or created, lovelier natural areas like dunes and wetlands.

One spectacular example is the South Shore Nature Sanctuary.

Beautiful.

Another developing natural area is next to Montrose Beach on the north side.

You can see the difference between the groomed beach on the right and the dune ecosystem that's been growing year by year, on the left.

(grasses rustling) One group who appreciates the effort: our feathered friends.

- Oh, the chick is out in the open.

- Oh, oh, where?

- Out in the open.

Let me see if I can put my scope on it.

- [Geoffrey Voiceover] That's Tamima Itani.

She and I have our sights set on a bird named Nagamo, the third generation of the endangered piping plover to call Montrose Beach home.

- Oh, oh, I see him.

I got him.

Oh, there he is!

- [Tamima] See how cute?

- [Geoffrey] He is cute.

- [Tamima] A little fluff ball.

- [Geoffrey] Nagamo's famous grandparents, Monty and Rose, put Montrose Beach on the map for Chicago's human inhabitants.

But it's always been a major stop on the superhighway of migratory birds making the trip from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and back.

- 345 species of birds have been recorded at Montrose.

- Why do you think that is?

- Because it juts out in the lake.

So when birds are flying, this is the first place they see and they can land, birds- (Geoffrey puffing) (chuckles) Exactly.

Exactly.

It's like, "Oh, land, finally."

- [Geoffrey] Back in 2019, Tamima was the first person to see the birds building a nest right alongside a beach volleyball court.

Piping plovers hadn't nested in Chicago since 1948.

Immediately sensing danger, she sprang into action, organizing a group of volunteer piping plover protectors to build fencing around the nest.

- So that first year, one of the roles of the volunteers was to stand there and catch any errant balls that were going towards the nest.

Yeah, that was really crazy.

- She even persuaded the Chicago Park District to shut down a major music festival planned for the beach.

And as she started to tell the story of these star-crossed lovers fighting seemingly insurmountable odds, Tamima realized the main characters needed something.

So Tamima, you named them?

- I did.

I'm just going to refer to the male as Monty and to the female as Rose after Montrose.

It was really a spur of the moment thing.

It wasn't like super well thought out or anything, but the name stuck.

And you know, they're now really famous.

- Well, how do you feel about that?

- I love it.

I actually, I just, I love it.

- [Geoffrey] But long before Monty and Rose inspired t-shirts, beers, and tattoos, it was a hard path to avian superstardom.

- [Tamima] There are so many threats, so many dangers- - It's kind of a miracle that they- - That they survived.

Yeah.

- Monty and Rose's first nest was swept away by waves.

Another clutch of eggs was eaten by a skunk.

They finally had a son, Itani, but it took him three summers to finally find a mate.

But Monty and Rose have just gone viral.

I mean, they've gone way beyond the birding community.

Why?

Why do you think that is?

- So, you know, you know how you get like really pulled into a soap opera?

Two birds, big concert.

They also lose a nest and then a skunk eats their eggs.

And then you know, Monty suddenly passes away, but his son is here and he's a bachelor for two years.

And he's the most famous bachelor on the most expensive real estate.

- [Geoffrey] It's a love story.

And it's also an if-you-build-it-they-will-come story.

Two decades ago, conservationists worked to restore Montrose's sand dunes, the native habitat for plovers and other shorebirds.

Years later, their labor bore fruit.

- Monty and Rose would not have nested here if it weren't for the habitat, for sure.

They selected a very special place.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, and they became very special to Chicago.