Autumn Watch - a Comorant or a Shag? That is the question.

A majestic looking cormorant. Or is it a shag?

While meandering along the banks of the River Yeo this morning alongside Pilton Park I couldn't help but notice what I assumed to be a cormorant preening himself on a pebbly island just beneath Pilton Bridge. He cut quite a sight, spreading his wings to dry them in the early morning sunlight. He'd also caused quite a stir amoung the local duck population as they were raising a right old quack obviously rather put out by his presence, this seemed to bring in all the ducks from around about as there was a steady stream of them paddling indignantly up the river to see what all the fuss was about.
The thing is once one person stops to peer over Pilton Bridge everyone else who passes by follows suit and being pension day the bridge was quite busy and after only a few moments there was a fair old crowd of our local old folk with nothing much better to do at this time of day, looking out over at the melee that was going on below.
One chap who must have been in his nineties claimed that he knew the bird in question and that at this time of year it was always to be found in this part of the river. I've often seen them off the Longbridge and out on the sandbanks in the estuary, but not this far up in Pilton. However, on this particular matter I bowed to his seniority and conviction. Fair enough bey, whom I to question that? But I must say I think he was wrong when he insisted on calling it a shag. I told him time and time again I thought it was a cormorant the woman who sits outside the Almshouses was passing by and she overheard our debate which was getting quite heated by now and she proceeded to throw her oar in by saying that they were one and the same.
Well, I told 'em there's only one way to find out and that is to e-mail that Bill Oddie. So I told them that was what I was determined to do to settle the argument so after telling them I'd be back directly I am now in the Library waiting for Bill's response.

AAh hah, Bill has got back to me in super quick time I thought he would as I have often had cause to consult him on assorted ornithological matters over the years.
Well it seems old Missus Passmore from the Almshouses is right they are indeed one and the same species of bird.They are both of the family Phalacrocoracidae of which there are two species in the UK, one has a crest and one doesn't. Apparently, there has been attempts to separate the two by calling one shags and the other cormorants but this was abandoned. So there you go. Bill also added that the collective noun for shags and cormorants is a wreck. Cheers Bill, lovely chap and a veritable mine of information when it comes to birding matters