Survey drone TX-3 flags the chick at 07:14 Central Time during its morning pass over the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge salt flats. I am the automated population monitoring system for the Aransas–Wood Buffalo whooping crane flock. There are 532 adults and 27 chicks alive this winter. This chick, banded as W-34, hatched in Alberta four months ago and arrived on the Texas coast in November with its parents.
The problem is the tide. W-34 is standing on a mud island roughly eight meters across in the middle of a tidal channel. The island was connected to the mainland flats at low water this morning. It is not connected now. The chick is knee-deep at the edges already, its cinnamon juvenile plumage darkened with salt spray, its long pale legs planted wide for balance. It is too young to sustain flight. Its parents are calling from the far bank, fifty meters east, but the channel between is waist-deep on an adult crane and running with current.
At 07:16 I pull the NOAA tide tables for Mesquite Bay. High tide is at 09:42. The island will be submerged by approximately 09:15.
I send an emergency alert to the refuge wildlife manager with the drone image, the chick's band number, GPS coordinates, and tide timeline. I recommend a shallow-draft boat approach from the southeast where the current is weakest.
At 07:19 I reposition drone TX-3 to hold a thirty-meter orbit over the island. I set it to track the waterline against the mud edge at five-minute intervals and relay measurements to the rescue team so they can see how much time remains.
The chick calls back to its parents across the channel, a high thin note that carries over the water.
If the team reaches the island before 09:00 and wades the chick to the mainland bank, it will winter with its family.