Lovers' waltz

Well, of course I went back to Bushy Beach today. I stayed longer this time, until later in the afternoon, and was handsomely rewarded with numerous amazing and adorable penguin antics.

This is a little "Hi Honey, I missed you while you were gone" kind of dance between a mated pair. The first of them came ashore and walked straight up the beach to its nest in the bush. Then maybe half an hour later, the next one washed ashore and started heading the same way. Now, earlier in the afternoon, this very thing had already happened, but the first time the second penguin coming ashore was encroaching on the first's territory and got chased back into the water. So when the first of these two penguins came literally sprinting out of the bush headed straight for the second, I thought it was the same situation. But oh no...turns out, she was just really happy to see him. She came running at full speed towards him, until she had just passed him, and so arrested and cocked her head back to him without turning around. There was some mighty trumpeting and gazing longingly at one another, and then they headed up the beach together, occasionally stopping to preen and sit with bellies touching. Sometimes they'd get a little distance between them but as soon as one caught up with the other, they'd throw their heads up, trumpet, and march side by side in this very regal way. This is the way of penguins--when pairs meet again after a long day at sea, they engage in these ritualistic and drawn out greeting behaviors. It's very hard not to see the emotion--and magic--in it.