During one of the brutally cold days of March 2007 I returned to the park, driven by some
inner alarm. I took a camera with little confidence that it would function. It did and the picture above as well as "Swan Song", now a fine art print, were the result. The injured swan
appeared in agony. Was it preparing to resign in ice over night..? Through many years
of Birding I have seen Canada Geese die in similar fashion. They’d just tuck their heads
under a wing and let themselves drift... I was freezing in way below zero temperatures and
there was nothing I could do here. As a rule one does not interfere with nature. To previous inquiries as to why there had been no efforts to try and save the animal, I was informed
that by the time the issue had been discovered it was judged to be too late.
A few days later I returned with the sun and warmer temperatures. My fears were confirmed
when I located the (presumably) male swan from across the water. He seemed fixed at this
spot, moving back and forth idly by just a few yards. The below image is a crop from more
than 60 yards away. Even through the Telephoto lens the pile of white at the edge
appeared non distinct. Nevertheless I decided to make my way over and see...
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