Sometimes they watch it swoop deftly to the ocean's surface, then rise again to float on the wind. I, too, spend time around Magic Island, and I know that specific bird. This remarkable creature gracing the Ala Moana Beach Park area is a female great frigate bird. It's easy to overestimate the size of animals in the distance but in this case, Leland's guess was short. Hawaii's frigate birds have a wingspan of 7 feet.
Frigate birds do more than float in the air.
These Thunderbirds of the avian world perform dramatic midair acrobatics such as stops, starts, twists and loops. That means if they aren't flying or perched, they're in trouble. WHEN I called Leland back, I told him frigate birds don't land on water because their feathers aren't waterproof. I was wrong. Of all Hawaii's seabirds, only sooty terns lack waterproof feathers.