Shag
| Irish Name: | Seaga |
| Scientific name: | Phalacrocorax aristotelis |
| Bird Family: | Cormorants |
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Conservation status
Conservation status
Status
Resident along all Irish coasts.
Identification
Medium sized, mainly all dark seabird. Long body and neck, long narrow hooked bill. Dark webbed feet. Rather short rounded wings. Swims low in the water with bill raised. Very rarely inland unlike the similar looking Cormorant. Adult breeding bird is black with a green and purple gloss to its plumage, yellow gape and a crest on its fore crown. While the Cormorant lacks a crest, instead having a sloping forehead and crown peaked at rear, the Shag has peaked fore crown at all seasons and in all plumages. The adult birds lack the crest outside of the breeding season. Juvenile and first year birds are brownish with darker upperpart.
Voice
Grunting calls at colony
Diet
A wide range of small fish taken from just below the surface.
Breeding
Breeds all around the coast of Ireland wherever suitable cliffs exist. Nests on ledges, in crevices, in caves or under boulders. A colonial nester in loose colonies with prolonged breeding season. More plentiful on the west and south coasts but with notable concentrations in Co. Dublin.
Wintering
Whilst young birds will disperse widely, most adults will winter in the vicinity of their breeding colonies.
Monitored by
Breeding seabirds are monitored through Seabird Surveys carried out every 15-20 years.
Common resident breeding along rocky coasts, almost exclusively coastal.
Juveniles particularly may move inland in extreme weather conditions, leading to very rare inland observations.
Blog posts about this bird
Should I stay or should I go: how long does it take chicks to leave the cliff?
[vc_row type="in_container" full_screen_row_position="middle" column_margin="default" column_direction="default" column_direction_tablet="default" column_direction_phone="default" scene_position="center" text_color="dark" text_align="left" row_border_radius="none" row_border_radius_applies="bg" row_position_desktop="default" row_position_tablet="inherit" row_position_phone="inherit" overflow="visible" overlay_strength="0.3" gradient_direction="left_to_right" shape_divider_position="bottom" bg_image_animation="none"][vc_column column_padding="no-extra-padding" column_padding_tablet="inherit" column_padding_phone="inherit" column_padding_position="all" flex_gap_desktop="10px" column_element_direction_desktop="default" column_element_spacing="default" desktop_text_alignment="default" tablet_text_alignment="default" phone_text_alignment="default" background_color_opacity="1" background_hover_color_opacity="1" column_backdrop_filter="none" column_shadow="none" column_border_radius="none" column_link_target="_self" column_position="default" gradient_direction="left_to_right" overlay_strength="0.3" width="1/1" tablet_width_inherit="default" animation_type="default" bg_image_animation="none" border_type="simple" column_border_width="none" column_border_style="solid"][vc_column_text css="" text_direction="default"]Dr. Samuel Preston, one of BirdWatch Ireland's 2026 East Coast Seabird Survey team members, writes an update about the seabird breeding season update. 2026 is the third consecutive year in which we have been able comprehensively to census and monitor the cliff-nesting seabirds at six important colonies on the east coast, thanks to funding from the Phase One windfarms in the Irish Sea. All photos are taken under NPWS licensing.
For birds that need to fly to leave the cliffs, naturally it takes a little longer to get started with adult life. Kittiwake chicks take 35-40 days to get going, cormorants and shag take around 50 days to fledge, while fulmar take 70-75 days to go from hatching to flying. Gannets, however, win the prize for longest nestling period on our cliffs: 90-95 days to fledge!
Both short and long fledging times pose challenges. Auks have to pack a lot of growing into a short period and they can't afford to delay. When everyone leaves the cliffs all at once, so does the protection of the group. Stragglers who are left behind are the most vulnerable. Longer fledging times mean more time exposed to predators, the elements, and the stresses of group living - competition, aggression from neighbours, the risk of disease and parasites. On top of that, you need to master the skill of flying. For some birds, that means practising with short flights and hops. Gannets, however, have to get it right the first time they leap from the cliff. With so little room for error, it's no wonder they spend the most time preparing.
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Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Guillemots and razorbills are leaving the cliffs in droves, but kittiwakes, cormorants and shag, fulmar, and gannets are still brooding chicks on the rocks. Why are some birds so slow to leave their breeding sites? Actually, the real question is, "how are guillemots and razorbill chicks ready to leave so early?". From as young as 15 days after hatching these chicks can be ready to make their way to the sea (though some will hang around for 3 weeks before they do). They achieve this remarkable speed by abandoning the cliffs before the can even fly. Waiting for flight feathers to grow takes time and would mean more time exposed on land to danger. There's nowhere to run from predators on a cliff, and auk chicks are not exactly nimble on their feet. They are, however, already well-equipped for swimming. Once guillemot and razorbill chicks are big enough, they take the plunge into the water below and master the aquatic environment before even thinking about the air.
For birds that need to fly to leave the cliffs, naturally it takes a little longer to get started with adult life. Kittiwake chicks take 35-40 days to get going, cormorants and shag take around 50 days to fledge, while fulmar take 70-75 days to go from hatching to flying. Gannets, however, win the prize for longest nestling period on our cliffs: 90-95 days to fledge!
Both short and long fledging times pose challenges. Auks have to pack a lot of growing into a short period and they can't afford to delay. When everyone leaves the cliffs all at once, so does the protection of the group. Stragglers who are left behind are the most vulnerable. Longer fledging times mean more time exposed to predators, the elements, and the stresses of group living - competition, aggression from neighbours, the risk of disease and parasites. On top of that, you need to master the skill of flying. For some birds, that means practising with short flights and hops. Gannets, however, have to get it right the first time they leap from the cliff. With so little room for error, it's no wonder they spend the most time preparing.
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New protected area off Wexford coast is a step forward for vulnerable seabirds
The recent announcement of the new “Seas off Wexford” Special Protection Area (SPA) is certainly news to be welcomed.
For such a designation to be as effective as it can be, it is crucial that strong and effective conservation objectives and management plans are ambitious and that stakeholders are consulted throughout the process. It would be most welcome if the designation of new marine SPAs also led to a new vision for management of Ireland’s entire network of SPAs. BirdWatch Ireland calls on government to ensure that management plans are put in place for SPAs on both land and sea and that a whole-of-government approach is taken to implement them properly to safeguard the future of the birds they are intended to protect.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien recently designated the new SPA of marine waters off the coast of Wexford which, at over 305,000 hectares, is the largest SPA designated in the history of the state. These waters provide extremely important food sources for seabirds, including Red-listed species such as Puffin, Kittiwake, Common Scoter and many other vulnerable Amber-listed species such as Fulmar, Manx Shearwater, Shag, Cormorant, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Roseate Tern, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Common Tern, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull and Guillemot.
Kittiwake. Photo: Colum Clarke.
Under EU legislation, the Irish government has made a commitment to designate 10% of its waters as protected by 2025, and a total of 30% by 2030. This new designation increases the percentage of Ireland’s marine protected waters to 9.4%, just under the 2025 target. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, many questions remain, primarily, what will “protection” look like in practice? It is paramount that this is made clear in the soon-to-be-published SPA’s conservation objectives, which should detail the activities that will and will not be permitted in the SPA, among other measures. We look forward to reading them shortly. At the same time, BirdWatch Ireland in collaboration with BirdLife Europe and BirdLife International are mapping Ireland’s marine Important Bird Areas according to international and standardised BirdLife International criteria under a project funded by the Flotilla Foundation. This is an important time for our seabirds and it is welcome to see the government’s focus finally on setting out protected areas for them.
Red-throated Diver. Photo: Chris Gomersall
While the finer details about the Wexford SPA have yet to come to light, it is clear that certain activities will not be permitted in the Wexford SPA. The Minister has issued a Direction in relation to certain activities, which must not be carried out within or close to the SPA, unless consent is lawfully given. The listed activities are reclamation including infilling; blasting, drilling, dredging or otherwise disturbing or removing fossils, rock, minerals, mud, sand, gravel or other sediment; introduction or reintroduction of plants or animals not found in the area; scientific research which involves the removal of biological material; any activity intended to disturb birds; undertaking acoustic surveys in the marine environment and developing or consenting to the development or operation of commercial recreational/ visitor facilities or organised recreational activities.
Little Terns.
Together with our partners at Fair Seas – a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental NGOs and environmental networks of which BirdWatch Ireland is a founding member – we have been calling for the government to meet their targets, but this alone is not enough. More action must be taken in order for us to adequately protect these important marine habitats and the many species that they support. Any move to better protect important habitats for birds is to be welcomed, and this is certainly no different. We are urging the Irish government to be ambitious in their plans for this new SPA and stress the need for focused community engagement in the surrounding areas. We also continue our urgent calls for the publication of the long-awaited Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Bill.
