The Wildlife of
Holy Island

 
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Divers - The Shag

First seen on Monday 26th October 2020 at Holy Island

There are usually a lot of Cormorants in the sea, but if you look carefully, some of these are actually Shags. Shags are slightly smaller, and all over black (with a green sheen). They have thinner beaks, with a small bright yellow patch at the base of the beak. The head shape is more rounded and they can sometimes have a crest on the top of their head. To add to the confusion, this one is probably a juvenile, and they have a white chin spot making them look more like a Cormorant.

One interesting difference is they way they dive. Cormorants just sink, like a submarine, but Shags will arc upwards and dive so that you can see daylight underneath as they go under. You can almost see this in the final photo. They catch quite large fish and swallow them whole.


 

This photo was taken from the path below the castle. The Shag here is just starting show his crest...