A life protecting the shorebirds of Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego Reserve, Argentina.
During the 2022 meeting of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group, Manomet presented the Pablo Canevari Award to Luis Benegas of Argentina. This award recognizes his long career and contribution to shorebird conservation on the continent.
Luis, a native of the province of Córdoba in Argentina, began birding as a teenager, inspired by his grandfather to learn all about birds. In 1980, during a vacation trip to Ushuaia to explore Tierra del Fuego in southern Argentina, he fell in love with the region and never returned to Córdoba. “I came for a vacation and I’ve been here in Tierra del Fuego for 42 years now,” he says. The landscapes, the people and the new birds to be discovered played a crucial role in his decision to look for a job and settle in the area.
When he arrived in Rio Grande, two years after that initial trip, he encountered extensive intertidal zones and saw shorebirds for the first time. “There was a tiny bird, but I wasn’t sure if they were shorebirds, I had heard of shorebirds before, but I didn’t know them personally. […] I was struck by those clouds [of shorebirds], which you don’t see so much now, unfortunately.”
It only takes a few minutes with Luis to become infused with his love, passion, and fascination for shorebirds. I am not an ornithologist, and I have spent several years talking with and asking many biologists and ornithologists about their profession and why they study the group of birds or species they study, but rarely have I come across someone with the ability to tell stories and convey their love for their subject of study as Luis does. To ask Luis why shorebirds, is to invite a moment of magic as he excitedly recounts the amazing journeys of these birds.
Left: Luis in the field monitoring shorebirds. Right: Members of the WHSRN Council of Argentina visiting Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego. Photos courtesy of Luis Benegas.
For years, even when he was still working as a manager at a hotel in Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego, he never missed an opportunity to share with anyone who passed by and expressed a hint of curiosity about what he was observing with his camera. “There were no guides or resources to share, people would ask me what I was doing and then it was the ideal moment to show them, they all said wow, they thought all birds were the same, but I would explain the differences and they were surprised.”
His passion for birds and photography led him to be hired by the Historical Documentary Center (which would become the Municipal Museum “Virgina Choquintel”), where he could exhibit his photographs of birds and start the work that he still does today: connecting the general public with birds and their environment.
Luis has been instrumental in efforts to study shorebirds and their habitats along the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuego Reserve and adjacent areas. He participated in and promoted the declaration of the WHSRN site Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego in 1992. During the designation ceremony for this site of Hemispheric Importance, Luis had the opportunity to meet Pablo Canevari and Patricia González.
Luis Benegas. Photo: Tabare Barreto
Patricia González tells us that “at that time no one knew about shorebirds, without the internet there were no accessible publications with beautiful images or stories that told us about their migratory prowess, they were not charismatic at all and the word “wetland” was unknown. […] there was no local person who was interested in monitoring the coasts with the interest and tenacity that Luis did. […] his motivation was always beyond his job responsibilities”.
Luis was on the team that banded the famous Red Knot (Calidris canutus) B95 (Moonbird) in 1995 with Allan Baker and Patricia Gonzalez. He had the opportunity to see it again in 2009 in Delaware Bay while he was feeding on horseshoe crab eggs. In addition to observing it several times on the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuego, Luis was also there when this amazing bird was last seen in 2015. In fact, Luis has participated in all of the Reserve’s shorebird surveys since that first time in 1995.
Throughout his career he facilitated the involvement of different researchers and those responsible for the management of wildlife in Argentina and other countries. One of Luis’ main shorebird conservation achievements “was to highlight shorebirds to local leaders. Every year that the banding projects were held, Luis arranged for the Mayor of the city to receive the visiting researchers (with its consequent impact on the media), thus generating a routine of birding moments that were covered by the local media,” says Tabaré Barreto of Fundación Estepa Viva.
Even after retirement, Luis continues to be called upon by the organizations responsible for the study and conservation of biodiversity for activities related to the study and conservation of avifauna in general, and shorebirds and the Atlantic Coast Reserve in particular. Luis is currently a member of the Reserve’s Advisory Commission as an expert.
Left: Luis Benegas with fellow shorebird biologists Allan Baker and Patricia González. Right: Luis discussing shorebirds on Radio Fueguina. Photos courtesy of Luis Benegas
Luis is still in awe of having received this award, especially for not being a professional biologist. “To receive this recognition is wonderful, I can’t thank you enough for it”. Luis will use the money he will receive as part of the Pablo Canevari Award to continue his work educating about shorebirds. “I will make a booklet about shorebirds, to take to schools and to give to anyone who wants to learn about the subject”.
As summarized by Adrián Schiavini of the Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas del Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, (CADIC – CONICET) “Luis represents a lifetime of commitment and dedication to the conservation and knowledge of shorebirds in Tierra del Fuego. It is difficult to find work on shorebirds in this area in that Luis has not participated in some way.”
“Luis Benegas was and is a shorebird pioneer for Tierra del Fuego and continues to lead the way for younger folks who have followed him. All the more remarkable for being self-taught, generating opportunities, learning from all the national and international scientists who relied (we relied) on him over the years, and who in turn learned from him. I dare to say that all researchers and conservationists of shorebirds that migrate to the End of the World [Tierra del Fuego] have worked with Luis connecting this crucial link in the migratory flyways,” says Patricia González.
Surely Pablo Canevari would be very happy that an award given in his name has found its way into the hands of a professional like Luis. Someone who has dedicated his life and love to the conservation of shorebirds, and who, as he himself states, “all I do is bring people closer to migratory birds, so that when [the birds] arrive here they can find a place in good condition. And I will continue to do so as long as I live, it is something that I feel in my soul”
Luis Benegas. Photo: Patricia Gonzalez
The Pablo Canevari Award is presented by Manomet every two years to an individual or organization in Latin America and the Caribbean that has demonstrated a significant commitment to shorebird conservation, much like Pablo Canevari, the first Director of the WHSRN Executive Office, did before he passed away suddenly in March 2000. Read more about the award and past winners.
Cover Photo: Luis in the field monitoring shorebirds. Photo courtesy of Luis Benegas
