Sea bird experts.....

[Dinamight]

I've been watching for whales for about a week now between 5 and 6 pm along the HPP coastline and although I haven't seen many whales, I have seen one or two flocks of white birds flying along the HPP coastline from the Hawaiian Beaches area towards Kaloli point. I'm wondering what these birds are and where they are going? Do they have nests they go to at night? Why always the same time, same route?

[EightFingers]

The only time I hear whales is around 11PM. Lots of slapping and blowing. Seems pretty regular out by the "point".

[TomK]

Egrets? They're now common in Hawaii and nest by water. I've seen them off the HPP coast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_egret

[leilaniguy]

The white birds are probably egrets. The whales have been active here at Kapoho the last few days, spouting and breaching several times in the past day.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

If they're pure white they're probably egrets.

If they're not all white, it could be the black noddy, a type of tern. They have a white head, and grayish body. I've seen them along the HPP coastline recently, especially in areas with 15-20+ feet high cliffs where they perch in higher recesses protected from the waves:
http://waywardhawaiian.blogspot.com/2011...noddy.html

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[Carey]

Al white larger bird flying in flocks, over 2 feet in length, most likely white cattle egrets (often you will see a pile of them roosting for the night in the anchaline ponds behind Seaside restaurant, opposite Carlsmith (4-Mile) beach (B. ibis)

Bodies a little smaller, usually in pairs could be white-tail tropic, but they are mainly going up pali slopes to nest in cliffs (also they are usually the white birds you will see around Halema`uma`u & Kilauea Iki (P. lecturus)

Even smaller & more often single are the white fairy terns that will rise up the coastal cliffs (G. alba)

[Dinamight]

Thank you, everyone.

The birds are so far out I can't see any markings or really determine their size, but when the sun shines on them they look bright white!

[TomK]

Thanks for the reply, Dinamight. The egrets here (see my link, HOTPE and Carey's responses) are fairly large birds and almost purely white. If you're seeing the birds a distance off the coast and they still appear white, I'm pretty sure they're egrets.

[Carey]

From a distance, the three I listed all look white, so maybe looking at the wings in flight might help...
The larger cattle egret is also very "wing heavy" with two large wings crossing almost in the middle of a comparatively smaller body

The white tropic bird has much narrower wings, & a very long tail, giving it a more t shape when flying

The small white fairly tern often flies with its tail flared & often the wings look more arched, with a more inverted V look at the wing joints...

Hope this helps!

[bananahead]

the invasive species Cattle Egrets are not a seabird....

here are links to a few images of our seabirds... along Kololi Pt area they usually live in the pukas on the cliff face... there are couple different kind, but Im no expert...
some of the seabirds are also seen at Kilauea crater, and a few other inland cliff areas, some even as high as Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa like the ‘ua‘u
http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/Hawaii/HIseabirds.htm
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/hawaiian_isla...birds.html

endangered ‘ua‘u seabirds on Mauna Loa, the 'cat fence birds'
http://www.hawaii247.com/2016/11/17/volc...mauna-loa/

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