White Swan Photos

Here are some photos I took of a white swan on Belle Isle in Detroit. The swan was totally oblivious to me and my presence. I'm not sure if this was a male or female, does anyone know how to determine the sex?

Anyway, I believe it is hard to capture animals in their natural habitat unless you do not disturb them. When animals notice you, then they will instinctively move away from humans. Of course this is due to past negative experiences with people.

When I was shooting pictures of bald eagles a couple of months ago, the eagles were high up in the trees, and had no worries about direct human contact. But swans are more vulnerable, knowing that humans may attempt to sneak up behind them, and render them immobile. So, this is why you see in the later photos below, the swan spreading its wings and getting ready to fly out of my reach.

And they are smart too. They know that I can not stand on thin ice, so this is where the swan moves. She moves to thin ice, someplace that is dangerous for me.

Thanks for checking out my work, any comments are greatly appreciated.