You do not need to go looking for wildlife on the Kerry coast — it tends to find you. A short list of what to watch for on your stay.

Grey seals

Almost daily, all year, from the rocks at the southern end of Derrynane Beach and from the harbour wall at Caherdaniel. Sit quietly and they will often come close enough that you can see the whiskers. Castlecove, fifteen minutes east, is also reliable.

Dolphins

Common dolphins in pods of five to twenty pass close to the coast in summer; bottlenose dolphins are rarer but seen most often around the Skelligs. The boat trips to the islands have the best odds, but you can spot them from the cliff path above the hotel on a calm morning.

Whales

Minke whales offshore from June through October; humpbacks more rarely. Best from a boat, but binoculars on the deck can do the job if you are patient.

Sea eagles

The white-tailed sea eagle was reintroduced to Kerry in the early 2000s and there are now several pairs. Look up over the cliffs near Derrynane Harbour and along Killarney’s lakeshore.

Gannets

Little Skellig — the smaller of the two Skellig stacks — is home to 27,000 breeding pairs, the second-largest gannet colony in the world. Even from twenty kilometres back you can see them as a faint white wash on the rock.

Puffins, kittiwakes, fulmars

The Skelligs in summer (roughly April to August). Worth the boat trip for these alone.

Rock pools at low tide

Periwinkles, anemones, hermit crabs, the occasional starfish, the very occasional octopus. Bring a child or borrow one.