Rockport Birding & Kayak Adventures gets visitors to the Texas coast onto the water. The outfitter operates cruises out of the Fulton Harbor looking for the area’s abundant wildlife on the placid waters between the mainland and the barrier islands.

Rockport and Fulton are often underrated because there is no access to Gulf beaches. The twin waterfront villages do have the best access to bay fishing and the whooping cranes at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Capt. Tommy Moore pilots his double-decker boat, Skimmer, on short excursions looking for playful dolphins or flocks of pink roseate spoonbills or snowy egrets. “There’s no guarantee, but we’ll try our best to find something interesting to see,” he says as the boat slips away from the dock. It wasn’t long before a playful pod of three dorsal fins appeared in the boat’s wake.

Credit: Photos by Gerald E. McLeod

The 90-minute cruise was relaxing as the sunset bathed the horizon in gold light. It was fun watching the two teenage passengers, who Capt. Tommy let handle the wheel, grin from ear to ear as Skimmer headed toward the harbor lights. With the green and white shore lights twinkling across the bow and the sea breeze blowing in our faces, everyone felt a little like a teenager.

Rockport Birding & Kayak Adventures offers a number of services and cruises out of the Fulton Harbor. Tours to see the whooping cranes go to the Wildlife Refuge from Novem­ber to April. More info at 866/277-3468 or www.whoopingcranetours.com.

1,265th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.

This article appears in October 23 • 2015.

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Gerald E. McLeod joined the Chronicle staff in November 1980 as a graphic designer. In April 1991 he began writing the “Day Trips” column. Besides the weekly travel column, he contributed “101 Swimming Holes,” “Guide to Central Texas Barbecue,” and “Guide to the Texas Hill Country.” His first 200 columns have been published in Day Trips Vol. I and Day Trips Vol. II.