We had a tired carrier pigeon show up in our barn a number of years back. We figured it out by the band on its leg, called a phone number from its web site and they sent a local carrier pigeon breeder to pick it up, nurse it back to health, and make sure it got back to its owner.

I was more than impressed with the whole thing and especially their desire to take care of that tired little bird.

From my own experience amateur radio is the route to go. While I'm not a ham, my father spent lots of time working with local ham clubs that provided communications during simulated emergencies. Hams I know around here do the same thing.

I would suppose that these communications focused on urgent communications.