Tierra del Fuego

Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire, is found at the southern tip of Chile and Argentina. I was very excited to see this rugged place for myself. 

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I spent years in New Jersey writing about Tierra del Fuego because the southern tip of South America is the winter range of an endangered shorebird. Red knots stop at New Jersey's bayshore every spring to fatten up on the eggs of horseshoe crabs on their epic two-continent migration from the Arctic, where they breed, to the mudflats of Argentina and Chile, where they spend the winter. The state takes pains to protect shorebird habitat in the face of relentless tourism pressure, so I ended up writing about red knots a lot.

A Chimango caracara hunts the forest floor. Tierra del Fuego National Park is the southernmost park in the entire world. This coastal maritime forest is unlike any I had ever visited. But it reminded me a little of the remnant maritime forests you can still find in small patches in places like Stone Harbor and Barnegat, New Jersey.

The wild southern tip of Chile and Argentina share an inlet, the Beagle Channel, named for the ship that Charles Darwin famously used to explore South America. 

Tierra del Fuego is home to several animals found nowhere else, including this blackish cinclodes. I didn't have to go far to find this one. It landed next to me on the boat in the middle of the Beagle Channel.

The mountains meet the sea in Tierra del Fuego.

The inviting tourist town of Ushuaia is a launching point for cruises to Antarctica. There is also a thriving commercial fishing industry here.

I photographed a female Magellanic woodpecker with its fun plumed head, but I blew a chance to capture a brilliantly colored male when I inadvertently scared it away.

South American sea lions bask on an outcrop in the Beagle Channel.

I wish I had known these red crowberries were edible. They cover the rocky outcrops along the coast.

The Chimango caracara is an opportunist. I was chilling out on a grassy knoll overlooking the ocean when this one plopped down next to me hoping I had a sandwich in my pocket or something. Sorry, dude. 

I spent a couple days before and after my Antarctic trip in Tierra del Fuego, but I could spend many days more looking for birds like this aptly named fire-eye.

Any guess what this might be?

It's the colorful barred chest of a ruddy-headed goose.

And this one?

This is a pretty upland goose.

I spent a lot of time with the wild horses that live in the park. This mare did not appreciate the attentions of a young stallion and bolted around the meadow in a furious display of hooves and bucking. It was so much fun to watch this wild horse enjoy this wild place.

Tierra del Fuego offered fantastic and scenic hiking through the maritime forest.