Karen Calder , An Intimate Moment (September Theme: Birds)

The Waved Albatross only comes to land for the purpose of mating and breeding. They only land on one small island in the Galapagos and once they have raised their chick they then say their goodbyes until next year. Each bird then takes to the skies, flies off on their own path, only to meet again year after year with the same partner in the same place. This photo was taken during the goodbye process - a farewell kiss! Isn't nature wonderful.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.