Shags - little, little black, pied, and black

Louise from Woburn

Did you know we have four species of shags regularly in Lower Hutt. The little shags are the most common, but every now and then I see the little black, larger pied shag or the black shag. The little shags are nesting at the moment around in Days Bay. You can see little shag babies poking their heads out of the nests built in trees overhanging the pond at the Pavilion. So lovely, but if you do go around the back of the pond to get a closer look watch out for falling bird poop - because when they go, they really go. I'm sure some of the shag parents were trying to hit me deliberately when I was there last weekend. This is a photo of a large black shag at the Hutt Estuary/river mouth.