St Augustine Dolphin and Wildlife Watch

Whenever anyone comes to St Augustine one of the first things on their to-do list is to catch a view of the amazing wildlife teeming on Florida’s coast! Florida Water Tours has a front row seat to see the best of wildlife, and we’ve been keeping a log of all the animals we see on our boat! 

Here’s the most common visitors from the 2020 fall season!

1. Dolphin

As the temperatures have gotten cooler, the dolphins have come back in huge herds into our bay! We were even able to check in on our juvenile dolphins and their moms. Our dolphins follow the fish, and those cool fall temperatures bring the fish back into the downtown! Our largest pod of dolphins was 18. 

1. Manatee

Manatees are freshwater animals, and our intracoastal is brackish water ( a mix between fresh and salt). What does that mean for manatee sightings? Well when the water is very warm and after a fresh rain (meaning more fresh water) you may just be able to see a manatee right outside of downtown! Our crew saw a manatee November 20th right outside of a sandbar! 

1. Plankton

Our partner crew at Florida Water Warriors have been monitoring the plankton in our waters since early September! Even though you may not be able to see this wildlife, it surrounds the water in millions! These plankton are the base of the food web and help all the other animals stay healthy. Monitoring the plankton also provides warning against harmful algal blooms. These blooms can be extremely toxic to people and animals and our friends at Florida Water Warriors help keep us safe! 

1. Osprey

The namesake of our boat, these flying little friends swarm the St Augustine skies. String hunters with lethal talons, our crew saw a ton of Ospreys with fishes in their claws. On October 9th our crew saw 10 ospreys hunting with a pod of 20 dolphins! What made these guys such fast friends? Both eat the fish, so osprey will follow dolphins to find the best grub. 

1. Sharks 

Just like the rest of St. Augustine wildlife, our sharks follow the fish! There were blacktip sharks spotted by our crew all season! Even though these sharks are always around, they are more elusive to spot. Unlike dolphins that are mammals these animals don’t need to come up to breathe quite as often. Going out with an experienced wildlife crew like Florida Water Tours is one of the best ways to spot sharks! 

If you’re ready to go out and spot wildlife, book a tour with Florida Water Tours today!