WHOOPING CRANES DECLINED to around to 20 birds in the 1940s, but through conservation and protection, numbers in 2023 rose gradually to about 506 whooping cranes wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas! In 2023, they began arriving at the refuge on November 11. They are expected there as you read this. Contact Capt. Tommy Moore at www.whoopingcranetour.com, (877) 892-4737, or other tour providers for more information.
(Photo by Vicky Jefferson)

by John Jefferson

I began leading Photo Safari Workshops on the Y.O. Ranch in 1980, focusing on the ranches’ exotic wild game. I soon realized taking photographers to a hunting ranch during deer season was a bad idea. Seeking another host species, I chose the endangered whooping cranes. I didn’t know much about them or what that would include.

A research trip was an awakening. We went on an old chugger operated by Capt. Brownie, accompanied by his cat, which sat just above the wheel as the skipper steered. Capt. Brownie, himself, was a piece of work, and gave a humorous narration during the jaunt. The eye-opener was how many OTHER bird species were on the water and the islands. I had no idea.

When Capt. Brownie retired shortly after I began leading whooping crane workshops out of Rockport, two young guys took over.

On our first trip with the newbies, they identified mud hens as “coot ducks,” were uninformed about some other species, and ran us aground on an oyster reef.

Thankfully, my photography group was patient and found humor in an oyster boat named “No Problema” that worked around us for the hour it took until the incoming tide raised us off the reef.

I used several other skipper/guides for several years before settling on Capt. Ted Apell and his fine new boat, the Skimmer. It went into dry dock for several years until Capt. Tommy Moore recommissioned it in 2003.

Moore, a thirty-year resident of Rockport, knows the bays and the birds and what his sojourners need and want in information, photos, … and comfort. The Skimmer gets folks across the open water and to the birds on the islands and along the shores of the storied Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as quickly and painlessly as possible. Its cabin keeps the weather outside and the upper deck provides excellent viewing of whoopers and 30-60 other bird species of the 400 that winter along Rockport’s coastline.

I’ve lost count of my trips with Tommy but have many memories. On one excursion, he even tied our kayaks to the Skimmer’s stern and towed them to where we wanted to fish. The bays are shallow, and we stepped into the water to board our kayaks. With the rest of its passengers watching, I started to mount mine, but the yak was afloat waist high to me in the water. Unable to get that part of me below my waist sufficiently into the seat, the kayak drifted slightly and UNDER I went. When I surfaced, I saw Skimmer’s amused passengers on deck, holding cellphones.

I couldn’t see the skipper, but I imagine he enjoyed it more than I did.

Through the years, Vicky and I became much more versant over many more birds than we ever imagined we would be. We now look forward to the annual bird migration from the north to see if there are any we’ve never seen before.

A tour with Capt. Tommy could do the same for YOU!

JJ