7 Wonderful Wildlife Spots in Ireland

One of the best wildlife spots in Ireland, the 2,500 km Wild Atlantic Way is balcony for whale and dolphin watching. The Shannon Estuary shelters one of only four bottlenose dolphin populations in Europe. The killer whale, the dolphin’s cousin, is a frequent visitor.

Baleen whales prefer the vastness of the sea, but follow shoals of fish so close to our shoreline they can be viewed from boats, hiking, and biking paths and even roadways along the coast. Minke whales arrive in spring, humpbacks in late summer and the fin whale (the fastest and second-largest whale in the world) appears is here from June to January.

Bike the best of the Wild Atlantic Way on our epic west coast bike trip. 

If you like seals (and who doesn’t!?), there are ample opportunities to see them all along the Wild Atlantic Way. The best way to see Irish seals in their natural habitat is by kayaking or island hopping. The sunny shores and the dozens of small islands of West Cork are fantastic places to catch a glimpse of the seals playing in the water or lounging on the sand.

Further up the way, the rocky coasts of the Burren National Park or the quiet and rugged shores of Sligo and Donegal are equally ideal places to meet friendly Irish grey seals and common seals.

Try Island Hopping in Cork & Kerry to see West Cork’s seal community. Or meet Sligo’s friendly seals in their natural environment by joining our Intro to Kayaking in Sligo. 

A bird-watcher’s paradise, the dramatic white cliffs of Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland’s only inhabited island, shelter bird nesting sites and first flights of gannets, guillemots, auks, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars. For most people though, the star of Rathlin Island are the adorable puffins! Every year, thousands of puffins return in May for breeding season.

The seabird centre in Rathlin Island’s old lighthouse draws the birdwatchers from around the world searching for new sightings of unusual birds, like the rare red-legged chough.

From a historical context, Scotland’s famed King Robert the Bruce once hid in one of its caves. Here, he watched a spider climb and fall several times before eventually succeeding. Taking this as a ‘sign,’ he returned to Scotland and successfully defeated the English in battle in 1314. Though you won’t find any Scottish kings, Rathlin Island’s shores, caves, and hills are the perfect place to hike and explore while spotting wildlife!

Visit the puffins and other birds on Rathlin Island on our new Northern Ireland family adventure, Giants, Myths and Legends. 

Glenveagh National Park became a vast and desolate wilderness after the famine in 1861 when 244 tenants were evicted to clear the land. Today, it is one of the best wildlife Spots in Ireland as this remote region is home to one of the largest herd of red deer in Ireland.

In 2000, the golden eagle was reintroduced to Ireland in Glenveagh National Park, an animal which had became extinct in the wild 100 years before. ‘Red listed’ because of their small breeding numbers, there are less than 10,000 pairs in Europe. As of 2014, Ireland’s reintroduced pairs have seen 13 chicks fly the nest in three of the four corners of Ireland.

Visit the expansive landscapes of Glenveagh National Park and Donegal on our beloved trip, Hiking the Causeway’s Coastal Route in Northern Ireland.

Red deer are Ireland’s only native deer species to Ireland, though they were nearly hunted to extinction by the late 1800s. In fact, by the mid to late 1800s, the only significant population was in the woodlands of Killarney, as local earls kept hunting estates there. Unfortunately, the introduction of non-native sika deer further decreased their population due to competition for the same habitat. Through preservation efforts, the red deer have made a significant recovery in Killarney and beyond.

Visit Killarney in the spring to see the new calves, or in the fall (generally mid-October) during rutting season. However, you should be able to spot the red deer year-round in most cases!

Explore wildlife spots in Ireland’s Killarney National Park and more on our invigorating Hiking the Mountains of the Ring of Kerry trip.