Passengers aboard a Fulton Harbor tour boat got a rare look at endangered whooping cranes and playful dolphins near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A thick blanket of fog hovered over Fulton Harbor as the Skimmer tour boat pushed off, its passengers hoping for a glimpse of some of the rarest birds in North America.
Captain Tommy Moore guided the vessel through the mist, and it didn’t take long before wildlife began to appear….lots of it. Dolphins surfaced alongside the boat, riding the wake and drawing cheers from the full deck of visitors.
“One of my favorite things about these dolphins is their dorsal fins,” Moore explained. “They’re all shaped a little differently just like fingerprints on a human.”
Moore has been running wildlife tours along the Fulton–Rockport coast for more than 20 years, attracting birders, photographers and Winter Texans eager for a close-up look at coastal wildlife.
Then came the moment everyone was waiting for.
Just off the shoreline of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, two endangered whooping cranes came into view, towering nearly five feet tall, with wingspans stretching up to seven feet. The birds migrate here each winter and typically head back north by the end of March.
Tourist Matt Mapes, visiting from Pennsylvania, called the sight unforgettable.
“It’s pretty amazing to think they were almost gone,” Mapes said. “I remember reading about how people had to help teach them how to migrate. To see them still here it’s pretty incredible.”
Another visitor from San Antonio, Lynne Rivas, said the experience challenged her expectations.
“I thought they’d be in huge flocks like flamingos,” she said. “I didn’t realize they were so solitary. That actually made it even cooler.”
Wildlife tourism plays a massive role in the local economy, accounting for an estimated 80% of the dollars flowing into the county. For many visitors, trips like this aren’t just sightseeing, they’re memories in the making.