Beare in 1603. The tallest Ogham stone in Europe, the Ballycrovane Ogham Stone, is close to Eyeries. Flora and fauna Glengarriff Forest Nature Reserve covers approximately 300 hectares (371 acres), the majority being "old oak woodland and regenerating woodland", with non-native conifers and rhododendron having been cleared from the forest in favour of native species. A booklet, published by the Glengarriff Tourism and Development Association, describes the forest as "one of the best examples of oceanic sessile oak woodland in Ireland". Other native flora, including recurved sandwort and Kerry lily, are found around the Caha Mountains. Glengarriff's harbour contains one of the largest colonies of harbor seals in Ireland. At the other end of the peninsula, the Beara Peninsula Special Protection Area, one of several Special Protection Areas in Ireland, is home to an "internationally important population" of Chough birds. It also supports a breeding population of Fulmar. It was revealed in 2021 that a genetically unique honey bee (Apis mellifera) had been discovered on the Beara Peninsula, belonging to the Apis mellifera mellifera subspecie. Unlike other A. m. mellifera in Ireland, which are descended primarily from the Netherlands imported around 1923, because the Isle of Wight Disease at the time, had wiped out the previous Old Irish Black Bee, the Beara A. m. mellifera showed a unique genetic identity largely unrelated to other A. m. mellifera''. This causes speculation that it could be a remnant of the Old Irish Black Bee. Further research showed that it was somehow able to breed true and not cross breed with other different subspecies in the area. Gallery See also The Hag of Beara Iveragh peninsula Dingle peninsula References Sources External links Beara Tourism website Tourist attractions in County Cork Important Bird Areas of the Republic of Ireland