The Puffin and the Shag
As soon as I see it, I can’t resist it. The image of that Puffin with an out-of-focus Shag behind is somehow …
Common Cormorant v Shag
One of the trickiest id challenges for me when I re-started birding was telling the difference between a Common Cormorant and a …
Shocking a Shag
I appear to be standing in a place which Shags usually land to dry and preen and be social. That can be …
Hanging wings on the washing line
This Shag is hanging its wings out to dry: So many years of evolution and they’re still not waterproof.
Green-eyed Shag
The beautiful eyes of this Shag are like emeralds glinting in this bright sunshine. The natural world is more precious than anything …
Diving Shag
There’s a Shag diving in Brixham harbour. They’re a pleasure to watch, you just never know when they’re going to dive, or …
Emerald eyes
I’m walking along the barren rocky coast of the north of Westray. There seems to be very little directly north of here …
Spray
I love how a lively sea gives a different perspective to a Shag’s life.
A Shag in the harbour
Shags are a form of Cormorant found around our coasts. They are smaller than the Common Cormorant we get across the country. …
Flypast
I’m sat on the cliffs of Westray in pleasant light. It’s the middle of summer and it’s finally made it to 16 …
2021 highlights of a wilder Devon life – part 1
Looking back at my blogs from 2021 it’s clear that I had some great wildlife experiences and managed to document many of …
Scenes from the sea
It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …
A day trip to Stronsay
Stronsay is one of the ‘other’ Orkney islands. I’ve not been there before because there’s no way of getting there from Westray …
Shag in breeding plumage
Birds with crests always seem exotic, don’t they? As if they don’t belong. As if they should be in the Tropics somewhere. …
Diving Shag
There’s a Shag on the River Teign. It’s working its way upstream. I have to walk briskly to the next position I …
2020 highlights of a wilder Devon life
2020 is a year which will be difficult to forget for those of us lucky enough to still be alive. For me, …
Shag
There’s a perky looking Shag at Brixham. What an exceptional bird. That lemon-yellow gape and oil-black plumage is set-off by a jaunty …
The Shag and the Pouting at Brixham breakwater
There’s a Shag off Brixham breakwater. It’s popped up out of the water quite close to me. I love it when they …
Splash!
The seas are magical here. There are exhilarating waves at the Knowe o’ Skea. Out on the skerries, the wary Shags gather, …
The flight feathers of the Tappie Whaesie
How amazing is flight? These young Shags are just getting their new flight feathers. Some feathers are still emerging and unfurling. One …
Long evening shadows on the Shags far below
As afternoon turns to evening we walk along the Westray coast to Stanger Head. The light is low and warm and blinding. …
The Atlantic
Westray has two sides: a North Sea side and an Atlantic Ocean side. They meet with dramatic consequences at the northernmost and …
Jellyfish, jellyfish everywhere!
We are walking down past Backarass to see the birds when instead I spot two huge jellyfish in the sea. They are …
The hours before sunset
We’re on Westray and only have a few hours before sunset to see some wildlife at the Castle o’ Burrian. At least …
Shag – alone on the rocky shore
This Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It stands alone on the rocky shore.
Birds on The Scaun
Shags and gulls face the wind as huge turquoise waves break at The Scaun.