high above the stream level over time, suckers can't jump into them to continue upstream.

We follow Dr. Murchie to another data collection site along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin.

- This is lake Michigan.

This is the culvert that starts in the Lake Michigan side, travels under this two lane roadway.

So what is really interesting about this site too it's just a one nice big culvert flowing, you know, letting the water flow from rebuilt Creek, right into lake Michigan and fish are, can easily pass in and out.

That's certainly some of the creeks that have multiple culverts.

They can go through a series of them and then reach one that they can't get up stream anymore because it's impossible.

That might mean that really amazing spawning habitat is not accessible for those fish anymore.

- [Narrator] Culverts also play a role for sucker migration in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago.

- So we're looking at Lake Michigan, of course, and this is one of 10 ravines that outfall into lake Michigan in our community.

This is what we call the culverts or the ravine outfall and it's the place where the sucker fish enter in from Lake Michigan during their spawning runs.

The Culvert itself runs about 20 feet here, but is 70 feet under our parking lot behind me here, so the fish have quite a ways to travel before they get into the naturalized portion of the stream and this is one of the places that they stop to rest up for the journey.

- [Narrator] Culverts aren't the only issue the suckers are facing.

Climate change could disrupt their spawning habitats and ultimately affect the delicate balance of the Great lakes ecosystem.

- If it warms up in the spring a lot earlier even a week or two weeks and if the suckers show up because the water temperature and stuff that they're queuing into if they come in and they're spawning but the caddis fly larva is not quite ready to take up those nutrients, there could be a mismatch.

That's one of the reasons we're trying to attract that, it's the phonology, the timing, of all these natural phenomenon.

How is that changing over time and how are shifts in climate potentially having an impact on that timing?

- It's just really interesting that for such a visual, you know, penological biological event how little we understand it and how important it really is.

(whooshing) - Thanks for watching.

For more on these stories and the Great lakes in general, visit greatlakesnow.org.

(whooshing) When you get there, you can follow us on social media or subscribe to our newsletter to get updates about our work.

See you out on the lakes.

(whooshing) (upbeat music) (whooshing) - [Announcer] This program is brought to you by the Fred A and Barbara M Erb Family Foundation.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

Laurie and Tim Wadhams.

- [Announcer] The Consumer's Energy Foundation is committed to serving Michigan from preserving our state's natural resources and sustaining our future to continuing business growth academic achievement and community involvement.

Learn more at consumersenergy.com/foundation.

- [Announcer] The Richard C Deveraux Foundation for energy and environmental programs at DPTV.

The Polk Family Fund.

Eve and Jerry Jung.

The Americana Foundation.

The Brookby Foundation.

Founders Brewing Company and viewers like you, thank you.

(soft music)