ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- — There are many ways to take a dolphin watch cruise around the First Coast, but Lewis and Clark found an eco-tour adventure that actually uses extremely sensitive listening equipment to take the cruise from a dolphin watch to a dolphin listen.
We traveled on a cruise with St. Augustine Eco Tours Captain Zach McKenna.
McKenna has a specialized listening device called a hydrophone, most of which he engineered himself, that he dips in the water to listen to dolphin echolocation communication.
"It sounds like a creaking door or a freewheel on a bicycle," he said.
These are frequencies the dolphin will send out that will bounce off and even through various objects in the water so they can get a 3-D look at the environment around them, McKenna said.
"They've proven they can see through all sorts of material like fiberglass and some types of metal," he said. "They can see through this boat."
You can spend some time eavesdropping on the dolphins too, just click here to learn more about St. Augustine Eco Tours.