In 2009, he had a plane ticket to the United States and everything set as a young biologist to start a PhD on tropical Andean birds. However, Argentine biologist Ignacio “Kini” Roesler, decided to stay at home to investigate the dire situation of the Hooded Grebe and help it from extinction. Twelve years later, Kini won a Whitley Award for its work with the Patagonia Programme for the conservation of the vulnerable Patagonian bird.