Shag

All about the Shag

This species belongs to the cormorant family, and can be found in the UK all-year-round. Shags are site-loyal, rarely straying far from their breeding grounds, and remain mostly at sea during the winter months.

To identify, Shags are goose-sized, dark, long-necked birds. Unlike cormorants, who have flat foreheads, shags have a sloped forehead accompanied by a long crest during the breeding months. They also have a slim bill, yellow around their beaks and emerald green eyes. If you would like to learn more on how to tell the difference between shags and cormorants, head on over to our ID blog.

Shags nest on cliffs and can often seen holding their wings out on rocky outlets after a dive. When hunting, they typically swim low to the water, diving frequently for fish by leaping forward into the sea. Shags, unlike other waterbirds, do not have waterproof feathers. It means they can dive at greater depths by absorbing the weight of water, but also means that they must dry out after the dive is over. This is also similar for the cormorant.

Local spotlight

Localised to the western Solent and the sea off Hurst beach in the summer and Eastern Solent and Hayling bay in the autumn. Half of the world population of shag live in the UK and although there are less cormorants in the UK compared to shags, you are more likely to see a cormorant due to their distribution. Their population has declined by 45% in recent years. Like all fish-eating seabirds, their population depends on a sustainable supply of fish, and so the loss of sand eels from local waters is causing problems.

Conservation status

I’m red listed in the UK

My name might not be listed in the Solent’s Special Protection Areas but I am still definitely important for the coastal ecosystem and form part of the waterbird assemblages which these regions are protected for.