A Shag on the Beach

There we were on the beach at Breaker Bay just over the hill from Kaiteriteri. We'd had our picnic lunch, bobbed up and down in the surf for ages then lay around sunbathing and reading. Just minding our own business really when this shag dropped out of the sky and landed on the beach. He, I'll call him a he, waddled around on the sand seemingly unconcerned by all the humans littering up the place. Being one not to miss an opportunity, I grabbed the Panasonic, leaving it on "intelligent auto" and moved in close for a cosy session of bird portraiture. He danced around a bit, spread his wings and tossed his head around. He looked as if he was either drying out or performing an ancient mating ritual. I took shot after shot and an interested audience looked on. Closer and closer I got. He eyeballed me. The image I have published is taken a split second before he went into full attack mode. It was all on. He had a real go at me, grabbing my right foot with his wide open beak. (I still wear the war wounds) There were screams (?mine?) as I tried to beat him off. I was afraid for my eyes...I had to grab him by the neck to thrust him well out of the way. Two great big seagulls swooped down to take the shag on as well...my guardian angels. It was chaos for a few minutes. The episode created much interest on the beach. The shag waddled away seemingly quite unperturbed by the drama. He neared another family group. Everyone stayed well clear. I phoned the Department of Conservation (DOC) in Motueka for advice. They said do nothing and maybe he'll go away. I explained that I thought he was a juvenile spotted shag (cormorant) as the typical yellow ring around that species's eye had not yet developed. I was told these birds have been known to attack kayakers!
An hour later that shag attacked another innocent beach user who had dared to point a camera at him. We warned her..."Be careful...he is camera shy...." He went hammer and tongs for her too and was chased off with a body board. At that point he gave up on his territory and soared away into the sky in a huff. The only really upsetting thing about this sorry tale was hearing that a small boy in a green t- shirt referred to me as "That old lady the bird went for." Old Lady?? Humph!