SHAG
With its wonderful black plumage and its wings beating fast as it skims over the sea, the shag is an elegant bird. You do see loons (not the ones in the Tavern), occasionally in the seas around Lundy, but if you spot a black bird in the sea, it will almost certainly be a shag. They jump out of the water when diving for fish and can stay under for quite a while, emerging several metres from their starting point.
Shags have a crest which is prominent during breeding and they also like to stand on rocks with their wings held out to dry them. Most confusion with identifying shags is their similarity with cormorants, but a cormorant is bigger with a thick neck and white thigh patch. Some shags stay all year, but most have left the island by October and don’t return until March. They can be seen anywhere around the coastline of Lundy. Again, Brazen Ward is an excellent place to watch them.
