“Graham, get your camera. Storm birds!” With that alert, I dashed out of the office at work and saw these Great Frigatebirds circling in the gray skies towards Kohala Mountain. There were 16 of them, which is the most I’ve seen at one go.
These birds are known as ’Iwa in Hawaii. This means ‘thief’ in the Hawaiian language, a reference to their practice of harassing other birds into dropping prey they’ve caught, which the ’Iwa then take for themselves.
In Hawaii, a gathering of these birds is seen as a sign of stormy weather coming, Hence the storm birds name. They were on the money again, with Tropical Storm Calvin hitting the island a few days later.
Graham's Island 
Big birds? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one.
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A wingspan up to 7 feet, so pretty big!
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Heck! I wouldn’t miss one, would I?
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Not likely, though they sneak up on me quite often on my walks.
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What a great tale! I hope you weren’t washed out by the storm.
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Not too bad really. It was very wet for 24 hours, but nothing extraordinary.
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