Puffin Island: Grey Seals off Portmagee
Kerry, Ireland
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Skellig Channel Seal Watcher
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200
XP
1 day
Puffin Island: Grey Seals off Portmagee
200 XP
Puffin Island, off Portmagee on the Iveragh Peninsula, is a BirdWatch Ireland reserve, acquired by its predecessor the Irish Wildbird Conservancy, and landing is discouraged in the breeding season to protect the seabirds — but grey seals haul out on the rocks around it year-round, with pups born from mid-September through November, most of them in October. Licensed boat trips circle the island from Portmagee harbour.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Book a licensed wildlife boat trip from Portmagee harbour that circles Puffin Island, a BirdWatch Ireland reserve where landing is discouraged in the breeding season to protect the breeding colony
2
of 4
Watch for grey seals hauled out on the rocks of Puffin Island and the Skellig channel, especially during pupping season, from mid-September through November
3
of 4
Keep to the operator's recommended distance from any hauled-out seal, and note how a pup's white natal coat differs from an adult grey seal's mottled grey coat
4
of 4
Walk Portmagee's pier and photograph the Portmagee–Valentia bridge, the crossing point many of these boat trips also pass under
Book a licensed wildlife boat trip from Portmagee harbour that circles Puffin Island, a BirdWatch Ireland reserve where landing is discouraged in the breeding season to protect the breeding colony
Watch for grey seals hauled out on the rocks of Puffin Island and the Skellig channel, especially during pupping season, from mid-September through November
Keep to the operator's recommended distance from any hauled-out seal, and note how a pup's white natal coat differs from an adult grey seal's mottled grey coat
Walk Portmagee's pier and photograph the Portmagee–Valentia bridge, the crossing point many of these boat trips also pass under
Before you go
Grey seal pups are born from mid-September to November, most of them in October and November.
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
Potential total
200 XP
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