Trumpeter Swans at Kellogg Bird Sanctuary

Arriving home earlier than usual from the southern states this year, I found the lakes still frozen and decided to get some "white on white" images.  Our largest swan, the Trumpeter Swan, became nearly extinct by the turn of the century and completely disappeared in Michigan.  Thankfully, restoration efforts reintroduced them and they are now holding their own.  One of the best places to view them is at the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary near Gull Lake.  The sanctuary played a large part in their reintroduction to Michigan and is a great place to photograph them.
I arrived early in the morning to find two small open areas where the local Mallards were swimming alongside one Hooded Merganser.  A few Trumpeter Swans and Mute Swans were sleeping out on the ice.  As the morning progressed Trumpeter Swans began to arrive from the surrounding area in small groups of two or three.  Each arrival was greeted with noisy trumpeting from the birds already on the ice.  Some of the arrivals were met with polite socializing while a few were greeted with downright hostility that only swan culture could predict.  When photographing these white on white scenes you have to open up the camera a bit but the results are worth it.
About midmorning the staff came around to fill the feeding stations which probably explains the daily fly in from neighboring marshes and lakes.