The story of Chicago's endangered piping plovers

"Monty and Rose" is a 2019 documentary written and directed by Turnstone Strategies' Bob Dolgan. The film tells the story of a pair of endangered piping plovers that nested at Chicago's Montrose Beach, becoming the first of the species to nest in the city since 1955. The endangered birds took up residence on one of the busiest stretches of one of the busiest beaches in Chicago. Those interviewed for the film include volunteers, biologists and other advocates who spoke out when a music festival was scheduled within feet of the plovers' nest site. The film made its debut on November 18, 2019, with a showing at the historic Music Box Theatre; Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared the date Illinois Piping Plover Day to honor the birds. "Monty and Rose" was an official selection of the One Earth Film Festival and aired on Chicago's PBS station, WTTW Channel 11, on May 2, 2020. Mitchell Wenkus served as videographer for the project, and Pat Nabong served as editor.

Visit www.montyandrose.net for streaming information, DVDs, merchandise and more. "Monty and Rose II" is beginning production in 2020.

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"In these times when so much has to be closed, the care so many humans have taken to care and provide for a couple of small birds is a kind of reassuring signal. Life goes on. Love finds a way. Family sustains. The fate of two small piping plovers still amounts to something in this crazy world."
--Scott Simon on Monty and Rose, NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, May 9, 2020